Nintendo’s had several “pseudo-official” public faces over the years, highlighted of course by Shigeru Miyamoto and Mario, but for the month of February, Nintendo’s marketing team has pulled an arguably weird stunt by making a dog the company’s public face. That’s because February is Responsible Pet Owners Month, you see. As if that justifies the decision….
Today, Nintendo of America announced it’s teaming up with Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier “co-star” of The Artist, who will act as Nintendo’’s “spokesdog,” spreading the word about the game nintendogs + cats for the Nintendo 3DS. To help celebrate February as Responsible Pet Owners Month, Uggie will show how the game includes valuable tips on how people can maintain happy, healthy relationships with their furry friends in real life.
Uggie has appeared in numerous television commercials and films during the last decade. As Nintendo’s spokesdog, he’ll appear alongside his owner Omar Von Muller to promote nintendogs + cats and the Pearl Pink Nintendo 3DS system. In particular, Uggie and his owner will show consumers how nintendogs + cats can not only provide players with an adorable, customizable companion but also teach them skills that can translate to real-world dog or cat ownership.
With nintendogs + cats, players can use the Nintendo 3DS system’s built-in touchscreen, camera and microphone to interact with their dog or cat and form a lasting friendship. Well, as “lasting” as a relationship with a digital character can be, anyway. Players can feed, train and care for their choice of more than 27 breeds of puppies, and can also care for a variety of lovable kittens. If they take their Nintendo 3DS systems when going out, players can exchange Mii characters, puppies, kittens and presents with other nearby players via a wireless connection using the StreetPass feature.
Nintendo will soon be adding a free playable demo of nintendogs + cats to the Nintendo eShop, so players can download the game and check it out at no cost.
