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Back in the late 2000s, I wasn’t just playing games - I was raising a small army of digital pets. My Tamagotchis were always on the brink of death. My Webkinz had elaborate backstories. But none of them stuck with me the way Nintendogs did.
If you had a Nintendo DS during that era, you probably played it too. Maybe you yelled “Sit!” into the mic in public like it was totally normal. Maybe you rubbed the touchscreen like a maniac to scrub imaginary dirt off your Labrador’s fur. I did all of it. Religiously. I had routines. I had my favorite dogs. And most of all, I had Balto - a Husky I adopted who dominated every competition like he was born for it.
But coming back to Nintendogs in 2025 is... strange.
Nintendogs
Don’t get me wrong, it still has its charm. But it’s also incredibly disconnected from reality. You can leave your dog at the vaguely labeled “Dog Hotel” for years, then come back and pick them up like nothing happened. No vet bills. Just a happy bark and a wagging tail, like you only stepped out for five minutes.
Even the “donate” option - which I definitely used more than once out of boredom - feels kind of dark now. Once a dog was gone, that was it. No undo button. No second thoughts. Just... gone.
Looking back, I’m kind of shocked at how much time I poured into a game with no real ending. Once you win the top-tier contests, that’s it. You’re in a loop. Feed. Walk. Train. Compete. Repeat. Your dog never ages, never changes. It’s like a forever-young pet simulator stuck in a cozy limbo. And yet, I loved every second of it.
But now? The cracks are more obvious. The AI is paper-thin. The multiplayer - if you can even call it that - basically lets you bump into strangers’ dogs on walks and exchange weird little gifts. That was the whole system. And the contest announcers, Archie Hubbs and Ted Rumsworth? As a kid I thought they were funny. Now I can’t listen to them for more than a few seconds without hitting the skip button.
I tried other pet games, too. Purr Pals was one. Kind of like Nintendogs, but with cats - and much, much worse graphics. You could only have one cat, the animations were stiff, and the cat shows were somehow more boring than they already sound. Even when it was new, the game felt outdated. Now, in 2025, it’s borderline unplayable (sorry cat lovers).
Purr Pals
But Nintendogs? It still holds up… kind of. Sure, it doesn’t make a lot of sense now, and the dogs don’t really behave like actual animals, but the design was solid. The sounds still hit. The stylus controls are still oddly satisfying. And there’s something about those little pixelated dogs that still manages to tug at something deep and nostalgic.
I still revisit it sometimes. I don’t enjoy it quite the same way, and I definitely feel too old for it now, but there’s a comfort to it. No pressure. No urgency. Just routine. And honestly, that kind of quiet gameplay feels more relevant than ever. In a world of constant updates and live-service everything, Nintendogs feels like a warm little time capsule.
Nintendo tried to follow it up with Nintendogs + Cats on the 3DS, but it wasn’t the same. Since then, there’s been the usual swirl of rumors - a reboot, a mobile version, maybe something using AI - but nothing yet. And now, with the Switch 2 finally out, some people are still hoping Nintendo might bring it back.
Would it work as a premium $70 title? Probably not. But as a mid-tier digital release or a live-service cozy sim? Maybe.
Until then, I’ve still got Balto. Still loyal. Still waiting at the Dog Hotel like I never left.
Maybe some games aren’t meant to be rebooted… maybe they’re just meant to be remembered.
