In Nintendogs, players take full advantage of the Nintendo DS' touchscreen and built-in microphone to play and interact with his or her dogs.fact: date=September 2008 The touch screen allows the player to pet his or her dog, and also allows for him or her to use various items that can be found or purchased.fact: date=September 2008 These range from balls and frisbees, to toys, to grooming supplies to keep the dogs happy.fact: date=September 2008 The microphone is used to call to the player's dog by speaking the name given to the dog in the beginning of the game as well as to teach the dog commands such as "sit" or "roll over".fact: date=September 2008 Players can bring their dogs on walks, and to the park if he or she so chooses,fact: date=September 2008 and he or she may interact with another player in multi-player by using the DS' wireless link-up.fact: date=September 2008 It also uses the DS' internal clock and calendar to allow the dog to grow hungrier or dirtier based on the elapsed time.

Nintendogs received mostly positive critical reception. It has an aggregate score of 84.8% at Game Rankings,fact: date=September 2008, and has won many awards, including the 2006 Innovation Award from PC World and Best Handheld Game from the Associated Press. As of March 31 2008, all versions of Nintendogs combined have sold 18.67 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling Nintendo DS game published by Nintendo. Because of Nintendog's success, Nintendo has made several related products, including Nintendogs toysTug 'n Play Nintendog plush and a series of Nintendogs trading cards.6-Card Fun Paks

Gameplay

Using the touch screen, the owner can play with, train, pet, walk, and wash their virtual dog.fact: date=October 2008 With the microphone that is built into the DS, the player can create voice commands that their puppy will understand and, if properly trained, follow.fact: date=October 2008 Dogs can be walked to the park where they can practice their disc catching skills, and to the gymnasium to practice dog agility.fact: date=October 2008 The game features two types of currency; money and "trainer points". Money is used to purchase items, while trainer points increase or decrease depending on the actions of the player. As points accumulate, more dogs become available for the player to adopt, and more background can be purchased to decorate the player's in-game house.fact: date=October 2008 By walking his or her dog, players earn trainer points; the amount of points varies depending on the length of the walk, and activities participated in on the way, such as contest training. While walking, question mark icons on the map point out areas that may contain neighborhood dogs or presents, though presents can be found unmarked as well. When encountering another dog and its trainer, the player's dog may fight or play with the other.fact: date=October 2008