, full name , also known as the Sony Cat, is a fictional character created by Sony Interactive Entertainment. He is an anthropomorphized cat who participates in numerous events and tries to act like a human. Toro first appeared in the PlayStation game ''Doko Demo Issho'', while not as popular in the west, he serves as Sony's

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

in Japan - in particular, of the PlayStation Network.

Character

The character is an

anthropomorphized Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

white

Japanese bobtail The Japanese Bobtail is a breed of domestic cat with an unusual bobtail more closely resembling the tail of a rabbit than that of other cats. The variety is native to Japan, though it is now found throughout the world. The breed has been know ...

cat of a chibi design style. Toro is characterized by its big, trapezoid-shaped face, a rectangular-shaped body, and its vast variety of face expressions. Toro's family name originated from a

debugger A debugger or debugging tool is a computer program used to test and debug other programs (the "target" program). The main use of a debugger is to run the target program under controlled conditions that permit the programmer to track its executi ...

called Toro 'Inoue' (井上 ''Inoue''). Character profile: *Birthday: 6 May *Favorite foods: chūtoro, oratosquilla oratoria,

nattō , spelled as natto in standard English language use, is a traditional Japanese food made from whole soybeans that have been fermented with ''Bacillus subtilis'' var. ''natto''. It is often served as a breakfast food with rice. It is served wi ...

roll Roll or Rolls may refer to: Movement about the longitudinal axis * Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis ** Roll (aviation) ...

*Dislikes: to be put in a

cardboard box Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated boxes, primarily used for packaging goods and materials. Specialists in industry seldom use the term cardboard because it does not denote a specific material. The term ''cardboard'' may refer to a v ...

Video game appearances

Toro first appeared on 22 July 1999 as the main character (

chatterbot A chatbot or chatterbot is a software application used to conduct an on-line chat conversation via text or text-to-speech, in lieu of providing direct contact with a live human agent. Designed to convincingly simulate the way a human would behav ...

) in the video game '' Doko Demo Issho'' (also translated as ''Doko Demo Issyo'' and meaning "Together Anywhere") on the

Sony PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divi ...

, and included support for the

PocketStation The PocketStation is a memory card peripheral by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation home video game console. Categorized by Sony as a combination of a Memory Card and a miniature personal digital assistant, the device features a monoc ...

. The game won the

Japan Game Awards The Japan Game Awards is the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's awards ceremony, which was created in 1996 as the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association, CESA Awards. While it repres ...

' Game of the Year award alongside Final Fantasy VII. In 2004, ''Doko Demo Issho'' was released on the PlayStation Portable, a free demo being available in the Japanese

PlayStation Store The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable conten ...

. Toro stars in the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

title '' Mainichi Issho'' ("Everyday Together"), a talk show-like game where Toro delivers daily news together with Kuro, his black cat neighbor. Players can also answer trivia to win game money (Myale) and prizes such as to decorate Toro's in-game apartment; an online IQ versus test gameis also possible. ''Mainichi Issho'' is available free of charge download in the Japanese PlayStation only. A sequel to game titled '' Weekly Toro Station'' was in November 2009 as a replacement for ''Issho''. Toro is a

playable character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not contr ...

in '' Everybody's Golf 5''. He also as a playable in ''

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale ''PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale'' is a 2012 crossover fighting video game developed by SuperBot Entertainment, in conjunction with Bluepoint Games, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It features various characters drawn from dif ...

'', with Kuro assisting him during one of his super attacks. Toro is the main character of the free downloadable PlayStation Vita game ''Toro's Friend Network'', in which the player must help him make friends so that he can save Kuro who has been kidnapped. Toro now stars in Toro Puzzle which was released for Android and iOS in Japan In 2019 and later released in North America in 2020 as Toro and Friends: Onsen Town. Also appeared (or at least a cat that looks like him) in Syobon Action (Cat Mario), as the playable character.

Guest and cameo appearances

Toro and Kuro both appear as exclusive fighters for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita versions of '' Street Fighter X Tekken'' by Capcom, in which Toro mimics Ryu's fighting style, while Kuro mimics Kazuya's fighting style. This was their first game appearance outside Japan, predating PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (both are fighting games that were released in 2012). Toro and Kuro appear in '' Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F'' (available with the "Popipo Special Edition" downloadable content), where their appearances are used for multiple accessories and they star in the "PoPiPo (Toro and Kuro special edition)" PV. Toro and Kuro both appear as

NPCs A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...

during specific quests in '' White Knight Chronicles 2''. Toro and Kuro also appear in the MMO ''

Phantasy Star Online 2 is a free-to-play online action role-playing game in the ''Phantasy Star'' series, developed and published by Sega. It was created as a successor to ''Phantasy Star Online'' and '' Phantasy Star Universe'', ''Phantasy Star Online 2'' features ...

'' as Vita and PS4 exclusive NPCs that the players can take with them on missions, and can eventually get them as MAGs for their characters. Toro and Kuro are playable DLC characters in '' Everybody’s Golf 6''. Toro is summonable by the player in '' Destiny of Spirits''. Toro and Kuro make an appearance in '' Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls'' in a Monokuma assembly line. Toro also appeared as a DLC bomber in the September 2018 update to ''

Super Bomberman R is an action- maze game developed by Konami and HexaDrive. The game was first released worldwide as a launch title for the Nintendo Switch in March 2017, and later for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in June 2018. Part of the '' ...

''. Toro costumes appear in ''

LittleBigPlanet ''LittleBigPlanet'' (stylized as ''LittleBIGPlanet''; abbreviated ''LBP'') is a puzzle platform video game series created and produced by British developer Media Molecule and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Most games in the seri ...

'' (available as a downloadable content), and in '' Tales of Graces f'' and '' Tales of Hearts R''. Sony also made Toro and Kuro a free DLC plush for the player's character to wear in '' Tokyo Jungle'' for the PlayStation Network.

References

External links

''Doko Demo Issyo'' official website
{{PlayStation Animal characters in video games Anthropomorphic video game characters Corporate mascots Fictional cats Cat mascots Fictional golfers Male characters in advertising Male characters in video games Sony Sony Interactive Entertainment characters Sony Interactive Entertainment franchises Video game characters introduced in 1999 Video game mascots Video game marketing