''Dogz'' and ''Catz'' are a pair of 2006

virtual pet A virtual pet (also known as a digital pet, artificial pet, or pet-raising simulation) is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment, or as an alternative to a real pet. Digital pets have no conc ...

simulation games released for Windows PCs, developed by

ImaginEngine Backbone Entertainment was an American video game developer based in Emeryville, California. The company was formed in 2003 as the result of a merger between developers Digital Eclipse and ImaginEngine. In 2005, Backbone merged with The Collect ...

, and published by

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...

. The games are part of the

Petz ''Petz'' is a series of single-player video games dating back to 1995, in which the player can adopt, raise, care for and breed their own virtual pets. Developed by PF.Magic, original ''Petz'' ( ''Dogz'' and ''Catz'') has sold over 1.5 million ...

series, and in some markets were marketed as ''Dogz 6'' and ''Catz 6''. A port of ''Catz'' for the

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

, developed by Powerhead Games was released at the same time. However, this was not the case for the ''Dogz'' game on DS, which was a port of a Game Boy Advance game. Nor is it related to the Gameboy Advance game ''

Catz Catz () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Carentan-les-Marais.adopts, one of five types of cats or dogs and names them. In a home environment, the user can then play with it. The two PC games mostly the same apart from the choice of pet being raised. The DS game allows the player to speak the name of their Cat to attract its attention. The player also most manage the animals "natural needs" including keeping track of when they need to be fed and cleaned, for example.

Development

The original ''Dogz'' and ''Catz'' games were developed by

PF Magic PF.Magic, Inc. was a video game developer founded in 1991 and located in San Francisco, California, United States. Though it developed other types of video games, it was best known for its virtual pet games, such as '' Dogz'' and '' Catz''. The co ...

in the mid 90s making use of 2D sprites to render characters—an approach they originally developed for

Ballz ''Ballz'' is a two-player 2.5D action fighting video game developed by PF.Magic and published by Accolade. It was released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super NES (SNES) in 1994, with the 3DO version being released as a director's c ...

. After a series of acquisitions the ''

'' franchise came to be owned by

, with the final game using the original style being ''Dogz 5'' and ''Catz 5'' in 2002. After several years of inactivity, Ubisoft wanted to "re-invent" the series—partially to compete with Nintendo's ''

Nintendogs (stylized in all lowercase) is a 2005 real-time pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was released in Japan, and was later released in: North America, Australia, New ...

''—and so released a host of games in 2006 (including ''Dogz'', ''Catz'', ''

Hamsterz ''Hamsterz Life'' (''Hamsterz'' in some territories) is a pet simulation and virtual pet video game in the ''Petz'' series, focusing on hamsters, for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by the Japanese company and released in Japan as . In 2008, ...

'' and ''

Horsez ''Horsez'' refers to one of four video games released by Ubisoft in 2006, as part of the ''Petz'' series, for Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PC and Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which ...

''). Unlike the original games, these ''Dogz'' and ''Catz'' games were developed using full 3D graphics, for the characters and environments. The theme for ''Catz''—on both platforms—was a version of the "Kitty Cat Song" officially titled "Meow Meow Lullaby Remix", performed by

Nada Surf Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1992, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). After initially operating under the name Helicopter, Caw ...

Reception

A review of the PC versions of ''Catz'' and ''Dogz'', by ''

Jeuxvideo JV (from ''jeux vidéo''; ; ), whose name is Jeuxvideo.com from 1997 to 2021, also called JVC, is a French website, and also available as an application, specializing in video game since 1997. It is built as an information tool intended for pla ...

'', found that both games became boring quickly, due to a lack of "relevant activities". ''Dogz'' was criticised for its lacklustre music by ''Spazio Games'', with the same publication being unimpressed by both games' graphics. The DS version was widely seen as being closely modelled on Nintendo's ''

''. Lucas Thomas, of ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'', thought that the game was mediocre, criticising its camera controls and lack of content. The lack of activities was also a major problem highlighted in a review in '.

References

External links

* * * {{mobygames, /33501/catz/, Catz (DS) 2006 video games ImaginEngine games Powerhead Games games Nintendo DS games Single-player video games Ubisoft games Video games about dogs Video games developed in the United States Virtual pet video games Petz