Prerelease:Nintendogs

This page details prerelease information and/or media for Nintendogs.

This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.

Nintendogs began as a technical demo on the GameCube long before it was considered for the Nintendo DS, and made its way to the handheld while the DS was still in development. Shigeru Miyamoto originally came up with the idea for the game when he and his family bought a dog, which inspired him to create the project.

Development Timeline

2004

• August 1 - Nintendogs is announced for the then-upcoming Nintendo DS Handheld.
• September 28 - Nintendogs has its very first demo, although only to a Japanese celebrity in a commercial, and never seen at all.
• October 7 - Nintendogs is given a localization name, Puppy Times.
• November 22 - The Nintendo DS is released in North America.

2005

• March 10 - Gameplay of Nintendogs is shown off at the GDC 2005. It appeared to be near-complete.
• March 25 - Announcement of Nintendogs coming in "Multiple versions".
• April 21 - Nintendogs is released in Japan.
• April/May - The Puppy Times localization name is dropped, with Nintendogs simply used for international versions.
• August 12 - The American-English version of the game is sent out to reviewers.
• August 22 - The game is released in North America.
• October 7 - The game is released in Europe.

Trailer

Minna no Nintendo Channel

• The milk icon looks different.

Unknown

One of the oldest trailers of the game.

• Different HUD.
• Early dog barking sounds.
• The mouse isn't a hand.
• Early version of the home can be seen.
• Different sounds (tennis ball).

Early HUD

• Completely different layout.
• No clock and save button.
• The option menu was available in the main menu.
• Two cut menus - Phone and Training, purpose unknown.
• The dog icons were smaller.
• Two cut buttons - Touch and Again, purpose unknown.

Other Changes

• In early versions of the game, the leash is blue. In the final game, it's green.
• The icons for the three contests were different.
• The money counter used the debug font in early versions of the game.
• The menu "Competition" looks a bit different.
• The "back" icon looks different.
• The item icon looks different and is displayed in the upper-right corner.
• Shi Tzu and Beagle had a different icon. Interestingly, the Beagle's old icon is still found in the final game and is used by unused dogs and missing variants.
• The camera's position in the agility contest is different.
• Shiba Inu variant 1 is lighter.
• The menu "Shopping" looks very different.
• The milk bottle looks different.
• The light bulb icon looks different.
• The ?-graphics are different.
• The microphone looks different.
• There was another judge in the contests.
• The balloon is pink.
• An unseen item named "Towel" can be seen in early screenshots.

Screenshots

File:Nintendo-PreRe-4.jpg

GDC 2005

A build closer to the final game, and a little month over the release in Japan. The HUD seems to be finalised at this point, though some things are still different:

• The letters for the date and time were bigger.
• The Dog Status didn't show the coat length or cleanness.
• The bottom line of the dog's mugshot was wider.
• The Japanese font for "Go Out" and "Supplies" was completely different.
• The icon for the dog call was slightly different.
• The save icon was completely different.
• The icons for dog spaces was a silhouette of a dog with the Nintendogs logo over it.
• While the Supplies HUD was the same, the icon for Toys had a teddy bear on it rather than a toy robot.
• In the "Sports" section, two unknown toys can be seen next to the Red Flying Disc and the Tennis Ball.
• The "sparkles" for when the dog gets rubbed weren't spread out.

Japanese Release Trailer

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The Japanese launch trailer, with some differences:

• The unused title screen can be seen at the beginning.
• The dry food's bowl looks different and resembles the one used for water or milk. In the final game, it's green.
• The light bulb icon looks very different.
• The sound effect for tapping the microphone is different.
• The floor has a lighter texture.
• The Agility Trial HUD and grass look different, and lower in quality.
• The walk graphics look different. The eraser is different, the road is different, and the ?-boxes are dogs.
• The leash is blue.
• An unseen walk background can be seen, and seem to resemble mountains.
• The trees are darker.
• The dogs in the parks are all beagles.
• The grass in the parks look different.
• The soap icon is blue. In the final game, it's red.
• There is an unseen third hand on the clock, which counted seconds.

(Source: ign.com)