Petz
Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Infobox video game series
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 copies worldwide.<ref name="The Free Library">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The series has grown to over 22 million copies as of 2011 since coming under Ubisoft.<ref name=":52">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DevelopmentEdit
The original Petz games — Dogz: Your Computer Pet and Catz: Your Computer Pet—were developed by PF.Magic, released in 1995 and 1996 respectively. They reused the graphics engine used Ballz. Rob Fulop conceived of Dogz, following the controversy surrounding his previous title Night Trap, which resulted in him wanting to make a game that was "so cute and so adorable that no could ever, ever say it was bad for kids". He claims to have consulted a shopping mall Santa Claus about what children wanted, and was informed that puppies were the most popular request every year.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Retro Gamer">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Following the success the company, instead of continuing to branch out into other household pets, developed Oddballz, focused on Chimeraic and mutatable creatures.<ref name="Boxer1996">Template:Cite news</ref> This would release along with sequels to the Dogz and Catz.<ref name="Retro Gamer" />
In 1997, PF.Magic was acquired by The Learning Company's Mindscape division for $15.8 million in 1998.<ref name="CNET">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2001, Ubi Soft (Ubisoft, since 2003) acquired the entertainment division of The Learning Company, granting Ubisoft exclusive publishing rights to 88 titles, including Dogz and Catz.<ref name="Retro Gamer" /><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
Ubisoft would publish Catz 5 and Dogz 5, in 2002, as the last games following the original style, before putting franchise on hold for three years. After releasing Dogz and Catz for the Game Boy Advance in 2005 and 2006, Ubisoft announced their intention for a "revitalisation" of the series, in direct response to the success of Nintendo's Nintendogs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ubisoft would continue releasing entries until 2014.<ref name="Retro Gamer" /> Many of the successive games were localised games from Japan or Europe in origin and were simply rebranded with the Petz name.Template:Citation needed
AnimalsEdit
The initial games were limited to dogz and catz, but additional animals were also introduced. These animals include Pigz,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bunnyz,<ref name="Thomas2008b" /> Monkeyz,<ref name="Thomas2009b" /> Dolphinz,<ref name="Thomas2007b" /> and Hamsterz,<ref name="Thomas2007a" >{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> some of which received their own games.
Users learned how to reverse-engineer the system, and began producing additional breedz, toyz, playscenes, clothes, and developer tools for the games, as permitted by PF.Magic, Mindscape, and Ubisoft.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
GamesEdit
{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B=Template:AmboxTemplate:Main other }}
| Game | Developer | Publisher | Release date | Platform | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catz and Dogz: Your Virtual Petz | PF.Magic | PF.Magic, Virgin Interactive Entertainment | Template:Ubl | Template:Ubl | ||
| Oddballz: Your Wacky Computer Petz | PF.Magic | PF.Magic, Virgin Interactive Entertainment | 1996 | PC | ||
| Catz and Dogz II: Your Virtual Petz | PF.Magic | PF.Magic, Mindscape | 1997 | PC | <ref name="Scott1998">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Disk-o-tech1997">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Catz and Dogz 3: Your Virtual Petz | PF.Magic | PF.Magic, Mindscape | 1998 | PC | <ref name="Rich1999">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Catz and Dogz 4 | PF.Magic | Mindscape Entertainment | 1999 | PC | <ref name="Gleichman2000">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Catz and Dogz 5 | Studio Mythos | Ubi Soft | 2002 | PC | <ref name="Megna2003">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| DogzTemplate:Efn-lr | MTO, Backbone Entertainment | Ubisoft | Template:Unbulleted list | Template:Unbulleted list | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Catz | ImaginEngine, Powerhead Games | Ubisoft | 2006 | Template:Unbulleted list | <ref name="Thomas2007c">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Hamsterz LifeTemplate:Efn-lr | Template:Wikidata fallback link | Ubisoft | 2006 | Nintendo DS | <ref name="Thomas2007a" /> | |
| HorsezTemplate:Efn-lr | Template:Ill | Ubisoft | 2006 | Template:Unbulleted list | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref name="Lewis2006">Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Petz: Dogz 2 and Catz 2 | Digital Kids | Ubisoft | 2007 | Template:Unbulleted list | <ref name="Thomas2007e">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Thomas2007f">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Buchanan2008">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Petz: Horsez 2Template:Efn-lr | Phoenix Studio | Ubisoft | 2007 | Template:Unbulleted list | <ref name="Thomas2007g">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Petz VetTemplate:Efn-lr | Sensory Sweep | Ubisoft | 2007 | Game Boy Advance | ||
| Petz: Wild Animals: Dolphinz | Magic Pockets | Ubisoft | 2007 | DS | <ref name="Thomas2007b">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Tigerz | Magic Pockets | Ubisoft | 2008 | Nintendo DS | <ref name="Thomas2008a">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Petz: Bunnyz | Digital Kids | Ubisoft | 2008 | Nintendo DS | <ref name="Thomas2008b">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Petz: Monkeyz House | Ubisoft | 2008 | Nintendo DS | <ref name="Thomas2008c">Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Petz: Horse Club | Ubisoft | 2008 | Wii, PC | <ref name="Thomas2009c">Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Petz Rescue: Ocean Patrol | Magic Pockets | Ubisoft | 2008 | DS | <ref name="Thomas2008d">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Petz Rescue: Wildlife Vet | Ubisoft | 2008 | Template:Ubl | <ref name="Thomas2009d">Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Petz Rescue: Endangered Paradise | Ubisoft | 2008 | DS | <ref name="Thomas2008e">Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Petz Sports: Dog Playground | Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft | 2008 | Template:Unbulleted list | <ref name="Thomas2009a">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Dogz | Gameloft | 2008 | N-Gage 2.0 | <ref name="Spencer2008">Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Petz: Dogz Pack | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2008 | DS | ||
| Petz: Dogz Fashion | Ubisoft | 2008 | DS | <ref name="Thomas2008f">Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Petz: Catz Clan | Ubisoft | 2008 | DS | <ref name="Thomas2009e">Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Petz: Crazy Monkeyz | Y'sK | Ubisoft | 2009 | Wii | <ref name="Thomas2009b">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Petz Fashion: Dogz and Catz | Powerhead Games | Ubisoft | 2009 | DS | ||
| Petz: My Baby PandaTemplate:Efn-lr | Namco Bandai Games | 2009 | DS | |||
| Petz: Hamsterz Superstarz | Ubisoft | 2009 | DS | |||
| Petz: Hamsterz Bunch | DK Games | Ubisoft | 2009 | PSP | ||
| Petz: Dogz Talent Show | Ubisoft | 2009 | DS | |||
| Petz Nursery | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2009 | DS | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Petz Nursery 2 | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2010 | DS | ||
| Petz: Horsez Family | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2010 | DS | ||
| Petz: Catz Playground | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2010 | DS | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Petz: Dogz Family | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2010 | DSiWare | <ref name="Thomas2010">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Petz Hamsterz Family | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2010 | DSiWare | <ref name="Kaplan2010">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Petz Fantasy: Moonlight Magic | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2010 | DS | ||
| Petz Fantasy: Sunshine Magic | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2010 | DS | ||
| Petz Fantasy 3D | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2011 | 3DS | ||
| Petz: Puppyz & Kittenz | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2011 | DS | ||
| Petz Beach | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2014 | 3DS | <ref name="Williams2014">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Lewis2014">Template:Cite press release</ref> | |
| Petz Countryside | Ubisoft | Ubisoft | 2014 | 3DS | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
NotesEdit
ReceptionEdit
Template:Video game series reviews The original software was generally well received, with The Salt Lake Tribune giving 1995's Dogz 4 out of 5 stars,<ref name="McDaniel1996">Template:Cite news</ref> and PC Zone and Entertainment Weekly giving Catz an 8/10 and B+ respectively.<ref name="Catz_PCZone">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, later games were less well received, in particularly compared to other virtual pet experiences that were available, with the 1999 Game Boy Color games negatively compared to Tamagotchi,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and 2005's Dogz for the Game Boy Advance, being seen as an attempt to ape Nintendogs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By 2007, Joystiq recommended buying games in the series only for "people you hate".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Petz series is also notable for the online community that grew around it,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which game designer Nathalie Lawhead speculates is part of the reason for its success and enduring legacy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
SalesEdit
The original Dogz and Catz sold around 200,000, in their first year on the market,<ref name="Jackson1996">Template:Cite news</ref> and would go on to sell—along with their sequels Catz and Dogz II—1.5 million copies.<ref name="The Free Library" /><ref name="Rochefort2017">Template:Cite news</ref> By the time of PF.Magic's purchase by Mindscape, the series had made over $8 million.<ref name="CNET" /> The series as a whole has now sold more than 24 million copies.<ref name="Rochefort2017" />