Editing Petz (section)

==Development==
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 [[Santa Claus#Parades, department stores, and shopping malls|shopping mall Santa Claus]] about what children wanted, and was informed that puppies were the most popular request every year.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Donovan |first=Tristan |title=[[Replay: The History of Video Games]] |publisher=Yellow Ant |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-9565072-0-4 |location=[[Lewes]], [[East Sussex]] |pages=233}}</ref><ref name="Retro Gamer">{{cite magazine |title=From the Archives: PF Magic |magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] |date=2019 |issue=196 |pages=68-69 |url=https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-uk-2019/Retro%20Gamer%20UK%20196/page/68/mode/2up}}</ref>  

Following the success the company, instead of continuing to branch out into other household pets, developed ''[[Oddballz]]'', focused on [[Chimera (mythology)|Chimeraic]] and [[mutant|mutatable]] creatures.<ref name="Boxer1996">{{cite news |last1=Boxer |first1=Steve |title=Family pet Loses its fur |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-family-pet-loses-its/157666807/ |access-date=26 May 2025 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=31 December 1996 |location=London |page=14 |department=Connected |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</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 (company)|Mindscape]] division for $15.8 million in 1998.<ref name="CNET">{{Cite web |date=1998-05-07 |title=Learning Co. to acquire PF.Magic |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/learning-co-to-acquire-pf-magic/ |access-date=2017-09-23 |website=Cnet |archive-date=2017-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924045012/https://www.cnet.com/news/learning-co-to-acquire-pf-magic/ |url-status=live}}</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>{{Cite press release |date=7 March 2001 |title=Ubi Soft Acquires The Learning Company's Entertainment Division |url=http://www.gamezone.com/news/ubi_soft_acquires_the_learning_company_s_entertainment_division |access-date=2017-09-23 |archive-date=2017-09-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918020853/http://www.gamezone.com/news/ubi_soft_acquires_the_learning_company_s_entertainment_division |url-status=live|last=Vogel|first=Cassie|via=Game Zone}}</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 (2005 video game)|Dogz]]'' and ''[[Catz (2006 video game)|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>{{cite news |last1=Wallis |first1=Alistair |title=Q&A;: Ubisoft's Petz Executive Producer Tony Van |url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/102688/QA_Ubisofts_Petz_Executive_Producer_Tony_Van.php |access-date=1 November 2024 |work=Gamasutra |date=16 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824204202/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/102688/QA_Ubisofts_Petz_Executive_Producer_Tony_Van.php |archive-date=24 August 2021}}</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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}