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Petz

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Petz
Genre(s)Virtual pets
Developer(s)Various
Publisher(s)PF.Magic,Mindscape,Ubisoft
First releaseDogzandCatz
November 1, 1995[1][2]
Latest releasePetz Beach
Petz Countryside
October 14, 2014

Petzis a series of single-playervideo gamesdating back to 1995, in which the player can adopt, raise, care for and breed their ownvirtual pets.Developed byPF.Magic,originalPetz(DogzandCatz)has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.[3]The series has grown to over 22 million copies as of 2011 since coming underUbisoft.[4]

Development

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The originalPetzgames —Dogz: Your Computer PetandCatz: Your Computer Pet— were developed byPF.Magic,released in 1995 and 1996 respectively. They reused the graphics engine used in the gameBallz.Rob Fulopdeveloped the first title in the series,Dogz: Your Computer Pet,following the controversy surrounding his previous titleNight Trapand with the desire 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 ashopping mall Santa Clausto understand "exactly what kids wanted" who informed him that puppies were a popular gift request every single year, leading to the idea of a virtual puppy.[5]

After earning revenues of $8 million in 1997, PF.Magic was acquired byThe Learning Company'sMindscapedivision for $15.8 million in 1998.[6]In 2001,Ubi Soft(Ubisoft, since 2003) acquired the entertainment division of The Learning Company, granting Ubisoft exclusive publishing rights to 88 titles, includingDogzandCatz.[7]

After Ubisoft acquired the series, some games that were Japanese in origin were localized under the Petz name. For example,Petz: Hamsterz Life 2on Game Boy Advance is a localization ofHamster Club 3,and distinctly different from its DS counterpart, although both DS Hamsterz games were also Japanese-developed but published in English territories by Ubisoft.[citation needed]

Gameplay

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Gameplay screenshot ofPetz: Dogz 2

InDogz: Your Computer PetandCatz: Your Computer Pet,the player choose a dogz or catz to adopt and name in thebreedzand gender of their choice as a puppyz or kittenz. After a period of time, the petz become adults. InPetz 3,Petz 4,andPetz 5,adult petz can breed to have more kittenz or puppyz of their own. Cross-breeding can create different types of petz, calledmixed breeds.

There are a number of toyz, food and water bowls, and treatz available. Petz can learn tricks with positive rewards such as petting and treatz, or trained not to do something using the punishment (water) spray bottle. Petz must be looked after properly; abused or neglected petz may run away.[8][9]

Players could share their petz with others who had the game via an email. Each version allowed the importing of petz from all earlier versions. There is also a camera feature, permitting snapshots of petz to be taken and saved.

Later versions of the games included aPetz Web Fun Pack,Petz Publisherand aPetz Playerweb browser plug-in, allowing players to publish their Petz online in playable webpages.[10]The Petz Publisherdoes not work anymore, due to the fact that the website has been remodeled with the newer Petz games by Ubisoft.

Animals

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The initial games were limited to dogz and catz, but additional animals were also introduced. These animals include Pigz,[11]Bunnyz,[12]Monkeyz,[13]Dolphinz,[14]and Hamsterz,[15]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 byPF.Magic,Mindscape,and Ubisoft.[16]

Games

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Game Developer Publisher Release date Platform
CatzandDogz I: Your Virtual Petz PF.Magic PF.Magic,Virgin Interactive Entertainment 1995 (Dogz), 1996 (Catz) PC
Oddballz: Your Wacky Computer Petz PF.Magic PF.Magic, Virgin Interactive Entertainment 1996 PC
CatzandDogz II: Your Virtual Petz PF.Magic PF.Magic,Mindscape 1997[17] PC
CatzandDogz 3: Your Virtual Petz PF.Magic PF.Magic, Mindscape 1998[18] PC
CatzandDogz 4 PF.Magic Mindscape Entertainment 1999[19] PC
CatzandDogz 5 Studio Mythos Ubi Soft 2002[20] PC
Hamsterz Life Ubisoft 2006 Nintendo DS
Horsez MTO Ubisoft 2006
Petz: Dogz 2andCatz 2 Digital Kids Ubisoft 2007
  • PC
  • Nintendo DS
  • PlayStation 2
  • Wii
Petz: Horsez 2 Phoenix Studio Ubisoft 2007
  • PC
  • Nintendo DS
  • PlayStation 2
  • Wii
Petz Vet[21] Sensory Sweep Ubisoft 2007 Game Boy Advance
Petz: Wild Animals: Dolphinz[22] Magic Pockets[22] Ubisoft[22] 2007[22] Nintendo DS[22]
Tigerz Magic Pockets[23] Ubisoft[23] 2008[23] Nintendo DS[23]
Petz: Bunnyz[12] Digital Kids[12] Ubisoft[12] 2008[12] Nintendo DS[12]
Petz: Monkeyz House[24] Ubisoft[24] 2008[24] Nintendo DS[24]
Petz Sports: Dog Playground Ubisoft Montreal[25] Ubisoft[25] 2008[25]
  • Wii
  • Mac OS
  • Microsoft Windows

[25]

Dogz Gameloft 2008[26] N-Gage 2.0
Petz: Crazy Monkeyz Y'sK[27] Ubisoft[27] 2009[27] Wii[27]
Petz Beach[28] Ubisoft[28] Ubisoft[28] 2014[28] Nintendo 3DS[28]
Petz Countryside[29] Ubisoft[29] 2014[29] Nintendo 3DS[29]

Reception

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Entertainment WeeklygaveCatza B+ and wrote that it is an accurate simulation of felines.[30]

ThePetzseries is also notable for the online community that grew around it,[31]which game designerNathalie Lawheadspeculates is part of the reason for its success and enduring legacy.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Dogz (1995) for PC - GameFAQs".Archivedfrom the original on 2009-09-01.Retrieved2010-03-26.
  2. ^"Catz (1995) for PC - GameFAQs".Archivedfrom the original on 2009-09-04.Retrieved2010-03-26.
  3. ^"Dogz and Catz Dash Past 1.5 Million Mark; PF.Magic's Virtual Petz Brand Established as Leader in Category".The Free Library.1998-02-19. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-05.Retrieved2015-11-09.
  4. ^"Ubisoft 2010-11 H1 Earnings Presentation"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 21 November 2010.Retrieved9 November2015.
  5. ^Donovan, Tristan (2010).Replay: The History of Video Games.Lewes,East Sussex:Yellow Ant. p. 233.ISBN978-0-9565072-0-4.
  6. ^"Learning Co. to acquire PF.Magic".Cnet.1998-05-07.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-09-24.Retrieved2017-09-23.
  7. ^"Ubi Soft Acquires The Learning Company's Entertainment Division".Gamezone.2011-09-27.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-09-18.Retrieved2017-09-23.
  8. ^"About Petz".Petz.com.PF.Magic. Archived fromthe originalon 21 June 2000.Retrieved9 November2015.
  9. ^"Children's Software Review: Petz: Dogz 5 & Catz 5".Edutaining Kids.June 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 5 September 2015.Retrieved9 November2015.
  10. ^"Web Fun Pack Help".WebPetz.Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2016.Retrieved9 November2015.
  11. ^"Dogz 4 – Wayback Petz".Archivedfrom the original on 2024-03-16.Retrieved2024-03-16.
  12. ^abcdef"Petz: Bunnyz".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-03-16.Retrieved2024-03-16.
  13. ^"Amazon.com: Petz Monkeyz House - Nintendo DS: Video Games".www.amazon.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-03-28.Retrieved2024-03-16.
  14. ^"Amazon.com: Petz Dolphinz Encounter - Nintendo DS: Video Games".www.amazon.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-03-31.Retrieved2024-03-16.
  15. ^Thomas, Lucas M. (2007-02-23)."Hamsterz Life Review".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-08-28.Retrieved2024-03-16.
  16. ^Hansmeyer, Becky (11 March 2015)."Ballz & Linez: Remembering the Golden Age of Petz Hexing".Becky Hansmeyer.Archivedfrom the original on 16 April 2016.Retrieved9 November2015.
  17. ^"Catz II: Your Virtual Petz Release Information for PC - GameFAQs".www.gamefaqs.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-10-19.Retrieved2015-11-09.
  18. ^"Catz 3: Your Virtual Petz for PC - GameFAQs".www.gamefaqs.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-09-19.Retrieved2015-11-09.
  19. ^"Catz 4 for PC - GameFAQs".www.gamefaqs.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-09-26.Retrieved2015-11-09.
  20. ^"Catz 5 for PC - GameFAQs".www.gamefaqs.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-09-06.Retrieved2015-11-09.
  21. ^"Petz Vet for Game Boy Advance - GameFAQs".gamefaqs.gamespot.com.Retrieved2024-09-11.
  22. ^abcde"Petz: Wild Animals -- Dolphinz".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-03-16.Retrieved2024-03-16.
  23. ^abcd"Petz: Wild Animals -- Tigerz".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-11-30.Retrieved2024-04-08.
  24. ^abcd"Petz: Monkeyz House".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-03-16.Retrieved2024-03-16.
  25. ^abcd"Petz Sports".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-08-30.Retrieved2024-04-08.
  26. ^"N-Gage | Games you can't wait to play".2008-09-15. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-09-15.Retrieved2024-09-11.
  27. ^abcd"Petz: Crazy Monkeyz".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-04-05.Retrieved2024-04-05.
  28. ^abcde"Petz: Beach".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-03-16.Retrieved2024-03-16.
  29. ^abcd"Petz: Countryside".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-03-16.Retrieved2024-03-16.
  30. ^"Catz: Your Computer Petz".EW.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-10-19.Retrieved2018-11-03.
  31. ^Famularo, Jessica (18 September 2015)."Lost to Time: Gaming's Forgotten Petz Subculture and the Women Who Shaped It".The Mary Sue.Archivedfrom the original on 16 November 2022.Retrieved16 November2022.
  32. ^Lawhead, Nathalie."About desktop pets & virtual companions: discussing the inhabitants that fill the void of our digital spaces".The Candybox Blog.Archivedfrom the original on 16 November 2022.Retrieved16 November2022.

Academic papers

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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Petz&oldid=1246702626"