Real Dogs vs. Nintendogs+cats Dogs: A Comparison

Meet Boyd and Cali.

Nintendogs+cats arguably provides the single most authentic virtual pet experience out there. The depth provided by the Nintendo 3DS puts it in an entirely different league than others of its kind. Touch screen interactivity only increases it's edge over the competition. How does owning virtual pets compare to owning real ones? With three dogs wandering around my own real-life home, I feel very qualified to answer that question:

Care and Maintenance
I have to hold my breath when I serve our real dogs (Cali, Slater, and Brynlee) food. How they can possibly eat that stuff, I'll never know, because it does not smell nice to human sniffers. And after I'm done, it's over to the sink to wash my hands of the crumbs. In Nintendogs+cats, however, one effortless tap makes the food appear instantly. A second tap, and the food bowl is taken away in a flash. No smell, no mess. The same goes for water.

All three of our real dogs hate baths. Slater tolerates it, but his widened eyes tell all. Cali constantly attempts to shake off the soapy water. And Brynlee makes wild bids for freedom every chance she gets. My virtual pets (Molly and Boyd), on the other hand, seem to enjoy the experience. Unfortunately, however, I need to wash them about three times as often as my real dogs.

Winner: Nintendogs+cats dogs.

Fun and Personality
One thing virtual dogs can never measure up to is how much personality real dogs have. Molly and Boyd may differ slightly from one another, but they do all the same things for the most part. They'll stick their rear ends in the air. They'll roll in the grass in the same way. They'll greet other dogs similarly. Real dogs have personalities that differ as much as humans. Slater is emotionally unstable, but the sweetest dog you could imagine. (We're pretty sure he was abused by whoever had him before us.) Cali is apprehensive about humans, yet she needs a lot of love. Brynlee is a bit of a pansy, but she's got the energy of a firecracker. They all act accordingly, and behave in unpredictable ways.

Nintendogs+cats simulates the experience of playing with your pets quite well. But again, this cannot compare to the fun of playing with real animals. Nintendogs+cats is repetitive, while real dogs...well, act like living things, which they are, of course.

Winner: Real dogs.

Cost
This category might be a little unfair, but I'll briefly cover it. Nintendogs+cats costs $40 of real money. After that, the only money the player spends is in-game currency. Real dogs cost a continuous amount of real money. And I mean a lot of real money.

Winner: Nintendogs+cats

Conclusion
Though Nintendogs+cats won two out of three, I have to say that real dogs win the overall competition. If I could rate the value of each of those categories, it would look like this: Care and Maintenance-8 points; Fun and Personality-Priceless; and Cost-5 points. That little puppy on the screen just won't ever replace my three living, breathing dogs, even if it is in 3D.