Virtual pets are coming to your PlayStation Vita today!
The E-rated game Vita Pets will let kids care for adorable puppies (my weakness) and take them on adventures. According to an interview with Sony XDev, published on The Vita Lounge last week, Vita Pets is “as much of an adventure game as it is a pet sim.”
Players won’t just be doing the usual pet-raising activities—they’ll be participating in a series of puzzle-solving minigames that will require them to train their dog. Together, player and dog will explore new areas and go on a quest revolving around an old legend.
If you’re interested in Vita Pets, there’s already a free mobile app (called PS Vita Pets: PuppyParlour) on iOS and Android that lets you take care of dogs and unlock content that will be available in the Vita game.
Work together with your pet to explore Castlewood Island. (Source: The Vita Lounge)
According to the Vita Lounge, developers specifically built Vita Pets to be more flexible with voice commands—taking into account that younger players may not have the best diction. “If you are unable to pronounce [the command] the game will still recognize what you say and remember your command to the dog,” the devs say. “All tricks can also be performed via touch gestures as well so this should never stop someone from progressing and bonding with their pet.”
This is a great step towards making more kid-friendly games for the PS Vita. The Vita already has great games like LittleBigPlanet Vita and Rayman Legends, but its library of kids’ games is nowhere near as extensive as the Nintendo 3DS’s, for example.
