Neko Atsume

Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector (Japanese: ねこあつめ, "Cat Collection") is a mobile cat-collecting game developed by Hit-Point Co., Ltd. for iOS and Android, released on October 20, 2014.[1][3][4][5][6][7]

Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector
Developer(s)Hit-Point
Composer(s)Ryo Shintani
Platform(s)iOS, Android
Release
  • WW: 20 October 2014[1]
Genre(s)Virtual pet[2]
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay
Cats will interact with objects when they visit a player's yard.

Gameplay revolves around the player purchasing food, cat toys, and furniture to attract a variety of cats to their home. The player can watch cats interact with objects, take photos of them which can be saved in an album, and receive gifts of fish and mementos from them.

Cats will leave the player either silver or gold "niboshi" (にぼし, small dried sardines), called "fish" in the English version, after leaving the yard. Players can also enter a daily password to receive a random amount of silver or gold fish. After five daily passwords are entered, the player will receive a free can of "Ritzy Bitz (3 gold fish)" or "Sashimi boat (50 goldfish)" (high-quality food).[8] The fish can be used to purchase new types of food and goods, remodels, as well as extensions to the yard. Cats may leave collectible "mementos" for the player.

After purchasing the initial expansion to the garden, the player can then purchase a remodel for their yard. Players have the option to remodel their yard to one of seven different styles: Original, Zen, Rustic, Modern, Western, Sugary, or Cafe.

There is no end game and cats will continue to come as long as the player puts out food for them.

The game is free to play, though additional fish are available for purchase.

Cats

As of version 1.13.0, there are 66 cats for the player to collect. Among these, 26 are considered "rare cats" and only appear when certain items and foods are placed in the yard. Each cat has a unique name, personality, and appearance (e.g. the heterochromiac Pepper). The player may rename the cats after they have encountered them. Rare cats have a unique interaction with their items. Many of the rare cats in the English version of the game are named after famous people, both fictional and non-fictional, with the names of the cats being puns, like Lady Meow Meow (Lady Gaga), Mr. Meowgi (Mr. Miyagi), Chairman Meow (Chairman Mao), Guy Furry (Guy Fieri), Saint Purrtrick (Saint Patrick), Xerxes IX (Xerxes I), Hermeowne (Hermione Granger), Billy the Kitten (Billy the Kid), Bengel Jack (Calico Jack), and Joe DiMeowgio (Joe DiMaggio, complete with megaphone[9] and baseball).

Development

Yutaka Takazaki, the developer of the game, said that his goal was to create a game that even children could enjoy without a significant investment of skill or time.[10] While he loves cats himself, he has said that "to be honest, I do not know why this game is so popular."[10] The game "was made between the development of other applications."[11] Originally, it was software for players who like cats to just watch and enjoy, and could be completed in 2–3 weeks for free.[12] Takazaki says, "We're not going to put cheats or complexity in it, and we would like to pursue a game that can be enjoyed with only simple operations."[12]

Release

On October 30, 2015, an English version of the game, titled Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector, was released on the Android and iOS app stores. As of version 1.4.5, players can switch between the Japanese and English versions of the game any time they want by using the in-game menu.[13] Even before the English version, guides were written for English-speaking users to play the game.[14]

In version 1.5.5, there is a chance that the player's yard will be covered in snow.[15] The snow event typically lasts for 24 hours and changes the appearance of the yard as well as the background music. The player also has the opportunity to get a new rare cat, Frosty. Version 1.6.0 was released on March 24, 2016. This version added two new common cats and two new rare cats, more toys, and introduced the "gallery" where players can buy wallpapers for their phones with gold fish.[16] Version 1.7.0 was released on July 14, 2016. This version added three more cats (two common and one rare), more toys, and more wallpapers. Version 1.8.0 was released on October 13, 2016. This version added two new common cats, more toys, and a new remodel. Version 1.9.0 was released on December 15, 2016. This version added new toys, one rare cat, and enabled snow days like version 1.5.5.[17] Version 1.10.0 was released on July 20, 2017. This version added two new common cats, a rare cat, and more toys. Version 1.11.0 was released on December 22, 2017. This version added one new common cat and more toys.

In September 2017, developer Hit-Point announced Neko Atsume VR, a virtual reality version of the game available for the PlayStation 4 video game console. It supports the PlayStation VR headset and was released in Japan on May 31, 2018 with an international release following in August 2021.[18]

Reception

By May 2015, the game had achieved 4 million downloads for Android and iOS combined.[19] On August 20, 2015, Neko Atsume won the CEDEC Awards for best game design.[20][21][22] As of December 4, 2015, the game has achieved 10 million downloads.[23] In January 2016, the game was honored as one of the Top 5 Mobile Games of 2015 by GameSpot, who cited the game as "intensely quirky" and "increasingly compelling."[24][25]

On September 15, 2015, Google and Hit-Point teamed up for Game Week with Google Play to produce a live video event called Real Neko Atsume (リアルねこあつめ), which was broadcast on YouTube from a cat café in Osaka.[26][27][28]

In February 2016, Petio Corporation released toys for the game, designed to be played with by real cats. Later on, some toys were discontinued.[29][30]

Film adaptation

A Japanese movie 「ja:ねこあつめの家」(Neko Atsume no ie, "The House of Cat Collection") based on Neko Atsume, was released on April 8, 2017.[31] The movie is directed by Masatoshi Kurakata and distributed by AMG Entertainment.[32] The plot is mainly about a novelist struggling with writer's block, who moves to a small house in the country that turns out to be a cat magnet. As he furnishes his yard with items to make their lives more comfortable and starts working at the local shop, his capacity to write begins to revive itself.[33]

References
  1. "Android版 iOS版同時発売！ 【ねこあつめ】" [Simultaneous releases for Android and iOS! "Neko Atsume"] (PDF). Hit-Point (in Japanese). 20 October 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  2. Leah, Chelsea. "From Tamagotchi to 'Nintendogs': Why People Love Digital Pets". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  3. "'Neko Atsume' is the addicting new app where you feed stray cats". CNN. July 2015.
  4. Tina Amil (May 2015). "The Japanese Cat Game We Can't Stop Playing". Kotaku.
  5. "The adorable cat game app you really need (even though it's in Japanese)". Irish Examiner. April 2015.
  6. Shusuke Murai (June 2015). "Japanese cat-collecting game is apps' meow". The Japan Times.
  7. Laura Hudson (April 2015). "I can't stop collecting cats in this Japanese smartphone game". Boing Boing.
  8. "Neko Atsume tips & tricks: How to get free gold and silver fish, cheats,…". Recombu. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  9. @nekoatsume_tw (22 Apr 2015). "持っているのはバットではなくメガホンです。" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. "世界で注目の「ねこあつめ」、はまるユーザー続出". CNN.co.jp. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  11. "Twitterで人気急伸『ねこあつめ』とは？". 株式会社オリコン. 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-29.
  12. "米CNNも絶賛のスマホゲーム「ねこあつめ」日本語版だけなのに海外でも大人気の謎". J-CASTニュース. 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2015-07-11.
  13. "ねこあつめ、遂に世界進出。アップデートで英語対応" [Finally, a global expansion for Neko Atsume. English Update!]. PC Watch (in Japanese). Impress Corporation. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  14. "How to play Neko Atsume". Welcome to Wonderland. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  15. "ねこあつめ公式 on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  16. @nekoatsume_tw (23 Mar 2016). "Android版/iOS版、Ver1.6.0をリリースいたしました。新しいねこ、ふんわり春らしさ多めのグッズ、壁紙機能を追加しております。" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. @nekoatsume_tw (15 Dec 2016). "Android版/iOS版、Ver1.9.0を配信を開始しました。冬にオススメのほんわかくつろげるグッズ・ねこを追加しております。※各マーケット配信開始に時間差がある場合がございます。" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. Romano, Sal (April 17, 2018). "Neko Atsume VR for PS4 launches May 31 in Japan, first screenshots and details". Gematsu. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  19. "『ねこあつめ』キャラクターブックの発売決定、41ねこのエピソードを収録". iNSIDE. 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  20. CEDEC AWARDS 受賞者
  21. 「CEDEC AWARDS 2015」各部門の最優秀賞を発表
  22. @nekoatsume_tw (27 Aug 2015). "「ねこあつめ」がCEDEC AWARDS 2015 ゲームデザイン部門で最優秀賞をいただきました。これも「ねこあつめ」を楽しんでくださっている皆様のお陰です。ありがとうございます。近々、次回アップデート情報もお届けできると思います。" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. @nekoatsume_tw (4 Dec 2015). "「ねこあつめ」は累計ダウンロード数を1000万突破いたしました。スタッフ一同、厚く御礼申し上げます。これからも「ねこあつめ」をよろしくお願いいたします。" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. "The Best Mobile Games of 2015". GameSpot. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  25. "Top 5 Mobile Games - GameSpot Game of the Year 2015". GameSpot. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  26. リアルねこあつめキター！　「ねこあつめ」の実写イベント、Google Play GAME WEEK "2015 秋"で開催
  27. 9/15限定の「リアルねこあつめ」まとめ
  28. 約11時間ねこ眺めほうだい！「リアルねこあつめ」アーカイブ動画が公開
  29. "ねこあつめ ｜ Petio かけがえのない、いのちに応える。". Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
  30. 自宅でリアルねこあつめ！　ゲームに登場するグッズを再現したネコ用おもちゃ、2月22日発売
  31. "Neko Atsume Film Opens on April 8 in Japan". Anime News Network. December 23, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  32. "Live-Action Neko Atsume Film's Teasers Reimagine Film as Hollywood Blockbuster, Horror". Anime News Network. March 30, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  33. "The Neko Atsume Movie is Way Better Than It Has Any Right to be". 20 July 2017.
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