Future Tech directs its gaze towards Japan again, as SEGA debut a lovable robot dog that connects with your handheld Nintendo DS console.
Remember AIBO, Sony’s ultra-expensive ode to lonely Japanese businessmen that pine for a dog? Or the Tamagotchi, the 1990s phenomenon that made cleaning an entire screen of alien turds a delight? Well SEGA are hoping you do with their latest creation, Wappy, a blue and white floppy-eared companion that links with your Nintendo DS.
First debuted at this year’s Toy Fair in New York, Wappy is most comparable to a game of Nintendogs come to life. Scheduled for release later this year (Activision will be distributing the hound in the West), we reckon the robotic pooch could be the last swansong for the handheld before the 3DS barges in to rule the roost.
The Wappy dog is to be released alongside a DS cartridge and the game itself will emit sounds that are understood by Waggy and trigger a response. On the other hand, even if your console is switched off the dog will respond to noises and pets and glow different colours on its cheeks.
It’s all fun and games until he becomes sentient and enslaves the human race
If you don’t want to take poor Wappy out and about on a bus journey (unless that bus is headed towards St. Lomans Hospital, who would?), you can transfer Wappy to your cartridge and train him in mini-games included within the cartridge.
That’s right, your actions towards your new pet are synced wirelessly between both the digital version of the dog and it’s real-life physical version. The more you train him within the game, the more he grows and evolves, though unsurprisingly the physical version of Wappy retains the same shape.
We’ve presented our case for the distrust of all robots many times within these pages though we can’t help admitting that Wappy, his excellent name and lovable features, are enough to lower our defences and make us want to rub his plastic head. The biggest bonus for sceptical parents? SEGA’s robot features a volume slider to ensure Wappy doesn’t get too yappy.
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