Petz
Virtual pet series that began in 1995 and sold over 24 million copies.
Petz is a single-player video game series launched in 1995 where players adopt, raise, care for, and breed virtual pets. The original games, *Dogz: Your Computer Pet* and *Catz: Your Computer Pet*, were created by PF.Magic and released in 1995 and 1996, respectively. They used the same graphics engine as the game *Ballz*. The concept for *Dogz* came from Rob Fulop, who wanted to make something "so cute and so adorable" after the controversy around his earlier game *Night Trap*. He said he asked a mall Santa Claus what children wanted and was told puppies were the most popular request each year.
Following the success of *Dogz* and *Catz*, PF.Magic developed *Oddballz*, which focused on chimeric and mutatable creatures, rather than expanding into other real-world pets. This was released alongside sequels to the original two games. In 1998, PF.Magic was bought by The Learning Company's Mindscape division for $15.8 million. In 2001, Ubi Soft (later Ubisoft) acquired the entertainment division of The Learning Company, giving Ubisoft exclusive publishing rights to 88 titles, including *Dogz* and *Catz*. Ubisoft released *Catz 5* and *Dogz 5* in 2002, the last games in the original style, then put the franchise on hold for three years. After releasing *Dogz* and *Catz* for the Game Boy Advance in 2005 and 2006, Ubisoft announced a "revitalisation" of the series, directly responding to the success of Nintendo's *Nintendogs*. Later entries differed greatly from the PF.Magic games, often being localised titles from Japan or Europe rebranded as *Petz*. In 2010, Ubisoft announced a *Petz* MMO called *Petz World*, developed by Frima Studios and expected in 2011, but no further announcements were made and it was never released. Ubisoft continued releasing entries until 2014.
The first games only featured dogs and cats, but later additions included pigs, bunnies, monkeys, dolphins, and hamsters, some of which got their own games. Users learned to reverse-engineer the system, creating custom breeds, toys, playscenes, clothes, and developer tools, which PF.Magic, Mindscape, and Ubisoft allowed.
The original software was generally well received: *The Salt Lake Tribune* gave *Dogz* (1995) 4 out of 5 stars, while *PC Zone* and *Entertainment Weekly* gave *Catz* an 8/10 and a B+, respectively. Later games were less well received, especially compared to other virtual pet exper
- first_release
- 1995 (Dogz: Your Computer Pet)
- original_developer
- PF.Magic
- publisher
- Ubisoft (since 2001)
- total_sales
- Over 24 million copies (as of article date)
- original_sales
- 1.5 million copies (Dogz, Catz, and sequels)
- known_for
- Virtual pet simulation and dedicated modding community
Lore & Background
The original Petz games—Dogz: Your Computer Pet and Catz: Your Computer Pet—were developed by PF.Magic and released in 1995 and 1996 respectively. They reused the graphics engine from Ballz. Rob Fulop conceived of Dogz after the controversy surrounding his previous title Night Trap, wanting to make a game that was 'so cute and so adorable that no could ever, ever say it was bad for kids'. He consulted a shopping mall Santa Claus, who said puppies were the most popular request. Following success, PF.Magic developed Oddballz, focused on chimeraic and mutatable creatures, alongside sequels to Dogz and Catz.
Reader's Guide
The Petz series is significant for pioneering the virtual pet genre on personal computers and for building a lasting community. The original Dogz and Catz sold around 200,000 copies in their first year and eventually 1.5 million copies with sequels. By the time PF.Magic was acquired by Mindscape in 1998, the series had made over $8 million. After Ubisoft acquired the rights in 2001, the series expanded to over 22 million copies by 2011. The games developed by PF.Magic fostered a dedicated online community of 'Hexers' who edited game files to create custom pets, a factor game designer Nathalie Lawhead speculates contributed to its success and enduring legacy. Later entries under Ubisoft were often localized games from Japan or Europe rebranded as Petz, and were less well received, with some critics recommending them only 'for people you hate'. However, a 2008 Game Developer feature praised Ubisoft's casual titles, including Petz, as 'well-made non-shovelware'.
Did You Know?
- The original Dogz and Catz reused the graphics engine from the game Ballz.
- Rob Fulop conceived of Dogz after the controversy of his previous game Night Trap, wanting to create something 'so cute and so adorable' that no one could criticize it.
- PF.Magic was acquired by The Learning Company's Mindscape division for $15.8 million in 1998.
- A Petz-themed MMO titled Petz World was announced for 2011 but was never released.
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