It is time of the year again to fill the house with Christmas cheer. We hopefully eat something delicious, go carolling or go to Christmas markets all depending of course on traditions and customs. In most of the world it is also the night Santa Claus visits all good children and he hopefully bring them something to cherish, even if it might just be temporary :) For many people this happiness is enhanced by a pet and many a child beg their parents, even though it might not be at Christmas necessarily, for a pet to come and join the family. After all, who can deny the unconditional love oozing from a pet’s sweet eyes. Every so often you see people opening their Christmas present and a cuddly pet jumps out. Nevertheless, it is not self-evident that just because you beg for it you might just get lucky. Pets can be extremely cute like the pictures below prove.
Yet, they are terribly reliant, needing you to feed them, play with them, preferably train them and cleaning up after them seems to me also part of the job, although it might be the most unpleasant. People should definitely consider these things before allowing a puppy or kitten etc. in the house. Most importantly, people should realise they are, hopefully, in it for the long run. Moreover, you cannot leave them alone for days on end and they need to be let out or have enough room to play. For those parents or young adults with little time or who become stressed just thinking about dealing with the usual pet problems popular culture might have just the answer to please both parties.
It all started with that very 90’s thing we called the Tamagotchi and it was what we can truly call a hype. I remember when I was in grade 6 and 7 almost everyone had one, to great irritation of the teachers. (I think it is truly something of our generation J). For those that do not know what it was, it was a virtual pet on a little electronic device that was developed in Japan and quickly became loved worldwide. When you buy this ‘pet’, you will see an egg on the screen that eventually hatches and from then on it is your job to take care of your tamagotchi. The pet will, if taken good care of, pass through life stages such as childhood and adulthood. It also had the possibility to die if not taken care of properly or otherwise of old age, sickness etc. This was in fact the birth of virtual pets, to become a serious contender in popular culture. Nevertheless, there was quite a bit of criticism at this stage since many children were taking the thing to school to keep taking care of it since the earlier versions could not be paused except with much effort (Wikipedia: The first Tamagotchis could only be paused by going to set the clock, effectively stopping the passage of time in the game). Later versions could be paused, yet it was also not always self-explanatory how this was achieved.
More recently there has been, the still popular today, Nintendogs + cats game which was released in Belgium and the Netherlands in October 2005. The game virtually offers you what you might not be able to have in reality. With this game, enhanced for the Nintendo 3DS, you can in essence adopt that dog or cat you have always been dreaming of and it allows you to train, care and most importantly love your new pet. The game, from what I understand, allows you to go on walks and even enter competitions with your pet. With the new feature on Nintendo 3DS, StreetPass, you and your pet can now also interact with friends and passersby. To be honest, I can really appreciate this concept and I am sure that many people, young and old, can enjoy this game.(If you want to know more visit: http://nintendogspluscats.nintendo.com/about/)
Secondly, Playstation introduced in original version the EyePet in 2009 and the PSP version in 2010. The special thing about this pet is that thanks to technological advances it seems to be able to interact with its surroundings and owners. If you watch the advert below the way you can play with this pet is truly unique. Nevertheless, I seem less attracted to this game as the pet is a strange creature that to me does not resemble the traditional pets that so many generations before us have also loved. It is cute but not my style J This to me gives Nintendogs + cats a huge advantage. Moreover, this pet cannot be carried around to be interacted with at any time as you can with a Nintendo.
Lastly there are the robot pets that are becoming more and more available to the general public. It is also the most costly of options. These pets in comparison with their counterparts have the undeniable advantage of being palpable (you can cuddle them etc.). This is also why they are becoming extremely popular for easing the pain of hospitalized children and making the loneliness of some elderly people more bearable. Nevertheless, these pets do not have to be restricted to these two target groups. Many a child or adult longs for these pets made to be as lifelike as possible through artificial intelligence. I would say this is robotic technology at its best. Moreover, these pets need not always be traditional with, for instance, the ground breaking Pleo, the robotic pet dinosaur which made the headlines in ... for its ability to capture emotions (happy and curious, sad and vexed, playful and lively or scared and surprised). Moreover, it supposedly thinks and acts independently like a real baby Camarasaurus would. Pleo can feel hunger and it reacts to our human touch. This is a one of a kind robotic pet I would not mind welcoming to my home. Additionally, Pleo shares a designer who also helped design probably the first credible and affordable toy/pet, Furby. [1] 
I still notice myself wishing for a pet, since I am not a pet owner, but for me to properly take care of one is not always self-evident. More precisely, I am not always home on weekends, I take holidays, they require at least some time to be played with and trained. Therefore, it seems that popular culture is offering me the perfect substitute. Even facebook gives me an option with their game Pet Society. Yet, my personal choice this year will go to the Sims 3 expansion pack Pets. Can’t wait to adopt my puppy or kitty ;)
[1] http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2010/1/17/from-paleontology2c-to-technology2c-to-pet-e28093-a-labor-of-love.aspx. Also for more information on Pleo visit: www.pleoworld.com and for Furby info just read wikipedia ;)
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