''Teddy Together'' is a life simulator

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by

Arika is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It was formed in 1995 by former Capcom employees, originally as ARMtech K.K, later named Arika. The name of the company is the reverse of the name of the company's founder, Akira Nishitani, who ...

for the Nintendo 3DS

handheld video game console A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...

. The game is a localized version of a 2013 Japanese game called ''Kuma-Tomo''. The game was released in Europe on July 1, 2016, and Australia and New Zealand on July 2. While the Japanese release was published by

Bandai Namco Games is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California an ...

, under the

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...

label, the English language release was published by Nintendo. The game is based around the player taking care of a

teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy b ...

. The game was praised for being a good game for younger audiences, although some Western critics found the bear's overly cheery appearance to be off-putting.

Gameplay

The game involves the player interacting with a

sentient Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '' sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it from the ability to ...

, with the end-goal being to forge a trusting friendship with the bear in order to discover the purpose behind his existence and his mysterious key. Gameplay involves elements of ''

Miitomo ''Miitomo'' (ミートモ in Japanese) is a discontinued freemium social networking mobile app developed by Nintendo for iOS and Android devices. The app, Nintendo's first, allowed users to converse with friends by answering various questions ...

'', ''

Nintendogs is a real-time pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was released in Japan, and was later released in: North America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and other regions. ...

'', ''

Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. The series was conceptualized and created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. In ''Animal Crossing'', the player character is a human who lives in a village inhab ...

'' and ''

Cooking Mama ''Cooking Mama'' (stylized as ''cookıng mama'') is a video game series and media franchise owned by Cooking Mama Limited. The series is a cookery simulation-styled minigame compilation of many video games and adventures for Nintendo gaming plat ...

''. The player uses the buttons,

touch screen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...

, and

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publ ...

to play

mini-games A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...

that simulate various daily tasks such as cooking food or tending to a garden. Doing activities earn the player coins that can be used to purchase items or clothing for the teddy bear, and additional coins can be earned through the use of Nintendo-themed amiibo, the latter feature being exclusive the Western version of the game. The teddy bear also frequently asks the player questions about their self or their personal preferences, which is saved and mentioned back to the player in future parts of the game. The game has no online connectivity to the internet however, making the information given private to that particular copy of the video game.

Development and release

The game was first released under the title of ''Kuma-Tomo'' in Japan in June 2013. The game was announced for English localization almost three years after its initial release, in May 2016, an irregularly long time for games to be released between regions in the industry. The game was released in Europe on July 1, 2016, and Australia and New Zealand on July 2. While the 2013 Japanese release had been published by

Bandai Namco also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on S ...

, the English language release was published by Nintendo. The game's Western release was given a focused advertisement campaign, especially on children's television channels in the UK.

Reception

Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and oth ...

gave the game a score of 7/10, praising the game wealth of content for children to play with their parents, concluding that "there is so much to be explored... A lot of kids' games can be rushed through, but the level of detail and effort put into ''Teddy Together'' makes it a solid choice for young gamers that enjoy the likes of ''Nintendogs'' and ''

Tomodachi Life ''Tomodachi Life'' is a social simulation video game developed by Nintendo SPD and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The game follows the day-to-day interactions of Mii characters (referred to as "islanders") as they build friendships, ...

''. Multiple journalists, including ones at Nintendo Life,

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...

, and Kotaku criticized the bear's overly cute look and voice acting to be inadvertently creepy and off-putting. Kotaku described his appearance as if

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...

had been a character in the horror film ''

The Grudge ''The Grudge'' is a 2004 supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film '' Ju-On: The Grudge'', i ...

''. The game sold 12,705 copies at retail in its first week of sales in June 2013, making it the fifth best-selling video game in Japan for that week. ''Teddy Together'' has sold over 350,000 copies worldwide as of June 2018.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Teddy bears 2013 video games Nintendo 3DS eShop games Nintendo 3DS games Nintendo 3DS-only games Casual games Virtual pet video games Fictional teddy bears Sentient toys in fiction Video games about bears Video games about toys Video games developed in Japan Video games that use Amiibo figurines