At this point the internet has become a true haven for the crazy cat lovers of the world. From funny cat memes, to adorable cat videos, to the everyday pictures of your friends adorable feline there is no shortage of cat related material for us to "awwww" at.
Just when we thought technology couldn't get any more cat crazy we were proven wrong, yet again, with the hit mobile game Neko Atsume. Neko Atsume, which roughly translates to "Kitty Collector" or "Cat Collection" is a mobile phone game created in Japan dedicated to taking care of and collecting cute virtual kitties. The instructions for the game are simple: you place toys, food and other items out in your virtual yard and wait for cats to come and play. When a cat enters your yard you are able to take pictures of them and watch them play with some of the toys you have left out for them.
Although this game has actually been out for quite sometime (according to the App Store it actually came out in the Fall of 2014) it experienced a boom in popularity in the past few months as everyone young and old (my 50 year old Stepfather included) seem to be completely love struck by these cute virtual kitties.
So you might be thinking, this game seems pretty simple, what exactly is the hype? Has society reached a point that we're really this entertained by pretending to feed some virtual cats? Although the instructions for the game itself are pretty basic, there is actually A LOT you can do in the game along with many adorable surprises thrown in.
When you first download the game you are taken through a quick tutorial and afterwards you get to meet your first kitten, Snowball. At this point you are given a small amount of fish (the games currency) and are encouraged to fill your yard with toys and food, in order to attract more cats. In order to get new goodies, you have to save up fish, which the cats will give you in return for spending time in your yard. While some of the toys are cheap other things require a good amount of saving up.
Another exciting part of this game are the rare cats. While there are many ordinary, run-of-the-mill cats it's up to you to figure out what toys will attract cats like Joe DiMeowgio, Billy the Kitten and Guy Furry.
As the popularity for the game has risen so has the culture surrounding it. From merchandise (like sweaters and stuffed animals), to memes and Tumblr blogs there is no shortage of Neko Atsume stuff floating around out there for all of the worlds cat lovers to enjoy!
I'm sure that to some this game may seem simple and even boring but trust me, give it a few minutes and I can almost guarantee that you'll be hooked. However, if you're a fellow crazy cat lover like myself you'll be excited to know the game is compatible with both Apple and Android phones and is available for free on both the App Store and Google Play.
So what are you waiting for? Grab some Frisky Bits, put out a new toy and start collecting kitties today!
Happy (cat) Hunting!
