Careful: it's wappy.

Sega's not just a beloved games publisher and former hardware king; its Sega Toys division creates physical toys as well, with its latest creation joining forces with Activision for one of the DS's most unusual games yet.

Named Wappy Dog, it's a plastic pooch that's essentially a much more evolved form of Sega's previous Poo-Chi toy: you can play with the dog as a toy in its own right, but it really comes alive when used in conjunction with the Wappy Dog software on DS. Here you can teach your pet tricks and play mini-games, either with the dog nearby – known as Home mode – or when out and about without the dog, for example on a long journey, using the DS game's Outing mode. Regular synchronisations between the software and dogbot keep the mutt's personality consistent across its physical and digital existences, though it's not known if the game or robot can interact with other users to create a puppy party.

Wappy Dog isn't necessarily an original concept – virtual pets have existed in both the real and digital worlds for years – but if pulled off could be very engaging when released this Fall.

[source blogs.consumerreports.org]