I Just Thought About All The Dead Nintendogs, Souls Trapped Forever In Forgotten DS Cartridges

thegamer.com:

You forget how successful Nintendogs was. It sold a staggering 23.9 million copies in its lifetime: more than Red Dead Redemption, Super Mario Odyssey, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The Nintendo DS was red hot when the game launched in 2005, and it was instrumental in the dual-screen handheld's unprecedented infiltration of mainstream culture. It helped that you didn't need to be a 'gamer' to enjoy Nintendogs. One look at those lovingly rendered, realistically animated puppies was enough to draw people in—and basically anyone with the ability to hold a stylus could enjoy virtually stroking their fluffy little heads.

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I had a Nintendog. He was a golden retriever named Fluffo. I spent hours with that little guy, tossing him treats, brushing him, rubbing his ears, and using the built-in mic to call his name. I walked him, threw frisbees for him, and decorated his house. I occasionally felt ridiculous doing it—I was, technically, a grown man at the time. But I was sucked in like everyone else. Look at his little face! He's so real! Then I lost the cartridge. I have no idea where, when, or how, so I had no way of retracing my steps. In an instant, Fluffo was dead. Gone. Finito. Maybe he fell into a crack between the floorboards or I accidentally threw him in the bin.

I often wonder if Fluffo is out there somewhere, his innocent soul trapped in that tiny square of plastic. If he did end up in the trash, he's probably in a landfill now—with 17 years of garbage piled on top of him. If he fell under the floorboards he's probably still there covered in dust and dead bugs. I moved out of that place over a decade ago, so I'll never know. Maybe if someone buys