It is only a few days old, but Nintendogs is shaping up to be the video game hit of the autumn. That is a terrific thing. Maybe it will teach people a lesson.

What lesson will it teach? First, it will teach video game developers and publishers that mean space marines and WWII soldiers are boring and we the gaming public are in the mood for something else. And no, by something else we do not mean elves or dragon-riders or orcs or magic-users or Keepers Of The Sacred Flame.

By something else we mean puppies. Sweet little bouncy doe-eyed puppies that jump up on us and lick us on the ears and run around in delighted circles when we call them by their names, which they have just learned and boy are they proud.

Nintendogs is a puppy-ownership game. It is astonishingly great. You should go get it right now. You will be glad you did and so will it, and you will not need to make up a story to tell you mother about how it followed you home. It will jump on the furniture, true, but only the virtual furniture. It will pee on fire hydrants and signposts, but the carpet in your home will remain unfailingly dry. It will never grow up. It will stay unbearably lively and cute for all its days and yours. No matter how sour-faced and grumpy your mother is, she will approve.

There are three versions: Lab & Friends, Chihuahua & Friends, and Dachshund & Friends. Each offers its own selection of breeds to choose from at the start, although if you play long enough with any one version you will eventually find a way to unlock all the breeds, so no, there is no need to pay three times over. Just start with the puppy you want the most.

Hmm. Lab puppies are the keyoootest. Then again, dachshund puppies are also the keyoootest. So are boxers and pinschers and little teeny weeny poodles. Aw.

Now is probably a good time to say this: If you are really into games that let you be a Keeper Of The Sacred Flame, Nintendogs is probably not going to be your bag. There is no leveling-up here, and there are no epic quests (although there are walks around the block), and there are no battles and no villains. There is not really any conflict at all, except possibly between you and your puppy's empty-headed enthusiasm.

When you first get your dog, you give it a name. Next, you say the name into the Nintendo DS microphone a few times. Then, the theory goes, your puppy will come when you call her. Sometimes this is true, and sometimes your puppy behaves like a puppy, which is to say that she would rather chase invisible moths than come over to see what you want. But if she does come, you can pat her on the head (by rubbing the DS stylus on the touch screen) and tell her she is a good puppy, and she will bark happily and jump on you.

The animations are spectacular. The little digital puppies look unfailingly real, and when you rub them on the ears and they go all glassy-eyed with pleasure, your heart will soar. It is ridiculous that software should feel so much like actual pet ownership, but it is a good kind of ridiculous.

If, when you are taking your virtual pet out for a virtual walk, you should also happen to be out for a real walk, you can put Nintendogs into something called "bark" mode. This causes your DS to call out wirelessly, looking for other copies of the game on nearby systems. If it finds one, your dog can play with the dogs on the other DS, and those dogs will hop onto your screen and do the same. It will make you and your puppy extra happy.

Years ago on the Sega Dreamcast, a game called Seaman offered a similar virtual-pet experience, complete with the microphone and the voice recognition. The difference was that Seaman was a creepy fish with a human face instead of a cute puppy. Apparently video game developers can learn after all.