Neko Atsume
is a mobile cat-collecting game developed by Hit-Point Co., Ltd. for iOS and Android, released on October 20, 2014. Gameplay Gameplay revolves around the player purchasing food, cat toys, and furniture to attract a variety of cats to their home. The player can watch cats interact with objects, take photos of them which can be saved in an album, and receive gifts of fish and mementos from them. Cats will leave the player either silver or gold "niboshi" (, small dried sardines), called "fish" in the English version, after leaving the yard. Players can also enter a daily password to receive a random amount of silver or gold fish. After five daily passwords are entered, the player will receive a free can of "Ritzy Bitz (3 gold fish)" or "Sashimi boat (50 goldfish)" (high-quality food). The fish can be used to purchase new types of food and goods, remodels, as well as extensions to the yard. Cats may leave collectible "mementos" for the player. After purchasing the initial expansion to the garden, the player can then purchase a remodel for their yard. Players have the option to remodel their yard to one of seven different styles: Original, Zen, Rustic, Modern, Western, Sugary, or Cafe. There is no end game and cats will continue to come as long as the player puts out food for them. The game is free to play, though additional fish are available for purchase. Cats there are 66 cats for the player to collect. Among these, 26 are considered "rare cats" and only appear when certain items and foods are placed in the yard. Each cat has a unique name, personality, and appearance (e.g. the heterochromiac Pepper). The player may rename the cats after they have encountered them. Rare cats have a unique interaction with their items. Many of the rare cats in the English version of the game are named after famous people, both fictional and non-fictional, with the names of the cats being puns, like Lady Meow Meow (Lady Gaga), Mr. Meowgi (Mr. Miyagi), Chairman Meow (Chairman Mao), Guy Furry (Guy Fieri), Saint Purrtrick (Saint Patrick), Xerxes IX (Xerxes I), Hermeowne (Hermione Granger), Billy the Kitten (Billy the Kid), Bengel Jack (Calico Jack), and Joe DiMeowgio (Joe DiMaggio, complete with megaphone and baseball). Development Yutaka Takazaki, the developer of the game, said that his goal was to create a game that even children could enjoy without a significant investment of skill or time. While he loves cats himself, he has said that "to be honest, I do not know why this game is so popular." The game "was made between the development of other applications." Originally, it was software for players who like cats to just watch and enjoy, and could be completed in 2–3 weeks for free. Takazaki says, "We're not going to put cheats or complexity in it, and we would like to pursue a game that can be enjoyed with only simple operations." Release On October 30, 2015, an English version