A thousand pardons for my sparse updates through the last month of 2015. I was blisteringly busy — as is the style at this time of year — and then everything just suddenly shut down for the remainder of the with the finality of a crack of thunder. Or a slamming door.

It’s time for me to sit and reflect on things.

I think cats’ eyes are cutest when they’re little light-drenched slits. I know everyone seems to prefer the fully-dilated “hunting mode,” but–

All right, that has nothing to do with games. I’ll move on.

SIKE. I’m still going to talk about cats. Just in a gaming context. Namely, I’m going to gather up all the Neko Atsume content I wrote across 2015 and plunk it down here.

Neko Atsume maintained steady popularity through 2015 thanks to blogs and communities that translated the Japanese version of the game. However, the game really took off recently thanks to an official English translation.

Since I have a bit of a head start on the trend (first time I’ve been first in line for anything that can be considered popular or fashionable — not for lack of trying), I’ve had time enough to bang out several thousand words about these kitty-wittys. Please read some!

nekoatsumepeaches_03

Get to Know the Special Cats of Neko AtsumeWritten for G4@Syfygames. I go over the pop culture / mythological origins of the game’s rare cats. This was a lot of fun to write. Since this piece pre-dates the English translation, I inspect each cat from a Japanese angle (what an interesting sentence I just wrote).

Something a commenter pointed out: The sassy American shorthair is probably based on Vogue’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. When the game was localized, however, she became Lady Meow Meow.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Nintendo, Splatoon, Whiskers, Voice Chat, and Cute Fuzzy Bums — I wrote this when I started to realize I have a problem.

Neko Atsume: Why Everyone’s Going Nuts Over Virtual Kitties — Also written during my dawning “oh shit, I think I’m in too deep” phase.

The History and Genetics of Neko Atsume’s Calico Cats — There are a lot of calico / tortie cats in Neko Atsume. This appears to reflect Japan’s centuries-long reverence for the colour pattern.

HOLY CATS! Neko Atsume is Now in English! — What it says on the tin.

Neko Atsume: Tips, Cheats, and Strategies — Just a simple “How To” guide for playing the game that includes some tips for attracting rare cats, etc. It’s pretty popular!

How to Get the Rare Cats in Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector — A more specific guide detailing which item you need to attract each of the game’s rare kitties. Handy-dandy!

How to Get Peaches in Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector — Finally, some tips on how to attract the rarest cat of them all: Shy little Peaches.

Thanks so much for your support through 2015 (for cat-related content and otherwise), and have a very happy mew year.