The "other" game in Taito's catalogue is coming out very shortly in Japan, where aspiring Pet Shop Story owners can come together and scrub penguins. See, even if a pet shop that actually sold penguins existed, we're sure there would be more interesting things to do with them.

There's a launch party in Yokohama on July 13th, when an "entertainer" will meet and greet the first customers for Pet Shop Story. It's this guy, so don't bring the kids.

Go ahead and fawn over more screens of cuteness after the break. If you can handle disturbing happy-chappy music and grown Japanese men dressed as dogs, then check out the official website.

The only pet-care game we find ourselves caring about is also one of the few that isn't planned for release here. Taito's Pet Shop Monogatari DS is a pet-adoption RPG with Cooking Mama art and penguin washing. Penguin washing! We usually react coolly to the proliferation of pet games on the DS, but this one has the distinct possibility of being interesting, due to Taito's involvement.

There's also the fact that it's uncommonly cute, even for what it is. Screenshot after screenshot proves this point adorably. If there's even the slightest chance that a game this cute can also be non-terrible, we're on board.

Last year, Taito announced that they were supporting the DS in a big way, revealing Arkanoid DS, The Legend of Kage 2, and Exit DS to go with Cooking Mama 2. Then shortly afterward, they unveiled Space Invaders Extreme and ... this. Pet Shop Story DS is the only one of Taito's TGS games that has yet to be released in Japan, and it is the one that gets by far the least attention.

Pet Shop Story, a sequel to a Game Boy franchise, puts players in charge of -- you guessed it -- a library pet store. The player character and her mother have moved from the big city into a small town in which nobody has any pets. You interview the customers to determine what kind of pet they would like, then you go out into nature to catch them, Pokémon-style. That's right, you catch wild animals to sell to children. That means that not only can you sell cats (including Scottish folds) and dogs, but baby bears and wild boars as well.

Pet Shop Story also features the same totally cute character design style as Cooking Mama. The apron-wearing mother even bears a striking resemblance to the Mama we know and don't understand.