GoPets: Vacation Island goes beyond other earlier virtual pet games, by adding a social networking twist. Building friendships is the main goal. Players create customized pets that can travel the world, visiting old friends and making new ones. The game can be played either as a single or multiplayer title. Families need to connect the DS to a wireless network to enjoy interacting online with other players.

• Customize and dress up your dog, cat, or pony in cute, funky outfits
• Collect over 700 world decorations, pet accessories, and food items
• Build a buddy list of up to 250 friends to exchange messages and gifts with
• Send your pet traveling when you're not using your Nintendo DS, introducting you to more friends
• Create and send graphical IKU messages to other characters and players
• Play fun mini-games to earn bonus collectibles
• Chat and play with your friends in party mode

Players win "shells" for performing acts of kindness to their pet or the pet of one of their buddies, encouraging sharing and teaching the value of cooperation. Payers can exchange their shells to costume their dog, cat or pony with various accessories, including dresses, hats and even ninja outfits. They can also create clothing items to give to friends they meet online, and download special food and clothing via Nintendo Wi-Fi. As they travel, up to 250 players can be added to their buddy list.

For players, a highlight of the game is the exchanging of gifts and humorous graphical messages with game characters and their friends online. For added safety, players can only communicate using images and symbols like hearts and smiley faces, in whimsical version of three line Haiku poems, called Iku. This allows players to communicate emotions and simple concepts but not real world personal information and contact details.

Even while children are not online playing the game, they can send their pet out traveling to find new friends online. GoPets: Vacation Island will keep a travelogue of the places the pet has visited so players can see where the pet has visited and also look back and recall their earlier adventures.