Nintendogs, the massively successful virtual canine simulator on the Nintendo DS has caused a sudden surge in third-party developers wanting to cash in on the title's extensive popularity. Thus far we've had Catz, Dogz and Hamsterz from Ubisoft, and then there's Purr Pals, which is inbound to the DS, and November last year saw Eidos Interactive announce that it was working on Pony Friends - also for the Nintendo DS.

Today the company behind franchises such as Tomb Raider and Hitman has released a selection of new shots to promote the upcoming game.

The title, developed by Tantalus, a company based in Australia, features six pony breeds for lucky players to care for. The animals need grooming, petting, and feeding to remain contented, though there's no mention in any press releases that the chance to muck out stables using the Nintendo DS stylus is on offer. Fear not, because the stylus is instead used to, and we quote, "remove stones from your pony's shoes." Oh, yes.

Click below for more Pony Friends *cough* horseplay.