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Watch a real-life YouTube version of cult cat app Neko Atsume tonight

Watch a real-life YouTube version of cult cat app Neko Atsume tonight

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If you're unfamiliar with Neko Atsume, it's a Japanese cat-collecting simulation app that I was briefly addicted to last year. It is very cute. And more recently the semi-game seems to have found a cult following in the US and beyond, despite being entirely in Japanese and, well, a cat-collecting simulation where you do little but put virtual food out and hope virtual cats come along to eat it. (Neko Atsume means "cat collecting" in Japanese. It's high concept.) It's managed over 6.5 million downloads worldwide.

Anyway, if the game has too much action for you, all is not lost. As part of Google Play Game Week in Japan, there's going to be a real-life version — called, of course, Real Neko Atsume — streamed on YouTube. The stream will take place from 10PM ET on September 15th to 9AM ET the following morning, and is being held at a well-known cat cafe in Osaka.

neko atsume

"There will be a live broadcast on YouTube of a real-size room, with an appearance similar to the one in the cat app, showing cats being lured to it with the use of various goods," says a statement from developers Hit-Point. "The same breeds of cats as the ones appearing in the Neko Atsume app will show up."

If you've played Neko Atsume, or ever encountered a real cat, you'll know that may be hard to guarantee. But It's also unlikely to put cat people off — they can watch the stream tonight below, and use Twitter, YouTube, or Google+ comments to call for extra cat-luring items to be made available.