Tamagotchi
The Tamagotchi is a handheld virtual pet created by Aki Maita and sold by Bandai. The name is a portmanteau of the phrase "Tamago tchi" (たまごっち) meaning "lovable egg" in Japanese.
re-creation of Tamagotchi screen
Tamagotchis were introduced in 1996 and were a huge fad for some time, with sales amounting to 40 million units. Due to inventory problems after the boom, it is said to have resulted in a 6 billion yen loss.
Tamagotchis were small, plastic eggs containing a tiny computer with a simple black and white LED screen. Below the screen were three buttons. The egg was attached to a keychain, to encourage owners to always keep their Tamagotchi close by. The eggs had different colors and designs on them, making them a collectors' item.
Caring for the Tamagotchi was fairly simple. A tiny egg would appear on the screen after the unit was turned on. By setting the time and waiting for five or so minutes, the creature would hatch. Pressing the three buttons, the owner could feed the Tamagotchi, turn the "light" in the unit on or off (Tamagotchis had an hour when they would wake up and an hour when they would go to bed, necessitating such a function), play a game with it, give medicine to it when sick, clean its living quarters, check its status (age, weight, discipline, hunger, and happiness), and discipline the Tamagotchi. An eighth function could be used by the Tamagotchi to call on its owner. Each one of the functions had an influence on how well you were taking care of the Tamagotchi and determined what kind of creature it would be in its teenager and adult years.
Tamagotchis evolved. They hatched as a "baby," grew into a "child," evolved once again into a "teenager," and one last time into an "adult." Traditionally, there have been two different kinds of teenagers, one associated with good care, the other associated with poor care, and six adults, three for each teenager form. There have also been many secret characters with special prerequesites to get them.
After a few weeks of the Tamagotchi being an adult, it will eventually die. In America, however, the "death" is censored out, and instead the story is that the Tamagotchi goes back to where it came from in Tamagotchi Planet.
There were many Tamagotchi spin offs released, including Tiger Electronics' GigaPets. Bandai themselves released several different variations on Tamagotchi, listed below.
- Generation One (initially referred to as simply "Tamagotchi."
- First released on November 23, 1996 in Japan in six different designs. In March of the next year, three new designs were released, and in May, they were released in America, Canada, Europe, and the rest of Asia.
- Generation Two (Shinshu de Hakken!!)
- Includes a different game, food, and evolutions.
- Released in February of 1997 in four different designs. In May of the same year, four new different designs were released.
- Digimon
- Angel Tamagotchi
- Angel theme; premiers the feature of a touch-register LED screen. Discipline replaced by "praise." Was released in America.
- Mesutchi and Osutchi
- Interlocking mating Tamagotchi, a man version and a woman version, generations of Tamagotchi, several corresponding evolution generations for each.
- Umi No Tamagotch
- "Ocean Tamagotchi". Released in America. Premiers the feature of predators, in which they attack the Tamagotchi, causing need of several taps on the screen to scare it away. If one fails, the Tamagotchi can fall sick or even die.
- Mori No Tamagotch
- "Garden Tamagotchi", scheduled for release in America and then canceled. Features a "cocoon" stage instead of the teenager stage.
- Yasashii
- "Easy Tamagotchi," has slightly different evolutions than Generation One. Also features a larger case.
- Devil Tamagotch
- Santaclautch
- Santa Claus and Christmas-themed Tamagotchi.
- Genjinchi
- Caveman Tamagotchi
- Tamaotchi
- Named after Tamao Nakamura.
- Mothra Tamagotch
- "Tamagotchi Plus"
- The newest version, released in Japan on March 20th, 2004 with international releases scheduled.