A popular toy from the ’90s is making a huge comeback after 28 years, but in a 21st century version.
Tamagotchis took the world by storm when they first hit the market in 1996, with Bandai, the toy’s maker, reportedly selling 40 million of them in the first two years.
The colorful, egg-shaped device housed a virtual pet that its owners had to feed and play with.
If the player takes care of the Tamagotchi pet, it will grow older and want to have a baby. However, if it is neglected, the pet may also die or run away.
Despite their massive success in the 90s and 2000s, Bandai struggled to keep up with gaming trends in the 2010s.
The egg-shaped toys took the world by storm when they were launched in 1996. Stock photo of the original toys from the 1990s
But after an official relaunch in 2019, the toy has slowly become popular again.
According to BBC NewsGlobal sales of Tamagotchis will double between 2022 and 2023.
The brand is so confident of the growing demand that they have now opened their first UK store in Camden Market, London, which they didn’t do during the Tamagotchi’s heyday in the 90s.
Brand Manager Priya Jadeja listed some of the ways Tamagotchis have been updated for 2024.
She explains: ‘You can now connect to friends, play over Wi-Fi and download different items, which really eliminates the feeling of fatigue that you had with some of the previous models.’
After a digital animal is hatched, users must care for their virtual pet as it goes through the different stages of its life.
Users must feed the animal – either a “meal” consisting of a bowl of rice, or a treat as a “snack” – and clean up after the animal uses the toilet.
If not cared for properly, the pet can become ill and even die.
Pictured: Gaming fans queue outside Brent Cross shopping centre in 1997 to get their hands on a Tamagotchi
The colorful egg-shaped device housed a virtual pet that owners had to feed and play with
As the player cares for the Tamagotchi pet, it will grow older and want to have a baby, but it may also die or run away if neglected.
“It got such an enthusiastic response from fans around the world who were begging us to bring it back to the US, so we re-released it,” Liz Grampp, Vice President of Brand Management at Bandai America, told Dailymail.com last year.
The toys were released in six different designs, from light orange and translucent blue to strikingly contrasting two-tone designs that looked straight out of the ’90s.
Each Tamagotchi contained six virtual pets.
“It’s about resource management, about nurturing and caring for a virtual pet and that fundamental human emotion of caring for something that I don’t think will ever go away,” Grampp added.
‘What’s different is our delivery. So it’s a more classic pixel game, which has a bit of its own trend.
“I think for kids who only grew up with iPhones and iPads, it will feel unique, but the gameplay will still feel very familiar.”