Re-creation
of Tamagotchi screenThe Tamagotchi (????? Tamagotchi)
is a handheld virtual pet created by Aki Maita
and sold by Bandai. The name combines the Japanese
word for egg ("tamago") and the syllable "chi"
which denotes affection, and is also a pun on
the borrowed English "wotchi", meaning "watch",
as in the time piece.
In Japanese and most other languages
it is pronounced with a short "o" sound
— ta-ma-go-chee — however in the United
States it is typically pronounced "ta-ma-GAH-chee".
The Pet
Tamagotchi are small, plastic
eggs containing a tiny computer with a simple
black and white LCD screen. Below the screen are
three buttons. The egg is attached to a keychain,
to encourage owners to always keep their Tamagotchi
close by. The eggs have different colors and designs
on them, making them a collectors' item.
Caring for the Tamagotchi is
fairly simple. A tiny egg appears on the screen
after the unit was turned on. After setting the
time and waiting for exactly five(or one, depending
on what version you have) minutes, the creature
hatches. Pressing the three buttons, the owner
can feed the Tamagotchi, turn the "light"
in the unit on or off (Tamagotchi 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.
Tamagotchi 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 prerequisites to get them.
After a few weeks of the Tamagotchi
being an adult, it will eventually die. In the
United States, the story is that the Tamagotchi
goes back to its home, "Tamagotchi Planet" instead
of dying.
There were many Tamagotchi spin
offs released, including Tiger Electronics' GigaPets.
Bandai themselves released several different variations
on Tamagotchi, listed below. Although most Tamagotchis
have the same basic concepts (happiness and hunger
meters, discipline, etc.), each different kind
of Tamagotchi had their own unique game, food,
and sometimes had varying icons on-screen.
Cultural Impact
Tamagotchi were introduced in
1996 and were a huge fad for a short 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.
The name has become synonymous
with "virtual pet" in many places and has helped
further peoples interest in them. This has come
at a price, according to some, as many schools
around the world banned them due to the distractions
they caused.
Tamagotchi
generations
The following generations of
official Bandai Tamagotchi have existed:
Shinshu de Hakken!! Tamagotchi
(Generation Two, or P2)
- Released in February of 1997 in Japan with
four different designs. In May of the same year,
four new different designs were released. This
was also released in America, although it was
named Tamagotchi as the American P1 units were.
The only way to distinguish the two versions
without opening the unit was by observing the
box and its pictures or the background in the
LCD screen.
Digimon
- Digimon had five different generations, each
one with different evolutions but with the same
functions.
- This Tamagotchi premiered the feature of interconnecting
Tamagotchi which could communicate data to each
other.
- In this case, the connecting was called "Dock
'n Rock" and was used for Digimon to fight each
other.
Digimon is not capable of pause.
Tenshitchi no Tamagotch (Angelgotch)
- Released in August 1997 with three different
colors. This was later released in America as
"Tamagotchi Angel."
- Premieres the feature of a touch-register
LCD screen, used to scare away bats that tried
to steal your Angelgotch's snack and call it
back when it went on a walk. It was also sensitive
to your voice for the same purposes. Discipline
replaced by "praise" for this pet only.
Mesutchi and Osutchi
- Released in December of 1997 in Japan only.
- Featured interlocking mating using the same
concept that Digimon premiered to have Tamagotchis
give birth. Five different generations of Tamagotchi
were available, but only one had a growth chart
that was affected by caretaking skills. The
other four were linear, and if one was to trip
up on his or her care, the Tamagotchi would
become an unmateable creature. Something interesting
about this Tamagotchi is that if you feed it
too much and it gets to be 99 pounds, it turns
into a "Debutchi" which takes up the whole screen.
You have to get its weight down with games before
you can do anything else.
Mori de Hakken!! Tamagotchi (Mori
No Tamagotch)
- Released in February 1998 with four different
colors. It was scheduled for release in America
as "Tamagotchi Garden" but it was canceled.
- This Tamagotchi premiered the "predator"
function also used in Umi No Tamagotch. Occasionally,
a predator (one is a foot) would attack, and
you have to use the voice and touch-sensitive
functions by shouting and tapping at the screen
to scare away the predator. If its attack succeeded,
the Tamagotchi could be made sick or even killed.
- Another notable function of the Mori No Tamagotch
is its teenager phase: It is replaced by a cocoon,
which stays for 24 hours, during which time
you had to control a temperature dial. If the
environment was mostly hot, the Mori No would
change into the "warmer" creature for that quality
of care, and vice versa for cold.
Umi de Hakken!! Tamagotchi (Umi
No Tamagotch)
- Released in March of 1998 with four different
colors.
- This is known as one of the hardest Tamagotchi
to raise, needing near-constant attention. It
included a "water quality" meter in the status
screen. Flushing the screen could make the screen
cleaner, but if all four skulls on the meter
were filled, the water would become black and
it had to be flushed to see the Tamagotchi again.
This was a secondary use for the cleaning function
which is not used in any other Tamagotchi.
- This Tamagotchi was unique also in that it
lost happiness and hunger hearts as it slept.
Tamaotchi
- Named after Japanese actress Tamao Nakamura
and released in April of 1998.
Deviltchi no Tamagotchi
- Released in September of 1998 in four colors.
Yasashii Tamagotchi
- Released in October of 1998 in four colors.
- "Easy Tamagotchi," has slightly different
evolutions than Generation One. Also features
a larger case.
Santaclautch
- Santa Claus and Christmas-themed Tamagotchi.
Genjinchi
Mothra Tamagotch
- Winged beast Mothra Tamagotchi
Tamagotchi Plus
- The newest version, released in Japan on March 20, 2004 and in the U.S. on August 15, 2004 as Tamagotchi Connection.
- Includes new characters and some older ones, as well as some new features, including IR capability for Tamagotchi interaction which has been used in Japanese McDonalds to show the Tamagotchi eating a hamburger.
- There are 3 main tamagotchi (new ones). These are Tamagotchi Plus, Tamagotchi ConnECTion and Tamagotchi ConneXions. These all have small differences.