Tamagotchi

A Tamagotchi game.

Tamagotchi is a brand of handheld digital pets. It was released in 1996. It was created in 1996 by Aki Maita and sold by Bandai. It is a strategy game. The main characters are also called Tamagotchi. The Tamagotchi are electronic pets, and the player takes care of them as part of the game. A new version of Tamagotchi was released in 2020.^[1]

Gameplay

The player uses the handheld device to take care of the fictional pet. The player can feed it or let it go hungry, train it or abuse it. The tamagotchi will grow up strong, weak or run away depending on how the player acts.

Anime

In 2009, Tamagotchi got its own anime.

History

The first Tamagotchi was released in 1996 as a mobile digital pet. This game became popular in Japan. From 1997 to 1998 other types of Tamagotchi game were released. About 40 million games sold around the world. In 2004, Tamagotchi' became popular again. The 2004 version of the game had infrared communication. The 2006 version could connect with mobile phones and personal computers. In 2006, a Tamagotchi-themed school game was released. In this game, the player could make a class using a communication function. In 2007, Tamagotchi started to live with its family in the device. In 2008, the game was released with a colored screen and download items and mini games. In 2012, the communication function was made more complicated.

By country

The Tamagotchi has stayed popular in Japan, but in the West it is sometimes popular and sometimes not. Bandai America sells Tamagotchi in a larger package in the United States because they want the buyer to believe it is worth the price, US$59.99.^[1]