Tamagotchi Mania

Tamagotchi is a Japanese name meaning “egg”. It is a small, handheld oval shaped gadget that simulates the role of looking after a digital pet. The first model was released on November 23rd 1996 by the toy company Bandai and became a huge craze in Japan. It was so successful that it was later released in the US on May 1st 1997. The gadget is primarily aimed at junior school children aged between 6 and 10 years but can be great fun for any ages.

The Tamagotchi has the ability to keep young children entertained for potentially days or even months. Some of the functions that are undertaken when using the Tamagotchi include feeding, playing games, cleaning up feces, checking its stastics, and connecting with other Tamagotchis. The major role in looking after the digital pet is feeding. The user has the choice to either feed the animal either a piece of food or a piece of cake. The user must take responsibility from his or her own actions because if the user continues to feed the animal cake, it will get unhealthy and die at a young age, however if the user decides to feed it food, the animal will grow strong and will generally have a better quality of life.

Not only do you need to feed your Tamagotchi but you also need to keep it entertained. You can do this by playing games. In the original version there is only one game to choose but in the later versions you are able to connect your Tamagotchi to your computer and download games using your password. Playing with your Tamagotchi ensures that it grows up to be a happy and mentally stable pet. When your Tamagotchi is born it takes about an hour of constant attention much like a human baby. During this period of one hour you will have to feed it various times and clean up its mess and it will even sleep for 20 minutes giving you a chance to recover.

With the release of newer versions of Tamagotchi, there are many new features that are available for users. The toys were highly popular in the craze of the late 90’s but the demand has died down significantly. The newer versions released are by far better than the original model but we can now compare the new models with the old ones and say that it was better when it was simple. When thinking back to the days when I was a kid in the Tamagotchi craze, it was one of the better memories of my child hood and I was occupied for literally months however in my opinion the newer models look less enticing.