The one with the pocket-sized alien baby …
As a kid, did you ever wish your toys could come to life? For many Millennials, that moment finally arrived when Tamagotchi burst onto the scene. You could fit your favorite toy into your pocket and actually interact with it throughout the day.
Weird as it was in concept, Tamagotchi was a hit from the very beginning. I remember my mom calling around to toy stores to find out when the next shipment was coming in. They were selling out so fast, they could barely keep them on the shelves.
But did you know …
1. Not without my turtle!
Akihiro Yokoi, one of the creators of Tamagotchi, got his inspiration from a TV turtle. He was struck by a commercial in which a boy is upset that he can’t bring his turtle along on a family vacation, so he tries to sneak the pet in his suitcase at the last minute. Yokoi decided to create a virtual pet that could travel with you anywhere (and avoid suitcase suffocation, of course).
2. Tama-what?
A combination of two Japanese words, the name “tamagotchi” is actually based on a discarded idea for the toy. “Tamago” means egg, and “uotchi” means watch — a reference to the original concept of a wearable wristwatch. That was later scrapped for a keychain design, but the name stuck.
3. E.T. phone home
So what exactly were those creatures on our Tamagotchi screens? The original packaging for the toy says that the Tamagotchi is a “tiny pet from cyberspace” and depicts a UFO-like spaceship. It also says that a Tamagotchi would “return to its home planet” eventually. Basically, we were all carrying little aliens around in our pockets.
4. The Tamagotchi effect
It didn’t take long for kids to start forming strong bonds with their Tamagotchis. In fact, a psychological phenomenon was named for it, with emotional attachments to robots, machines, or software agents often referred to as the “Tamagotchi effect” to this day.
When the digital pets inevitably expired (the average lifespan was only about 12 days), it put many kids through their first experience with loss and grief. Tamagotchi graveyards were built despite the fact that new pets could be generated on the same device. American users seemed especially sensitive to the end of the Tamagotchi life cycle, so while Japanese devices displayed a ghost hovering over a gravestone when a digital pet died, the U.S. models had angel wings.
5. Flying off the shelves
It’s hard to overstate just how wildly popular this ‘90s fad toy really was. When it made its debut on May 1, 1997, the flagship FAO Schwarz in New York City had sold 10,000 Tamagotchis by noon the following day. A feature on QVC was even more successful, with 6,000 selling in only five minutes! The original Tamagotchi price at FAO Schwarz was $17.99, the equivalent of about $35 today.
6. Time for a potty break
Raising a Tamagotchi was more demanding than you might remember. In addition to feeding, bathing, and disciplining it, owners also had to do the dirty work of cleaning up Tamagotchi droppings. Failing to pick up the digital poop piles could make your pet sick.
But there was a workaround for this tedious task: potty training your Tamagotchi. When a bathroom break was imminent, your pet would grimace and wavy “stink” lines would start to form around it. If you regularly activated the toilet icon during this stage (before droppings appeared), you could potty train it. Poop problem solved!
7. Mom duty
Tamagotchis needed attention 24/7, and a beeping notification could emanate from your little egg toy at any moment of the day or night. That quickly became a problem for school-aged kids, and classroom bans on Tamagotchis became increasingly common in the weeks after its U.S. release. What was a kid to do? Just let their little creature die?
As usual, moms stepped in to save the day. Many parents ended up tending to their kids’ Tamagotchis while they were in school, playing sports, or asleep. Fortunately, later versions of the toy solved that pesky little problem with a “pause” function.
8. I’m … not lovin’ it.
In 1998, McDonald’s took advantage of Tamagotchi fever and released a series of Happy Meal toys based on the device. Getting a Tamagotchi with your burger and fries sounds pretty amazing, right? Many ‘90s kids were likely disappointed when they realized the freebies in their Happy Meals were actually just keychains, not functioning Tamagotchis. Bummer.
9. Let’s race!
Tamagotchi made its way into the Nintendo universe with Mametchi, a character who acts as a sort of mascot for the toy. In addition to appearing on numerous versions of the toy (including the original Tamagotchi), this cute little creature is one of the playable drivers in Mario Kart Arcade GP 2. Take him for a spin to see how fast a Tamagotchi can go with a little horsepower under the hood.
10. Going to the chapel …
Does your Tamagotchi want to fall in love? It can in newer versions of the toy. With the Tamagotchi On (released in 2019), you can link your digital pet with another player’s so they can schedule playdates, get married, and even have babies with physical characteristics of both parents. Over time, one player can raise up to 16 generations from the same family as long as they keep caring for them correctly. Time to map out your Tamagotchi family tree!
Tamagotchis didn’t shy away from the messier parts of life (so much poop). Share this with someone who understands the demands of pet ownership.
Editorial: Ashley
Illustration: Nick