Tamagotchi — BrandWiki

Tamagotchi

Overview

Tamagotchi

type	Virtual pet (Handheld electronic game)
inventor	Akihiro Yokoi and Aki Maita
country	Japan
company	WiZ and Bandai (Bandai is part of the Bandai Namco group)
from	1996
to	present
website	http://tamagotchi.com/

Tamagotchi (たまごっち) is a brand of handheld digital pets marketed since 1996 by Japanese toymaker Bandai, a division of Bandai Namco Holdings. Most Tamagotchi are housed in a small egg-shaped handheld video game with an interface consisting of three buttons, with the goal of raising the pet as it goes through different life stages.

The original Tamagotchi, released locally in 1996 and worldwide in 1997, quickly became a major global toy fad for a period of time.[1] Tamagotchi was brought back in 2004 and since then has received more new versions while Bandai has also expanded the franchise to other media and merchandise.[2] As of 2025, over 98 million units have been sold worldwide.[3] It has been a staple children's toy in Japan since its early years.[4]

According to Bandai, the name is a portmanteau combining the two Japanese words tamago (たまご), which means "egg", and uotchi (ウオッチ) "

History

Tamagotchi was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai.[7] They both won the tongue-in-cheek 1997 Ig Nobel Prize for economics, dubbing them the father and mother of Tamagotchi.[8][9] The first Tamagotchi was released by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan. It would then release in the United States on May 1, 1997.[10][11] Tamagotchi is a keychain-sized virtual pet simulation game. The characters were first drawn in heta-uma, which was a popular style found in teen magazines, and were then converted to pixel art.[12] They were worn like a wristwatch in the initial concept, hence the portmanteau name.[12] The egg shape might have been chosen as reptiles like snakes were popular pets at that time.[12] The characters are colorful creatures with simple designs based on animals, objects, or people. When releasing the Tamagotchi in Japan, Bandai initially marketed them exclusively to teenage girls.[13] Bandai and WiZ would later create a masculine counterpart to the Tamagotchi, the Digital Monster, which would spawn the Digimon franchise.[14][15]

The original Tamagotchi sold about 40 million units worldwide during its run, including about 12 million in the US and Canada.[16] The large success of the toy was a surprise for Bandai. But the company was also ill-prepared as it struggled to keep up with demand. At one point, Bandai employees were banned from carrying bags showing the Bandai logo in fear of theft as it was a sought after item.[17] The Tamagotchi craze faded by 1998 and because of large overproduction of the toys that remained unsold (partly caused by miscommunication and that customers made reservations at multiple different retailers), Bandai made a 6 billion yen financial loss.[2]

Bandai brought back the Tamagotchi toys in 2004 with the Tamagotchi Connection, a new Tamagotchi with the ability to connect and interact with other Tamagotchi using infrared. In a bid to avoid repeating the mistakes of the original, the company released the new Tamagotchi carefully with subdued advertising.[17] The new generation Tamagotchi became a popular toy in Japan and other regions in the mid-2000s.[18][19] The brand's revival and popularity was further seen with the success of the Tamagotchi-based Nintendo DS video game Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop which sold 1 million copies in Japan by January 2006.[20]

Bandai updated the Connection series with new models for several years and have since then expanded the Tamagotchi with further new versions with additional features to this day.

Gameplay

Tamagotchis are a small alien species that deposited an egg on Earth to see what life was like, and it is up to the player to raise the egg into an adult creature.[21] The creature goes through several stages of growth, and will develop differently depending on the care the player provides, with better care resulting in an adult creature that is smarter, happier, and requires less attention. There are various Tamagotchi characters (the original models have six adult characters and two at the teenager stage) and the resulting character depends on how the player has cared for it during the earlier baby, child and teen stages.[22] Gameplay can vary widely between models, and some models require little care from the player.

Upon activating the pet, an egg appears on the screen. After setting the clock on the device, the egg will wiggle for several minutes, and then hatch into a small pet. In later versions, inputting the player's name and birthday is also required when setting the clock, and at birth, the player can name the pet and learn of its family group and/or gender. The player can care for the pet as much or as little as they choose, and the outcome depends on the player's actions. The first Tamagotchi units could only be paused by going to set the clock, effectively stopping the passage of time in the game, but in later models, a pause function was included.

Pets have a Hunger meter, Happy meter and a Training meter to determine how healthy and well-behaved the pet is. There is also an age and weight check function for the current age and weight of the pet. Filling up the Hunger meter can be achieved by feeding the pet a meal (usually a loaf of bread or hamburger) or a snack (usually a piece of candy or cake). Filling up the Happy meter can be achieved by playing mini-games with the pet or by feeding it a snack (there are no limits to this, but there are limits to how many meals can be fed). Mini-games usually vary between versions. The Training meter (formerly called Discipline in earlier releases) can be filled by pressing the "scold" option when a pet calls for attention despite neither its hunger or happy meter being empty, calls for attention but refuses to play or be fed a meal and in later models, sending a prank gift to a friend. Later models added a "praise" option for when the pet sulks or performs a good deed. The pet will leave droppings around the screen from time to time and can become sick if they are not cleaned up. Before the pet goes to the bathroom, it will make a face and "stink" lines will appear around it. If the player activates the toilet icon during this animation, but before the pet has gone to the bathroom, the pet will use a toilet instead. When done repeatedly, the pet can be potty trained.

If the pet gets sick, a skull icon appears next to the pet as it sits still at the bottom of the screen, with an unhappy expression. The pet can become sick for a number of reasons, such as overfeeding of snacks or failing to clean up droppings. The pet can die if sickness is left unchecked. The pet can be cured by pressing the "Medicine" option; however, it may need to be pressed more than once. Usually, a pet will not play or accept a meal when sick.

Life cycle

The pet goes through several distinct stages of development throughout its life cycle. Each stage lasts a set amount of days, depending on the model of the toy, and when it reaches a new stage, the toy plays a jingle, and the pet's appearance changes. The pet can "die" due to poor care, old age, sickness, and in a few versions, predators. The pet's life cycle stages are Baby, Child, Teenager, Adult and Special, with some units also having a Senior stage. Usually, the pet's age will increase once it has awakened from its sleep time.

Poor care can cause a pet to die, but on certain releases, it can also die of old age. If an old pet dies without producing offspring, the family line has ended. The Japanese Tamagotchi toys usually feature a ghost and headstone when the pet dies, but English language versions have been changed to show an angel at death. There is sometimes more than one death based on how well the pet was cared for prior to death. Pressing the C button shows the age at which the pet died. After the pet dies, a player can restart the game by pressing the A and C buttons at the same time.

Additional features

On top of the basic gameplay premises mentioned above, some Tamagotchis have additional features.

Connectivity

Using infrared communication, two players can link their toys and the pets may form friendships, play games, exchange gifts, and even marry. Connectivity was introduced with Osutchi and Mesutchi, which used physical prongs to connect the “male” and “female” devices. The Japanese Keitai Kaitsuu Tamagotchi Plus was the first model to feature support for an online app. Since then, many subsequent models have also been able to interact with apps like Tamatown by using alphanumeric codes generated by the toy to log into the website's Flash game. After generating a code, the toy remains paused until the player either enters a logout code or cancels. The player may play minigames in the town to earn Gotchi Points, or use Gotchi Points to buy items in the town shops. To transfer points and items back to the toy, the player signs out of the Flash game and is given a code to input back into the toy. The Tamagotchi Connection series used infrared to connect devices. Newer models, such as the Tamagotchi 4U and the Tamagotchi 4U+ can connect to other Tamagotchi 4U units, as well as smartphones and tablets, using near-field communication. More new releases continued to expand on connectivity options, with the Tamagotchi Pix using QR codes, and the Tamagotchi Paradise returning to physical prongs at the top of the device for cross-device connection, harkening back to the original Osutchi and Mesutchi connecting style.

Marriage and family

The Mesutchi and Osutchi Tamagotchis were the first to introduce marriages and offspring, and the feature returned in the Plus/Connection and subsequent models. Two players with a male and female pet may link their toys and allow the pets to develop a friendship and fall in love. Once the pets have raised their relationship meter sufficiently, the pets may marry. The player can also choose to have their pet marry a random pet brought in by the "Matchmaker." Once married, the female will eventually produce two eggs, keeping one and leaving one with the male. Since the parent will automatically guide the baby's life, the only care it needs from the player is medicine in the case of sickness. After 24 hours has passed or the offspring evolves into a child the parent will leave, and the player is left to care for a new generation. This can continue for as long as the player manages to care for the pets.

The Chou Jinsei Enjoy Tamagotchi also introduced the idea of character "families" or "groups." These "families" are a kind of classification for characters obtainable in the game, grouped mainly by appearance, though they are also associated with certain skills. A character of one group cannot grow into an adult of a different group, and if two pets of different groups marry and have an egg, the baby will be of the female's group.

Tamagotchi Some, M!x, and On are notable in that the Tamagotchi offspring will share genetics from both of their parents. Tamagotchi Paradise also features a scaled down level of gene-mixing through breeding.

Other

With the many different versions of the toy, there are other less common mechanics that influence the pet's growth, including but not limited to friendship with the player, varying types of skills, and career. The Chou Jinsei Enjoy Tamagotchi also introduced Skills, which can be built by playing certain games with the pet, or using certain toys or foods bought from the E-Tamago or in-game shops. Having certain skills can help the pet obtain a career, and if built up high enough, can unlock special characters.

Some recent models such as Tamagotchi On features the player earns currency called Gotchi Points while playing games, and can use the currency in an in-game shop to buy different foods, toys, accessories, or even room decorations for the pet.[23]

The Tamagotchi Pix has a camera installed, allowing the user to get a pet based on the skin tone and age of the face; it also allows the user to take pictures and "take" the pet on a walk.

Releases

At least 50 different Tamagotchi versions have been released since their creation, several of which were only released in Japan.

Original Tamagotchi

The original Tamagotchi was released on November 23, 1996, first in Japan and elsewhere in 1997. The device has an 8-bit (256 shades) grayscale LCD. A second version named New Species Discovered! was released in February 1997 both in Japan and internationally.[24] These are now officially named by Bandai as the 'Generation 1' and 'Generation 2', respectively.[25] The two have some minor differences: Generation 1 features Mametchi as the top character and the Character minigame, while Generation 2 features the character Mimitchi and the Number minigame.[26][27]

This first wave of Tamagotchi toys later also included other themed versions with altered gameplay and characters.[28] Most were released in Japan only, but two were also released in the United States, namely the Tamagotchi Angel (in February 1998), which puts a twist to the regular premise as it features an angel that comes back to earth after death,[29] and Tamagotchi Ocean (in August 1998) which is set underwater. The final Tamagotchi to be released was the Santa Claus-themed Santaclauchi in November 1998 in Japan.[30]

Bandai Namco re-released the Original Tamagotchi (both Gen 1 and Gen 2) on November 23, 2017, in Japan and other regions in 2018 as part of the toy's 20th anniversary. It is an exact replica of the original but comes in new colors.[24][26][31] Since then, the company have continued to expand the Original Tamagotchi range with new colors and designs.[32][33] In January 2025, Bandai Namco re-released the Tamagotchi Angel, which is now classified as the 'Generation 3' Original Tamagotchi.[34]

Also to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the toy, Bandai released internationally a miniature version of the Gen 1 and 2 Tamagotchi in November 2017 that is approximately 40 percent smaller often referred to as Tamagotchi Mini. Miniature versions were already released before in Japan called 'Chibi Tamagotchi'.[35][36]

Tamagotchi Connection

The Tamagotchi Connection (also known as Tamagotchi Plus) is the rebooted Tamagotchi series that was originally released in Japan in March 2004 and internationally later that year.[37][38][39] These feature a different graphic design by artist JINCO[40] and gameplay which elaborated upon the first generations including the ability of connecting with other Tamagotchis through IrDA infrared technology and make babies. However, the story and concept behind the games remained the same.

Bandai released many newer versions of the Tamagotchi Connection series. The third version, released in 2006, also added an online gameplay element with the TamaTown website. In 2010 the TamaTown Tama-Go was released that gave the ability to attach physical collectible figures of Tamagotchis called Gotchi Figures.[41] The last of the original Connection series to be released in the US was Tamagotchi Friends in 2014.

Color Tamagotchi

On November 22, 2008, the first color screen Tamagotchi was released, only in Japan, the Tamagotchi Plus Color, it has additional gameplay features and Bandai made further new color Tamagotchi over coming years[44][24] in Japan including the Tamagotchi iD (2009), Tamagotchi P's (2012), Tamagotchi 4U (2014) and Tamagotchi m!x (2016).[42]

The first color Tamagotchi to be released internationally was the Tamagotchi ON (known as Tamagotchi Meets in Japan) in July 2019. It was also one off the first Tamas to feature character feature mixing after marriage. Useful sources: MyMeets (a version of the app that was initially shut down).[45][46] This version can also connect to a smartphone using Bluetooth wireless technology.[47]

Special and licensed Tamagotchis

Bandai has also released various special editions of "Tamagotchi Nano" licensed from other media and franchises. Most of these were released in Japan but some have also been marketed internationally, especially in the 2020s. Examples of these Tamagotchis include ones based on characters and franchises such as Gudetama, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Hello Kitty (to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024),[55] Pac-Man (to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2020)[56] and Jurassic World.[57]

Marketing and other media

Video games

Since its debut, Tamagotchi has also made its way onto several gaming platforms. Several early games feature gameplay similar to the original toys: an enhanced version of the original 1996/1997 Tamagotchi would be released for mobile phones as a Java game in 2005,[58] then in 2013 as an iOS and Android app named "Tamagotchi L.i.f.e.".

A few party-style games appeared on major consoles, along with the Corner Shop series of simulation games and a few role-playing games for the Nintendo DS.[59] An arcade machine known as Deka Tamagotchi is available in Japan from which players can win prizes for their Tamagotchi toy.[60]

The character Mametchi makes an appearance in Namco Bandai/Nintendo's Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 as a playable character,[6] along with his pet, Bagubagutchi, as an item. Mametchi and Yumemitchi also appeared in the arcade game Taiko no Tatsujin as unlockable costumes.

Film

On June 5, 2007, it was announced by Reuters that an animated Tamagotchi film was to be released in December 2007. The film, Tamagotchi: The Movie, focuses on Mametchi, along with his friends Memetchi and Kuchipatchi. Introduced are Tanpopo, a human girl who Mametchi accidentally transports to the Tamagotchi Planet; and Chamametchi, the younger sister of Mametchi, who is born during the film's events. Tamagotchi: The Movie was released on December 15, 2007, and was distributed by Toho Co. The film opened at number 3 at the box office on opening weekend.[64] On May 31, 2008, North American distributor Bandai Entertainment announced they had acquired the rights to the film.[65] The movie's first English release was a direct-to-DVD version, released on June 3, 2009, in Australia by Madman Entertainment. The UK DVD was released on September 14, 2009, via Manga Entertainment.

On December 20, 2008, a second film, known as Tamagotchi: Happiest Story in the Universe! was released into theaters. This film, introducing a new Tamagotchi known as Hapihapitchi, was later released on DVD, on June 26, 2009.

Anime

A Japanese-only anime series called ''Anime TV de Hakken!! Tamagotchi'' (アニメ TVで発見!! たまごっち, lit. "Found on Anime TV!! Tamagotchi") aired from July 7, 1997, to March 21, 1998, on Fuji TV.

In December 2007, Bandai Japan began airing ''Saa Ikō! Tamagotchi'' (さぁイコー！たまごっち) a week before the release of the first film. In December 2008, Bandai America dubbed the series, ''Let's Go! Tamagotchi'', and began streaming it on YouTube in both English and Japanese, with captions for up to seven other languages.[66]

In 2009, another anime television series was announced, called Tamagotchi! (たまごっち!). It began in October 2009 and ended in March 2015. A short-lived English dub of the Tamagotchi anime aired in Australia on channel GO! from 2010 to 2014; only the first 26 episodes have been dubbed, and were repeated until 2014, when GO! took the anime out of their channel. The anime has been dubbed in Tagalog in the Philippines, with said dub airing on GMA Network. There is also a dub in Taiwan that aired on YoYo TV.

From November 23, 2013, to December 2014, Bandai America adapted the second Tamagotchi anime, Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream, into "webisodes" promoting the then-latest addition to the franchise outside Japan, Tamagotchi Friends.[67]

Books

Many of the Tamagotchi collections included guidebooks, including but not limited to:

Tamagotchi Angel Guidebook
Tamagotchi Uni Guidebook
Tamagotchi: Osutchi & Mesutchi Guidebook

Glitter Tamagotchi P's Training Book, including a Wonder Life special
The Tamagotchi Encyclopedia
Learn everything about Tamagotchi with this book (たまごっちのことが全部わかる本 )
For the 20th anniversary, Tamagotchi released the Tamagotchi Corner Shop 20th Anniversary Official Fanbook during June 2025 in Japan

Reception and impact

The Tamagotchi was extremely popular globally in 1997-1998 having been referred to as becoming a "pop culture phenomenon".[16] The success of the Tamagotchi led to the electronic pet being appointed the Christmas Gift of the Year by the Swedish Retail Institute in November 1997.[69] The toy was especially popular among the high school girls and young women demographics.[17] It also spawned the virtual pet genre and led to many knock-off products or imitators at the time, such as Tiger/Hasbro's Giga Pet.[16]

During the peak of the original toy's fad, children frequently took Tamagotchi digital pets to school because in the first two releases (Generation 1 and Generation 2), a character could die in less than half a day if it did not receive adequate care. Teachers expressed concerns over class disruption as well as general distraction from schoolwork and this eventually led many schools to ban the product.[70][13] Children became emotional over the deaths of their Tamagotchi, leading to teenagers sending them to graveyards for burial and urban legends of teen suicide, such as an alleged case of a teenage girl hanging herself over the death of her Tamagotchi after her parents took it away as a punishment.[13]

The Tamagotchi became popular again in the mid-2000s after the release of Tamagotchi Connection, especially among teens and tweens.[71] New online communities also popped up for fans and enthusiasts of Tamagotchi, such as the TamaTalk forum that launched in 2004 and the long-running fan-made blog Tama-Palace.[72][42] In Tokyo, Bandai opened a Tamagotchi Department Store in 2007.[73] While Tamagotchi continued to be relevant in Japan during the early 2010s, the product was no longer being pushed by Bandai overseas.[73]

The toy had a second revival in the early 2020s after the global release of the Tamagotchi ON, Tamagotchi Pix and several pop culture crossover Tamagotchi Nano models.[42] Between 2022 and 2023, global sales doubled. The reason for this seems to be for nostalgia and is driven by both millennials and a new audience of young people who were not around during the toy's original run of the late 90s.[74] This led to the openings of official retail Tamagotchi Shops as part of Bandai Namco Cross Stores. The first pop-up store in Tokyo became permanent in March 2024.[75] The Tamagotchi Shop also opened in London and Madrid with further expansion to America and other places.[76][77]

In 2025, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted Tamagotchi into its World Video Game Hall of Fame.[78] Kristy Hisert of The Strong Museum said Tamagotchi "provided players with feelings of connection, caring, and customization, a respite from competition and fighting games. The legacy of Tamagotchi can be seen in the popular pet simulation games that followed[...] throughout the subsequent years."[79]

Sales numbers

Bandai sold 400,000 units in 1996, increasing to 10 million by July 1997 and 13 million by October 1997. By Spring 1998, nearly 40 million units were sold worldwide, including 20 million in Japan and nearly 20 million overseas.[61] In the first two years following Tamagotchi's release, Bandai had sold 40 million units.[80]

As of December 2005, over 15 million units of the Tamagotchi Connection/Plus had been sold.[58] This number rose to 20 million by 2006.[81]

By 2010, after the release of newer Tamagotchi models, over 76 million Tamagotchis had been sold worldwide.[82] By 2017, over 82 million units had been sold worldwide.[83]

Tamagotchi

History

Gameplay

Life cycle

Additional features

Connectivity

Marriage and family

Other

Releases

Original Tamagotchi

Tamagotchi Connection

Color Tamagotchi

Special and licensed Tamagotchis

Marketing and other media

Video games

Film

Anime

Books

Reception and impact

Sales numbers

See also

External links

References