In the latest chapter of millennial nostalgia, a popular toy from the ’90s is making a comeback 23 years after its initial US release.
No, not the Skip-It and, no, not a Sega Game Gear. The Tamagotchi electronic pet, a highly coveted egg-shaped toy from Japan whose shell came in an array of colors — and which was frequently sold out in toy stores — will soon launch a new product in North America.
Called Tamagotchi On Wonder Garden, the $59.99 gadget drops on July 26, with online pre-orders available now through Amazon, Target, Walmart and GameStop.
“It’s amazing to see those who remembered the original Tamagotchi from the ’90s pickup the Tamagotchi On as well as watch young users fall in love with having a virtual pet,” said Tara Badie, director of brand strategy for toy company Bandai America, Thursday in a statement.
The new On series aptly includes modern updates to the Tamagotchi, which in the ’90s had a simple black-and-white screen showing a young chick that — if the user fed it and cleaned up its poop — grew larger and lived a happy digital life. In 2020, the Tamagotchi will feature enhanced graphics in color — and the handheld toy can connect to a mobile app.
Back in the day, the pet solely existed on the single tile-patterned screen. Now its world is bigger. CNN Business reports that the new pet can leave its house, celebrate the owner’s birthday with colorful balloons and a song, and travel. But in a mildly creepy update, the pet can also now meet a mate, have children, raise them into adults and propagate a full family tree of this digital species.
One more update: Unlike the original Tamagotchi, which required annoyingly constant care to prevent the pet from dying, the On series allows busy users to drop off the pet at a hotel for day care service. But users must still keep it fed and entertained; when it needs something, and even when the screen is off, the toy will beep.
“Through research, we’ve learned that 67% of users play their Tamagotchi On device with a friend and that 96% of all Tamagotchi users love the device so much that they’d likely purchase a new version,” Badie said.
This isn’t the first stateside Tamagotchi return since the 1990s craze. The original ’90s version came back to North America in 2018 (although, before that, original versions were available through online portals like eBay), with an updated version that followed in 2019. Bandai America wouldn’t share North American sales figures with CNN, but said that it has sold north of 82 million toys worldwide as of 2019.
Meanwhile, in its native Japan, there are regular Tamagotchi launches, and it’s considered a staple toy for children.