The wildly popular egg-shaped toy first launched 20 years ago, allowing users to hatch and raise their own digital characters. Photo / Tamagotchi
R
The wildly popular egg-shaped toy first launched 20 years ago, allowing users to hatch and raise their own digital characters. Photo / Tamagotchi
R
Long before smartphone games and VR headsets, there was one virtual pet that started it all - the Tamagotchi.
The wildly popular egg-shaped toy first launched in the United States 20 years ago following its 1996 release in Japan, allowing users to hatch and raise their own digital characters.
Now,Tamagotchi is set to make a comeback.
Bandai has revealed it is releasing a $21 mini version of the beloved 90s toy, with pre-orders starting on Amazon today, the MailOnline reported.
Excitement for Tamagotchi's revival first began to circulate this past spring, when Bandai announced the toy would be re-launching in Japan.
"It got such a tremendous worldwide response from fans that were knocking down our door to bring it back to the US, so we brought it back," Liz Grampp, Vice President of Brand Management at Bandai America, told Dailymail.com.
As fans will quickly notice, the new 20th anniversary version is much smaller than the original.
But, the gameplay is much the same, albeit simpler in some ways.
The toy will be released in six different shell designs, from pale orange and see-through blue to boldly contrasting two-tone schemes straight out of the 90s.
Each Tamagotchi will include six virtual pets.
Tamagotchi is set to make a comeback. Bandai has revealed it is releasing a $21 mini version of the beloved 90s toy, with pre-orders starting on Amazon today. Photo / Getty
After hatching a digital creature, users must take care of it as it moves through the different stages of life.
This includes feeding it - either a "meal," consisting of a rice bowl, or a candy "snack" - and cleaning up after it goes to the bathroom.
If you fail to care for it properly, your pet will get sick and could even die.
While Tamagotchi's pixelated design may be a far cry from the complex games available today, the firm expects the nostalgia factor will be a major luring point for those who once owned the toy as a kid.
And, Bandai is hoping it can also appeal to the younger generation of gamers who have grown up with more advanced devices.
"It's about resource management, it's about nurturing, caring for a little virtual pet, and that basic human emotion of taking care of something that I don't think ever goes away," Grampp told Dailymail.com.
'What's different is our delivery. So, it's a more classic pixel game, which has a little bit of a trend of its own.
'I think for kids who have only grown up playing with iPhones and iPads, it'll feel unique, but the game play will still feel really familiar.'
