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How Tamagotchi Rose From The Dead To Join The Internet Of Things

This article is more than 8 years old.

Here’s a Hot Topic product primed to make ‘90s kids scratch their heads and ask, “What year is it?” Tamagotchis are back.

The Tamagotchi, a portmanteau of tamago—“egg” in Japanese—and the English word “watch,” is a virtual pet the size of a keychain. It had its heyday in the mid-’90s when kids attached them to their Jansports and “fed” the pets daily by pressing a button on a screen. Tomagotchis who weren't properly cared for just "died."

The Tamagotchi was first released in Japan in 1996 and become a fad in America soon after. Within seven months of Japanese toy company Bandai exporting the toy to the United States, the company earned $150 million in retail sales.

Now the hit toy is back just in time to cash in on Millennial nostalgia—with a few upgrades to boot. The “Tamagotchi Friends Digital Friend” takes advantage of the increasing capacity of modern data chips to include “five fun games” you can now play with your pet.

Most notably, today’s modern Tamagotchi takes a cue from the Internet of Things and now supports interlinking your digital pet with a friend’s. By bumping the two toys together, this latest generation of Tamagotchis will prompt an exchange of data.

This interlink lends itself to a host of new activities for Tamagotchi play, including playdates, “friendship meters,” and even sending text messages from one toy to another. Maybe if your ‘90s Tamagotchi had done all that, it wouldn’t have met its untimely digital death only a few weeks after you convinced your parents to buy it for you.

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The fad has faded away into obscurity in recent years, especially after Bandai shuttered its then-poorly selling Tamagotchi LIFE brand, also a Hot Topic offering. It’s no wonder the company returned to Hot Topic when it decided to capitalize on American nostalgia once more.

Now retailing at $19.50, it’s a pastel pink impulse buy for kids and kids at heart. Even if it doesn’t spark a new craze, it’ll certainly appeal to adults who remember the old one.