Bandai Is Bringing Back The Tamagotchi For Its 20th Anniversary
Have you missed hatching, feeding, and cleaning up after your virtual pets? Well, too bad because Tamagotchi is back in honor of the toy's 20th anniversary.
Bandai America has officially announced that a new set of Tamagotchi toys will be available in limited quantities on November 5th for just $14.99. While the new versions are about 60% the size of the originals, they look pretty much the same as they did way back in the '90s. The 20th Anniversary editions retain the iconic egg shape, and come in six different designs pulled from the original Japanese launch, which means they look as '90s as they rightly should. To further invoke the critical nostalgia factor, the original Tamagtochi's packaging design has been replicated for the new line, and the toys themselves feature the original characters players could care for from the original game. So, a bunch of odd blobs that gain wings. Sick!
The new, smaller Tamagotchi offers a simplified playstyle which is designed to feed into the infinite playstyle loop the device is known for, with only three buttons included. Which means we won't be paging through menus anymore. The intention behind the simpler play style was because Bandai is hoping the new line will appeal to those who played with Tamagotchi back in the '90s and who now have their own demanding adult lives to deal with.
"…They have different lives. it's not just homework and sports now. It's your full time jobs, and families, and activities. So we wanted to make sure you could have that core play without feeling overwhelmed," Bandai America Marketing Director Tara Badie said to IGN at New York Comic Con. But Bandai still hopes to see new kids picking up the toys. "…Those late-20, early-30-year-olds, they loved the product the first time. They're going to see it, they're going to take it, and they're going to have kids [and] siblings…that then they'll show it off to that younger generation," Badie said.
The new Tamagotchi line is currently available for pre-order before releasing on November 5th.