Tamagotchi

A Tamagotchi Connection V1

The Tamagotchi (たまごっち, Tamagotchi) is a handheld digital pet created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ Co. Ltd., and Aki Maita of Bandai Co. Ltd. It was first sold by Bandai in 1996 in Japan. Over 70,000,000 Tamagotchis have been sold world-wide as of 2008. Most Tamagotchis are housed in a small egg-shaped computer with an interface usually consisting of three buttons, although the number of buttons may vary for different variations.

According to Bandai the name is a portmanteau combining the Japanese word "たまご" (tamago), which means "egg", and the English word "watch" (as in timepiece). Consequently, the name is romanized as "Tamagotch" without the "i" in Japan. At the end of most Tamagotchi character's names, excluding some newer characters like Makiko, is 'tchi' or 'っち' in Japanese.

Gameplay

Upon removing the tag of a Tamagotchi unit, an egg will appear on the screen. After setting the Tamagotchi unit's clock, the Tamagotchi will hatch after several seconds, after which the player will be told of its gender and will be given the opportunity to give it a name, which can be as long as 5 to 8 characters in length. From then on, the player is given the task of raising the Tamagotchi to good health throughout its life and attending to its needs, such as feeding it, playing games to make the Tamagotchi happy and keep it at a healthy weight, cleaning up its excrement, punishing or praising the Tamagotchi based on its actions, returning it to proper health with medicine if it gets sick, and shutting off the lights when it goes to bed. If the Tamagotchi is left uncared for, it will soon result in the death of the Tamagotchi.

As time passes, the Tamagotchi will evolve through various stages (Baby, Toddler/Child, Teenager, Adult, and Senior), the results varying based on the gender of the Tamagotchi, its current generation, and on the player's actions. A Tamagotchi that has been cared for well enough will result in a better and a well-mannered Tamagotchi, while excessive poor care will instead result in a Tamagotchi that requires much more attention and often does not behave well. Upon reaching a specific age and friendship level with another Tamagotchi, the player's Tamagotchi will be able to mate with another Tamagotchi of the opposite gender, usually arranged by an elderly Tamagotchi known as "the Matchmaker" or "Mrs. Busybody". Once the two Tamagotchis mate successfully, the female produces two infant Tamagotchis, one which is kept by the father, and the other by the mother. After 24 hours pass, the parent leaves the baby, starting a brand new generation.

Recent Tamagotchis, such as the Connection series, are able to communicate wirelessly with other Tamagotchis to develop friendships, exchange gifts, and compete in several different types of games.

ঠ২tanslation: আছউঞএ ছঅঞ্্২৩৪ড ওিপফবত৭৬৫৩ অআইঈউ ঊঋএঐওঔিীুূৃ েৈোৌখখকখগঘচ ছজঝঞটঠ ডণ ৪৫ঢণ ততথঢ থদধন পফবভফব ভ মযরলশ চজঞঠণ থদ ৩ ঢডঠয়ং৭ঁঃং এ

Tamagotchi Video Games

Tamagotchi for Game Boy and Game Boy Color which are similar to the original handheld games. Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop, Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2, and Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3 for Nintendo DS are games where the players can run shops to make money. The players can choose between Mametchi, Memetchi, Kuchipatchi, and in Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3, Violetchi, to become a partner, and work together to keep their customers happy. Also on the Nintendo 64, Tamagotchi 64: Minna de Tamagotchi World a Nintendo 64 game released only in Japan in 1997. It is a virtual board game based on the tamagotchi toy. In December 2006, a new game came out called Tamagotchi: Party On! where you walk around a board, and play games to win coins and become the town mayor.

Arcade systems

Mario Kart Arcade GP 2

Mametchi, a common tamagotchi character, appears in Namco Bandai's/Nintendo's Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 as a character.

TamaStation

TamaStation is an arcade machine released in Japan where the owner can get prizes for their Tamagotchi. This machine has several sequels, TamaStation 2.

In other media

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. It has been said that a sequel will be released at the end of this year, featuring Hapihapitchi the second film is Tamagotchi: Happiest Story in the Universe!. then a third film named Tamagotchi 3: Secret Agent Jobs is set to become an upcoming film. a final film named Tamagotchi's Super hero: Super Chama Girl is set to be in 2011. More short films on YouTube have recently come out called Let's Go! Tamagotchi. There is a whole series that viewers can enjoy.

Tamagotchi: The Movie was released on December 15, 2007, and was distributed by Toho Co. The film opened at #3 at the box office on opening weekend. On May 31, 2008, North American distributor Bandai Entertainment announced they had acquired the rights to the film. The movie's first English release was a direct-to-DVD version, released on June 3, 2009 in Australia. The UK DVD was released on September 14 2009 via Manga Entertainment.

Animated Series

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 Ikou! 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 7 other languages.

In 2009, another TV anime was announced, called Tamagotchi! (たまごっち!). It began in October 2009. Foreign releases for this anime have not been announced as of 2010.

Animated video

An animated video called, "Now Museum, Now You Don't," Tamagotchi Video Adventures was produced by 7th Level, Inc. in association with Bandai in 1997. Directed by Dan Kuenster, produced by Susan Deming and written by Kuenster, Deming and David Lewman. It runs approximately 42 and a half minutes long. Cosmotchi sends the Tamagotchi to Earth to collect an object that best exemplifies the planet for the Tamagotchi Museum. An original animated music video ("What's a Tamagotchi?") and a how-to-draw Tamagotchi featurette, starring director Kuenster follow the movie.

Music

A song called "Tamagotchi" was produced by the music band Sqeezer in 1997.

In Japan, the band Kigurumi, after gaining new members and becoming a trio, released their single, "Tamagotchi", on November 21, 2007, which was also the theme music for the film. It was dubbed in English along with the English dub of the movie.

The group Daze made a song called "tamagotchi"

The Los Angeles based pop duo, LOONER, released their tribute to the toy in May 2009 with the single "I Love My Tamagotchee!"

Criticism and controversy

One controversy over Tamagotchi digital pets involved children taking them to school because certain Tamagotchi versions could starve or die in less than half a day from lack of care. Worry over potential ownership disputes, class disruptions, and general distraction from schoolwork has led many schools to ban the product. (Later versions included a 'pause' feature, plus a newer sound on/off function). Some parents also express concern because the device constantly calls the user to it with penalties for ignoring its signal, including death, starvation, and sickness, effectively keeping the device in the child's consciousness at all times and interfering with other, potentially constructive, activities.

On August 3, 2005, South Australian MP Nick Xenophon attempted to ban the Tamagotchi Connection Version 2 (or at least have it classified R18+) due to the "Slot" game featured on it, fearing that it would make kids grow up to become "gambling addicts of tomorrow".

Bandai has been criticized by male Tamagotchi fans for allegedly marketing their newer products primarily toward girls.

External links

• Official USA Tamagotchi site
• Official European Tamagotchi Site
• Net Discovery! Tamagotchi, current official Japanese site
  • Net Discovery! Tamagotch (1996-1998 Japanese Tamagotchi page)
  • [1] Official Movie Website
  • くちぱっちのモグモグブログだっち Kuchipatchi's blog
  • [2] Tamagotchi Blog
  • [3] Tamagotchi Planet
  • [4] Tamagotchi Town (UK AU USA & NZ)
  • [5] Tamagotchi Town (Europe Etc.)