Looking Back At The Dreaded And Bizarre Times Of Tamagotchis

Many children of the ’90s adored the Tamagotchi while the adults resented it as they believed it could be harmful to kids. The Tamagotchi had an egg shape, and its small screen resembled a small television. The children adopted it as their child as it required to be fed, groomed, and cleaned. It made them feel like parents. When these pets grew, they looked more like aliens.

The Tamagotchis were designed in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi and Aki Maita. Bandai, a Japanese toy company, developed the toy into its world-class standard. In 1996, 40 million toys were sold internationally. In the following 20 years, sales increased to 82 million Tamagotchis.

The Tamagotchis inspired the creation of a backstory concerning Professor Banzo who’s love life was in shambles. He had 100 failed romantic relationships under his belt. This led him to hopelessly walk along the Japanese Sumida River and had an encounter with alien creatures in a UFO. Therefore, according to the tale, this is the reason behind the concept of Tamagotchis residing in a virtual egg.

Although parents resented these toys, they all spent millions of dollars on the Tamagotchis worldwide. However, the attention-seeking nature of the pet was a cause for concern for teachers and parents. Kids lost too much learning time while taking care of the Tamagotchis, as they smuggled them into class. This was necessary because these pets died after 30 minutes.

Psychologists also expressed concern about the emotional well-being a child would experience when their Tamagotchi virtually died. However, the “grieving” child had an option to reset the Tamagotchi and give it another life. Some owners preferred not to reset it to life, but to give their pet a respectable virtual burial.