For other uses, see Tamagotchi (disambiguation)

たまごっち

Feeding the Tamagotchi by means of a meal or a snack.

Playing a game with the Tamagotchi.

Cleaning up a Tamagotchi's fecal matter.

Checking its age, discipline, hunger and happiness levels.

) is a handheld digital virtual pet that was first released in Japan on November 23rd, 1996. Co-created by Akihiro Yokoi and Aki Maita and owned by Japanese toy company Bandai since inception, it is a small and simple egg-shaped computer that tasks the user to take custody of one of the titular creatures, with its growth dependent on care quality. It has three buttons (A, B, and C) which allow the user to select and perform an activity, including:

Tamagotchi's concept of a portable pet was influenced by Yokoi watching a commercial of a young boy wanting to take his pet turtle with him in public. Overnight, Tamagotchi became a rapid success, with numerous virtual pet follow-ups and a United States release on May 18th, 1997, with several other international releases following, a fate Bandai wasn't initially expecting. Tamagotchi would go on to influence numerous imitators, a successful franchise, and several adaptations to other mediums. The virtual pets have sold over 70 million copies as of 2016 and the franchise has generated $6.2 billion, making it the 85th most lucrative media franchise. The most recent main release is the Tamagotchi On, released in Japan on November 23rd, 2018 and in the United States on July 28th, 2019.

Tamagotchi is also notable for being the root franchise for Digimon, which was initially a spin-off designed to increase Tamagotchi's appeal to boys.

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Name Origin

The name "Tamagotchi" officially comes from the Japanese word "tamago" meaning "egg", and the English word "watch".

A common but incorrect theory is that the name uses "tomodachi", meaning "friend", and combined with "tamago" means "egg friend".

Releases

Here is a list of Tamagotchi virtual pet releases. Releases in bold and italics are not Japan-exclusive:

Vintage Era (1996-1998):

Connection Era (2004-2015):

Color Era (2008-present):

Mini Releases:

Crossover Releases:

1997: Mothra Tamagotchi (Themed after Mothra, a character from Toho's Godzilla franchise.)

franchise.) 1998: Doraemontchi (Themed after Fujiko Fujio's iconic manga series Doraemon. )

) 2005/2006: Hanerutchi 1 & 2 (Themed after Haneru no Tobira , a comedy-variety show from Fuji TV.)

, a comedy-variety show from Fuji TV.) 2007: Oden-Kun Tamagotchi (Themed after Oden-Kun, an anime from TV Asahi.)

Characters

Main Article: List of Tamagotchi Characters

When Tamagotchi debuted, there were only 11 characters, with Oyajitchi and Bill as special characters inside and outside Japan, respectively. As of Tamagotchi On, there are over 1000 different Tamagotchi characters. Some of the most notable and prominent characters include:

Males:

Mametchi: Usually obtained from the best possible care, Mametchi is fiercely intelligent with an IQ of 250 measured among fellow Tamagotchis, and is also very courteous and polite with a pastime for inventing. Initially one of the 11 original Tamagotchis, Mametchi gradually become the franchise's main mascot following Tamagotchi Connection, and by extension one of Bandai's unofficial mascots. Mametchi is often front-and-center in marketing, has a statue in front of Bandai HQ (which even gets a dedicated raincoat in the event of rain) and even made a guest appearance alongside Super Mario and Pac-Man characters in the arcade game Mario Kart Arcade GP 2.

Kuchipatchi: Kuchipatchi's traits include his enormous appetite and fondness for all things edible, his carefree and lazy nature, and, in the anime, his verbal tic of ending his sentences with "da-tchi". The amount of care necessary for Kuchipatchi varies from device to device, but it rounds to average, including below average and above average. Also one of the 11 original Tamagotchis, Kuchipatchi gradually became a mascot for the franchise following Tamagotchi Connection, appearing alongside Mametchi and Memetchi in various marketing stints.

Kuromametchi: An occasional rival to Mametchi, Kuromametchi is known for his lone wolf appearance and attitude, his technique in sports, particularly soccer and skateboarding, and his selflessness to elderly Tamagotchis such as Otokitchi. He debuted in Tamagotchi School in Japan and Tamagotchi Connection V5 overseas, and has been a recurring character since. In the virtual pets, his necessary care ratio is on par with or slightly lower than Mametchi's.

Gozarutchi: He wants to be a ninja. He often throws shuriken (darts or ninja stars) for practice. He likes to sleep.

Androtchi: A robot with human-like feelings.

Young Mametchi: The young form of Mametchi. he idolizes him.

Gotchi King: The king of Tamagotchi Town. He looks like an egg. Some people say that if he laughs, he will crack into a million pieces.

Females:

Lovelitchi: She is an sweet, sensitive girl who cherishes her family and loves meeting new people. She can become shy and nervous about herself at times since she has so many fans.

Memetchi: She is very kind. She has a curly hair on top of her head.

Makiko: Memetchi's rival. They are very competitive.

Mimitchi: A smart Tamagotchi. Kind, but bares her teeth when angry.

Ichigotchi: A Tamagotchi who resembles a strawberry. She doesn't like it when people count the seeds on her head.

Chamametchi: Mametchi's little sister. She always wants to help her big brother.

Violetchi: The friendliest of Tamagotchis. She loves flowers and her hobby is gardening.

Maidtchi: She likes to make everything nice and tidy.

Masktchi: A shy Tamagotchi who hides her face behind a mask. She seems to be a female counterpart of Gozarutchi.

Gotchi Queen: The queen of Tamagotchi Town.

Video Games and Mobile Applications

To date, 25 console video games for Tamagotchi have been released, as well as several mobile applications.

Video Games

Worldwide

Japan-Exclusive

Mobile Applications

Filmed Content

Films

Television Series

Controversy

The largest Tamagotchi controversy arose due to children taking them to school because Tamagotchi can pass away due to a lack of care for just 1 day. Schools have created a rule saying that for their sake, school children should not take their Tamagotchi due to classroom disruptions from bleeping and also ownership disputes, such as it becoming get lost or broken. To solve this problem, Bandai have created a feature to turn the sound off and also a pause mode (replaced by travel show in Familitchi).