Generation 1

Appearance

Bandai released its first Tamagotchi on 20th November 1996. They started with 4 colours, but soon a lot more variations appeared. Please have a look at the colours that were released! Instantly The Tamagotchi became very popular. The suggested Retail Price was 1980 yen (about 17 dollars) but Tamagotchis were selling for up to 10 times their value on the black market. Bandai Japan was receiving up to 5,000 calls a day from would be Tamagotchi foster parents, the website received nearly a million hits a week. The product was originally aimed at High School girls, but was also purchased by everyone including top ranking business men. They took care of their pets whilst on the busy Japanese subway.

What is a Tamagotchi?

Literally translated from Japanese it means "loveable egg" or "egg watch" Tamagotchi is not a game! Tamagotchi is your very own, pocket sized virtual creature from Outer Space and must be cared for as you would with a normal pet.
It starts life by hatching a tiny cyber creature image. When Tamagotchi is hungry or wants to play, it beeps to get your attention. By pressing the different buttons you can check the Health Meter to find out what your pet needs. Play games or feed it to keep it happy, provide discipline (when your tama calls for no reason), clean up after it, or turn the lights out so Tamagotchi can sleep. Depending upon how well you nurture your pet, it will grow up to become a unique individual with different shapes and characteristics. The average life span varies from 10 days up to 30 days before your virtual pet changes into an Angel and flies away. But don't worry as you can hatch a new one and start again!

The Game

The Icons from left to right:

Feeding Time!
Your Tamagotchi needs to be fed regurlarly to help it grow bigger and more beautifull. There are two types of food you can feed your Tamagotchi. A nutritional "meal" which you should give your Tamagotchi on most occasions. If you feel your Tamagotchi has been very good you can feed it a "Snack". but be carefull not to over feed your pet as it will become over weight and unhappy! Excess weight can be lost at the local gym by playing one or two games.

Lights Out!
After a day of constant owner harassment your pet becomes tired and wants to go to sleep. You must then turn the lights off to ensure your Tamagotchi gets plenty of sleep. In the morning your Tamagotchi will wake up on it's own and switch the lights on again. You must ensure the clock is correctly set on your Tamagotchi as your pet lives in "real time" and you wouldn't want it waking you up at 3 O'clock in the morning!

Peek a Boo
Your tamagotchi becomes very unhappy if you allow it to get bored or over weight. To cheer up your pet you can play this simple "Peek a Boo" game. Press the 'A' button to turn left or the 'B' button to turn right. Your pet will try to guess which way you are going to turn. If it guesses correctly it will be very happy, however if it guesses wrong it will get upset :-(. You have five turns before your score is given. However you must let your Tamagotchi win otherwise it will sulk!

In Sickness and in health
Even a virtual pet can become sick, for instance when you forgot to clean it's pooh (O_o). But don't worry as you can play doctor or nurse and administer your pet with one or two shots of medicine until the pesky virus disappears. It's up to you check the screen for any signs of sickness as your tamagotchi will not call until it's too late!

Wipe time
As with a normal pet, your Tamagotchi will go to the toilet. When this happens you must clear away it's little parcels quickly. Failure to do so will result in your Tamagotchi becoming very unhappy and possibly sick. ----------------------------------------

Who's a healthy boy then?!
When the assistance icon appears you must check the health meter to see how you can help your little pet. There are four sub menus showing Age & weight, Discipline level, Food level and Contentment. From these menus you are able to determine why your pet has called you and what it requires you to do to keep it happy (and alive).

The Naughty Tamagotchi
Your Tamagotchi can be very naughty sometimes! If your pet calls you for no reason you must give it a stern telling off to ensure it doesn't continue to pester you ;-).

Please click here for the Generation 1 growth chart.