Bandai America Releasing the 2017 Tamagotchi Mini This Fall

nursinggirl747 · Jan 24, 2018

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/back-by-popular-demand-mini-tamagotchi-arrives-in-hot-new-colors-this-year-300587577.html Thought this was some good news keep a lookout.

Hoky · Jan 25, 2018

I just wish they'd release the anniversary P1/2's in addition to the minis. Wondering why they're not doing that with how the minis are selling like hotcakes everywhere.

Penguin-keeper · Jan 25, 2018

Hoky said:
I just wish they'd release the anniversary P1/2's in addition to the minis. Wondering why they're not doing that with how the minis are selling like hotcakes everywhere.

Having not received my Anniversary P2 yet, this is just a guess, but I wonder if it has to do with having to make a whole new batch with the English-language ROM and different shells in order to this? At least for the P1s (I never owned a P2 back in the day, so I don't know if this also applies there), the menus used text and not pictures.

This wasn't an issue for the 20th Anniversary Mini, since it contains no text, so they didn't have to deal with any localisation issues - they just released it as-is, but in different packaging. As far as I know, it's also the only release where they didn't censor/replace Obaketchi, too, as a result.

Hoky · Jan 25, 2018

Penguin-keeper said:
Having not received my Anniversary P2 yet, this is just a guess, but I wonder if it has to do with having to make a whole new batch with the English-language ROM and different shells in order to this? At least for the P1s (I never owned a P2 back in the day, so I don't know if this also applies there), the menus used text and not pictures.

This wasn't an issue for the 20th Anniversary Mini, since it contains no text, so they didn't have to deal with any localisation issues - they just released it as-is, but in different packaging. As far as I know, it's also the only release where they didn't censor/replace Obaketchi, too, as a result.

I figured it was probably the translation as well, but really the only things that needs translating are "Discipline, Happy, Hungry, yr and lb" and you could probably leave lb at kg at this point in time, so I imagine it can't be that challenging. And yeah, with the 20 years of growing interest in Japanese culture that America now has under its belt, Obaketchi's probably not something that needs to be edited anymore. (Now than I think about it, Tamagotchi was one of the first things that really ushered in the age of interest in JP culture in America...)