Odd design Keitai is NOT an Akai, but behaves like one...

[Owl]

This is strange. I got a new Keitai in the mail yesterday, and right off the bat I had noticed that its shell design was a variant from the common "Orange Soda" one I'd always seen (the common model has white accents whereas this one has yellow) as well as the background in the screen being different as well.

But after starting it up, I'm realizing it's more of an anomaly than I thought. It behaves like the Akai version, but without the red pixels. Everything from the egg at the hatching stage to the characters, games and items match up exactly with the Akai.

Even in this picture, you can see that the character I have is one from the Akai version that was never available on the regular Keitai:

...

*scratches head*

Does anyone know anything about this...? o__o
Do I have a rare Tama in my hands? (Some sort of prototype, maybe...?)

 

[ciara683]

rare or the person put the guts of the akai in it but left the black pixel screen in there

 

[Owl]

rare or the person put the guts of the akai in it but left the black pixel screen in there

Can you even do that...?

I doubt that's what happened here. When I got it, the Tama had never been used.

 

[TamaMum]

I'm not much of an expert on fakes, but if it had never been used, did it come NIP?

Have you still got the packaging and instructions?

(I am wondering if the instruction sheet and the packaging style & pack info - including country of origin/manufacture might give everyone more clues - could it be some sort of odd Asia/Pacific/Australasia version?)

 

[*Hayden*]

I know Ra has that design in one of his collection videos and I think he said something about it but I'm too lazy to search his 40 collection videos

 

[elisiemo]

It could be a case of factory error. Something similar happened way back in the day with Beanie Babies. Iggy the iguana and Rainbow the chameleon had their fabrics swapped for a run. There could have been a "guts" mix up at some point.

 

[ciara683]

yours definitely has had its guts removed as in ra's video his is normal and his has a different background.

like I said before someone probably switched the guts but left the black pixels screen in place.

shows his at 3 minutes in.

//www.tamatalk.com/IB/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png

 

[Owl]

I'm not much of an expert on fakes, but if it had never been used, did it come NIP?

Have you still got the packaging and instructions?

(I am wondering if the instruction sheet and the packaging style & pack info - including country of origin/manufacture might give everyone more clues - could it be some sort of odd Asia/Pacific/Australasia version?)

I did not get it NIP, but physically the Tamagotchi came to me brand new. I have written the seller and inquired a little more about where the Tama may have come from and if he knows whether or not it's been modified.

yours definitely has had its guts removed as in ra's video his is normal and his has a different background.

like I said before someone probably switched the guts but left the black pixels screen in place.

shows his at 3 minutes in.

//www.tamatalk.com/IB/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png

Not to completely disagree with your theory as it technically can't be disproven at this point, but the Tama shows absolutely no signs of being opened up, and Ra mentioned here in this topic that switching out the guts doesn't actually change the pixel color as that most likely has to do with the programming:

https://www.tamatalk.com/IB/topic/186424-keitai-akai-screen/?do=findComment&comment=3234654

And if we're going by that logic - Akai programming will always have red pixels, and Keitai programming will always have black.

 

[Amat Gotchi]

I don't know if this is useful information, but that background on your Keitai/Akai Tamagotchi is the same one used in many Tamagotchi Connection Version 3 models. (I actually have one with that same background, and I had another one with that same background long ago.)

That's really strange, though! Maybe it is a factory error like elsiemo said, or maybe it's a direct predecessor of the Akai. Like, right while they were making the Keitai, that black Akai could have been an experimental lineup with black pixels instead of red ones? Like Ciara said, a rare edition? Just a thought.

But have you had any problems with gameplay other than the strange pixels? If not, then you almost certainly don't have a fake.

 

[Owl]

I don't know if this is useful information, but that background on your Keitai/Akai Tamagotchi is the same one used in many Tamagotchi Connection Version 3 models. (I actually have one with that same background, and I had another one with that same background long ago.)

That's really strange, though! Maybe it is a factory error like elsiemo said, or maybe it's a direct predecessor of the Akai. Like, right while they were making the Keitai, that black Akai could have been an experimental lineup with black pixels instead of red ones? Like Ciara said, a rare edition? Just a thought.

But have you had any problems with gameplay other than the strange pixels? If not, then you almost certainly don't have a fake.

Nope, no problems with gameplay at all. Behaviour-wise, it is completely sound. It just acts like an Akai instead of a regular Keitai.

 

[Owl]

So I just finished speaking with the seller, and he said he got it new in the box from a toy store in Tokyo that closed out in May. The store had it sitting in a warehouse for a few years (as it's obviously an older run) so the box was a little dirty, but apart from that, the Tama was brand new in the box. The seller removed the Tama from the box himself, but never opened the actual unit up or even used it at all except to very briefly test it later before selling it.

One strange bit here though is that the box didn't include instructions.

So it looks like this may indeed be a true scarcity. An early Akai prototype is my best guess, especially if there were no instructions included. It could have just been packaged as a testrun and then accidentally leaked with the final models. I've heard of this happening before in other toy lines - though it is extremely, extremely rare.

 

[Amat Gotchi]

So I just finished speaking with the seller, and he said he got it new in the box from a toy store in Tokyo that closed out in May. The store had it sitting in a warehouse for a few years (as it's obviously an older run) so the box was a little dirty, but apart from that, the Tama was brand new in the box. The seller removed the Tama from the box himself, but never opened the actual unit up or even used it at all except to very briefly test it later before selling it.

One strange bit here though is that the box didn't include instructions.

So it looks like this may indeed be a true scarcity. An early Akai prototype is my best guess, especially if there were no instructions included. It could have just been packaged as a testrun and then accidentally leaked with the final models. I've heard of this happening before in other toy lines - though it is extremely, extremely rare.

The Akai prototype idea makes sense, yes it's rare but since there haven't been other reports of it happening, you may be the first knowledgeable person to buy one. (There may have been others like yours that were bought, but they may have been younger kids who didn't know the pixels were supposed to be red.)

So congrats! It might be disappointing that the pixels are black, but it's a cool thing to have in your collection.

 

[Owl]

The Akai prototype idea makes sense, yes it's rare but since there haven't been other reports of it happening, you may be the first knowledgeable person to buy one. (There may have been others like yours that were bought, but they may have been younger kids who didn't know the pixels were supposed to be red.)

So congrats! It might be disappointing that the pixels are black, but it's a cool thing to have in your collection.

It's fine, I was expecting a Keitai anyway, so I don't mind that the pixels are black.

What an interesting find.

I'll have to be super careful with this one. I had already applied a screen protector - but after all this, I went and found my clear silicone Tama case as well. I feel it is now my duty to protect this thing as much as humanly possible while still allowing myself to enjoy it somehow. xD

 

[LittleChocoWolf]

Wow. That's really cool actually o.o