Fake Tamagotchis and generic virtual pets occupy a strange place in the virtual pets fandom - they can be a common pitfall for newcomers, but they also sometimes have appeal to enthusiasts who know what they are and who specifically want to add something weird to their collection.
Then I realised that, although there are several TamaTalk members who discuss and/or own such devices, we don't have a database of them that others can check out in order to learn more about the suspicious offering that they saw on eBay, or that oddball creation that somebody was happy about adding to their collection the other day.
So let's make one, and let's use the following format for it;
[Picture goes here.]
Name: Name goes here. If one does not exist, use a defining trait or an auction title - for example "Green, tomato-shaped generic virtual pet" or "Funny happy lovely designer retro nostalgic handheld pet game 1990s intelligence toy gift".
Type: Fake or Generic - delete as applicable.
Notes: Brief information about the pet goes here. Delete this line if there is nothing of note to say.
You can copy the format from here and paste it into your own posts;
Code:
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Type:[/b] Fake or Generic
[b]Notes:[/b]
Remember that a fake/counterfeit is an item that is in some way trying to fool someone into thinking that it is something else, whereas a generic item may be a workalike but it isn't trying to decieve anybody. This thread is not for virtual pets from known "families" like Gyaoppi, Akachan, Dinkie, Hitorikko, and so on.
For the purposes of making this a useful reference, please follow the provided format, and please don't discuss the devices here - especially counterfeits, which tend to attract large amounts of discussion. For discussion of counterfeit Tamagotchis, please refer to
@KidRetro64's epic thread "
Fake Tamagotchis Are All over the Internet", which is TamaTalk's hottest place to discuss fake devices and unusual bootlegs.
Now let's get started!
Name: Tamagotchi Connection
Type: Fake
Notes: Possibly the most widespread counterfeit Tamagotchi of all time! It has four buttons instead of the genuine article's three, and uses generic 168 in 1 software that is commonly referred to by virtual pet enthusiasts as the "Bunny ROM", due to many eBay photographs of these devices showing a rabbit on-screen. If you're looking to buy virtual pets online, you will inevitably run into these infamous fakes sooner or later - most likely sooner.
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Name: Cyber Pet 168 in 1
Type: Generic
Notes: Also available in heart and apple shapes. The heart-shaped version is also sold by Keycraft Global as "Digi Pets". The box-art appears to imply that you can choose Slush the Husky (from the Ty Beanie Boos toy-line) and Abu the monkey (from the SNES version of the Disney's Aladdin video game) as pets on this device, but they are not part of the software. Uses the same 168 in 1 "Bunny ROM" software as the common four-button Tamagotchi Connection counterfeits. Distributed in the UK by the long-established toys and giftwares company
PMS International.
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Name: Virtual PETs
Type: Generic
Notes: A multi-pet from the long-established toys and giftwares company
Funtime Gifts, which is available in 32-in-1 and 49-in-1 versions. The clock on these virtual pets gains time rapidly, making them almost impossible to raise to adulthood. These were sold in British high-street stores such as Hawkin's Bazaar.
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Name: Virtual PETS - Tamagotchi Connection
Type: Fake
Notes: This is the standard 168 in 1 Tamagotchi Connection counterfeit, apparently this time from a company called Aquarius, but it's sold in packaging that steals its text from Funtime Gifts' generic Virtual PETs - even down to erroneously claiming that the fake Tamagotchi Connection is a 49-in-1 device. This virtual pet is therefore trying to fool people into thinking that it's two different things at once!
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If it's something that you guys want to do, go for it! I've got no interest in maintaining a wiki myself, though, which is why I just made this one a forum-based "database".
. The packaging erroneously claims that this is a 49 in 1 device.