Thoughts of others around you about Tamagotchi?

[Tech Admin]

I came across the following tweet and started to wonder what the current state of Tamagotchi is out in the world.  I suppose virtual pet fans are in something of a bubble nowadays where it is easy to surround yourself (on forums, social media, etc) with people who like the same things. But what is it like out in real life?  What do people around you think of your Tamagotchi?  Do you all hide your Tamagotchi from others?

There is no denying that it is not as popular as in the past...  But there are still lots out there in use and still being sold...  Or am I completely wrong?

 

[Jhud]

When I say that I like tamagotchis people usually answer that with "...what? they still exist?". Poland is one of the countries that sadly did not get the mini or vintage remakes so people are still pretty much out of the loop even about that, but then again we didn't get any vintages back when they were first released either. The first bandai tamagotchi that actually got released here was the v3, and the last was tamagotchi friends. But when they do they are usually quite pleased and are like "wow, cool".'

 

[TamaPapa]

I don't tell many people I enjoy tamagotchis lol

For some I think it is difficult to understand the appeal for caring for a digital pet...

 

[Miau]

Most of the responses I get are something along the lines of "Whoa Cool! I used to have one of those!" as if they're some old relic; but when I break out the newer color models their minds are absolutely BLOWN lol. I once got someone browsing through ebay after an encounter. Of course, there's always the "what are you, 5?" comments, but those come pretty far and few between. Usually they're very positive reactions! I think with the new eevee tama that was released and the re-release of the originals there will be a renewed spike in interest with the general public. I have a friend who made fun of my little virtual pets pretty regularly, but once the eevee tama came out he actually bought one! He's stopped making fun of my hobby since haha

~Miau

 

[Tech Admin]

I've been curious to know if a bit of Bandai's thinking with the re-releases and such...  I've been left wondering if part of this is related to the fact that many of the people that had Tamagotchi as kids are now getting to the age of having their own kids.  Will there be some generational sharing thing?

 

[Miau]

I've been curious to know if a bit of Bandai's thinking with the re-releases and such...  I've been left wondering if part of this is related to the fact that many of the people that had Tamagotchi as kids are now getting to the age of having their own kids.  Will there be some generational sharing thing?

I personally think it might be Bandai's attempt to revive the following they had here in the west. I have seen some parents introducing their kids to them though! I'm praying it isn't just a nostalgia cash grab, but I think we're past that after the minis. To my understanding, the re-releases seem to be doing relatively well? Gigapets are also making a comeback, but they're including usage of an app along with the physical toys. Bandai's doing the app thing as well with Tamagotchi Forever, but I wonder if we'll be seeing exclusive apps with the purchase of a physical toy in the future? Bright colors and ease of access with phone usage seem to be a hit with younger demographics.

~Miau

 

[QueenRita]

When I have an active one I keep it on my belt loop and don't draw attention to it unless others notice first, but once one of my teachers got really excited and asked to see my tamagotchi, and when I got some in the mail once my stepdad said "Don't you have enough of those yet?" but he didn't seem to be upset, just teasing me. Most people don't seem to care about them for the most part, though. Actually, once during DnD my tamagotchi beeped and someone at the table said "We need to get you a hobby," but... Oh well, lol.

 

[Tech Admin]

I remember speaking with some of the Bandai USA folks many years ago regarding phones.   This was around the time of explosive growth in smartphones and the decline of sales of Tamagotchi in stores.  Back then they recognized that phones/apps were going to be eating into the attention spans of their customers.  That being said, I think having apps integrated with the handheld devices is a natural thing to expect (though we kind of saw this kind of experimenting with Tamagotchi and web site codes years ago too).

It is crazy to think about how much things have changed with Tamagotchi, the web, phones, social media, etc in just the (almost) 15 years that TamaTalk has been around...  I hope Bandai is able to figure something compelling out.