Virtual Pets in the Media

[decepticoncrown]

I was curious if anyone had favorite moments of virtual pets being mentioned in the media - movies, shows, books, ect. Virtual pets were a hot commodity back in the 90's and there were some sitcoms that got some mileage from them back in the day. One of my favorites is from Spin City, where it shows a gold Giga Pet Digital Doggie or Compu Kitty:


(The clip is teasing virtual pet fans but let's be real here, we've all felt like this guy at least once or twice)

Are there any other shoutouts or subplots from popular entertainment that stands out to anyone here?

 

[Bentobuff]

I keep checking back here because I want there to be more sooooo badly
I guess there just wasn't much with those sorts of plots.

 

[iAM]

Video games may not be considered part of the media but I think this is worth mentioning!

One of the games I currently play is “Dead By Daylight” and they have charms as cosmetics for the characters.

One of the charms is actually a virtual pet and it’s giving me Giga Pets vibes!

 

[decepticoncrown]

Video games count! Nice find, it's a cute shout out to the 90's era virtual pets.

Your post reminded me, the video game Hypnospace Outlaw also features virtual pets. They're more parodies of old desktop buddies than Tamagotchis (or similar v-pets), but the in-game site for them will definitely remind a fan of the old geocities fansites for Tamas.

 

[iAM]

I’m surprised no one talked about this but Wizardmon from Digimon adventures anime is holding his magic stick and on top of it we see a tamagotchi reference:


That’s a nice easter egg!

 

[Penguin-keeper]

I’m surprised no one talked about this but Wizardmon from Digimon adventures anime is holding his magic stick and on top of it we see a tamagotchi reference:

Ooh, that's a good one! If it counts (considering that Tamagotchi and Digimon are both owned by Bandai and are officially connected), Oyajitchi and Nanimon are one and the same, too.

Anyway, I have one to add as well!

Although I've never read it myself, book 6 in a series called The Petsitters Club, "Trixie and the Cyber Pet", features a virtual pet as a plot-point and, consequently, on the cover. It was published in March of 1998, so this was a contemporary reference to the original virtual pet boom. This is the synopsis, from Goodreads.com;

Sam, Jo, Matthew, and Katie are four animal-loving kids who start up their own neighborhood service--the Petsitters Club--as a school-related community service. In this volume, the aristocratic and bossy Mrs. Potter-Bunn is off to Paris, so she leaves the kids with Trixie-Belle, her Yorkie. Then the little pup finds a wonderful new friend: Henry, the cyber pet!

 

[decepticoncrown]

I need to check out that book! Coverage of virtual pets when it was a big trend in the 90's are my favorite, that looks like a fun read.

I just found out that the Tamagotchi Wiki has a fairly big page dedicated to media references. It's a pretty extensive list, but there are a few here it doesn't mention! (Both in terms of media referencing Tamas and Tamas referencing other media).

I've mentioned this on a previous thread, but Are You Afraid of the Dark? had a virtual pet episode called "Tale of the Virtual Pets". In the episode the virtual pets (virtual dogs called "diggers") are aliens trying to brain wash kids to do their bidding. It's pretty funny and a nice time capsule of the late 90's.



Evil or not, I'd probably still buy it and run it.