Tamagotchi

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Tamagotchi Logo (2006)
Tamagotchi

The Tamagotchi ( Jap. たまごっち , word created from tamago (dt "egg") and. Watchi (of English. Watch , dt "PM");. In Japan originally as "Tamagotchi" Romanized) is derived from Japan Electronics toy that from Was popular worldwide in 1997, in 2004 in the Connexion versions and in 2017 for the 20th anniversary.

Gameplay

The Tamagotchi is a virtual chick that you have to look after like a real pet from the moment it hatches . It has needs like sleeping, eating, drinking, affection and also developing its own personality . The Tamagotchi reports at different times and asks for the owner's attention. If neglected, it will die but can be reset by pressing a reset button and the game will start over. This is possible in all versions except the first Japanese, which only had a single life cycle and then had to be disposed of. Separate cemeteries and telephone hotlines were set up especially for this purpose.

Dimensions

  • Original version from 1997: 5 cm high, 4 cm wide and 1.5 cm thick. 32 * 16 pixels .
  • Connexion from 2004: 5.5 cm high, 4.5 cm wide, 1.5 cm thick. 64 * 32 pixels
  • Anniversary 2017: 4 cm high, 3 cm wide, 1.5 cm thick. 16 * 16 pixels

history

The Tamagotchi was presented in 1996 by the Bandai employee Aki Maita ( 真 板 亜 紀 , Maita Aki ) as an idea in a department meeting and developed at Bandai. Initially only on the Japanese market, a little later through imports , plagiarism and competing products also in Europe and the USA , the little plastic egg became a cult within a few months, although it was relatively short-lived. The Tamagotchi came to Germany on May 12, 1997. Delivery bottlenecks favored trading on the black market .

It didn't take long for various manufacturers to offer competitor products, some of which were cheaper, which often offered a greater range of functions than the original. The second, improved original version of the toy did not impress the target group between 14 and 17 for long either - after a few months the “Tamagotchi rush” was over again. Some computer manufacturers have developed variants for the PC , Macintosh and Gameboy based on the game principle . Fans of the toy set up virtual cemeteries for the Tamagotchis on the Internet .

Tamagotchis weren't the first virtual animals. The Petz series (derived from the English  “pets”) for Windows and Macintosh computers has been around since 1995 . Dogs or cats are to be looked after there. A later game with a similar principle was Nintendogs for the Nintendo DS .

After almost eight years of rest around the "little egg", Bandai released the successor to the original Tamagotchi on February 26, 2004 under the name "Tamagotchi Plus" in Japan. The 600 advance copies offered on the internet at that time were sold out within a few minutes. The official launch in April 2004 was a complete success, Bandai was selling around 100,000 copies per week at that time.

In Germany , the successor was published on June 7, 2004 under the name "Tamagotchi Connexion Version 1". Among other things, there was the opportunity to connect the Tamagotchis and so give gifts to other Tamagotchi owners, get married and have children. The Tamagotchi then counts the family generations, because the parents go back to the Tama planet after the baby hatches.

On April 28, 2005, twelve new Connexion colors appeared. In 2005 the Tamagotchi Connexion Version 2 was released with new characters, games and a virtual shop. In 2006 the Tamagotchi Connexion Version 3 was released, which is equipped with even more options, games, characters and the possibility of obtaining new items from the Internet. The Tamagotchi Connexion Version 4 came out later - also with many new characters and games.

On September 17, 2007, the new version V4 + was officially launched. At the beginning of 2008 the Tamagotchi Connexion Version 5 appeared with the name "Tamagotchi Familitchi". Several characters are played as a "family" in one device.

On December 2, 2008, Tamagotchi Music Star Version 6 was released in Germany . On November 23, 2009, the Tamagotchi ID appeared in Japan with a TFT color display and infrared interface to cell phones.

On November 23, 2012, the Tamagotchi P's with a TFT color display and infrared interface to cell phones was released in Japan . In January 2014, the “Tamagotchi Digital Friend”, also called “Tamagotchi Friends”, was released in America and Europe.

On October 23, 2017, for the 20th birthday, a new edition of the "Tamagotchi Chibi" was published in Germany, which was exclusively available from the Müller drugstore chain . A second series with six new colors followed in 2018.

Differences between Tamagotchi and Tamagotchi Connexion

The following functions have been added or changed:

  • The display is bigger and has a higher resolution.
  • The Tamagotchi can be male or female.
  • One can give the Tamagotchi a name.
  • An infrared interface is available through which two Tamagotchis can play with each other, fall in love, have children and fight each other for points (the currency of the Tamagotchi world) (V1, V2, V3, V4, V4.5, V5).
  • The owner's date of birth can be entered (V1, V2, V3, V4, V4.5, V5, V6).
  • The name of the owner can be entered (V3, V4, V4.5, V6).
  • There are several game variants available.
  • In Connexion versions 1, 2, 3, 4, 4.5 and version 5, additional features were introduced (including a shop, more characters and other games).
  • With V2, V3, V4, V4.5, V5 and V6 there is a pause function.
  • There are toys and more food at V2, 3, 4, 4.5 and V5
  • You can go to kindergarten, elementary school and work or receive mail (V4, V4.5, V6).
  • You can have several characters in one Tamagotchi at the same time (V5).
  • You can visit Tamagotchitown, the city where the Tamagotchis live and play, with a normal Internet computer, and use individual codes to play your character on the Internet and transfer the items and money acquired there to your device (V3, V4, V4.5, V5, V6).

Awards

The term "Tamagotchi"

The term “Tamagotchi” developed into a collective name for the division of virtual pets in pocket computer size , such as the Puchico brand . It is a combination of tamago 卵 "egg" and the cuteness form chi or the combination of tamago and watch for watch.

Copycat products

Shortly after the Tamagotchi appeared, numerous imitation products came onto the market, e.g. B. Nekotcha ( Japanese Neko = cat), Smart Chicken, Dog and Dino, Giga Pets, Nano Pets, Baby Dino and DinoGotchi (suitcase word from Dino-Tamagotchi).

media

The Tamagotchis have been filmed as anime several times . From 1997 to 1998 the television series TV de Hakken !! Tamagotchi ( TV で 発 見 !! た ま ご っ ち , Eng. "Discovery on TV !! The Tamagotchi"). On July 12, 1997, the nine-minute short film Tamagotchi Honto no Hanashi ( た ま ご っ ち ホ ン ト の は な し , Eng. "The True Story of the Tamagotchi") was shown at the Toei Anime Fair.

Ten years later, animes animated by Oriental Light and Magic were produced again. The 12-part television series Saikō! Tamagotchi ( さ ぁ イ コ ー! た ま ご っ ち ) was broadcast nationwide on the BS11 satellite channel from December 1, 2007 to February 16, 2008 . On December 15, 2007 came the film Eiga de Tōjō! Tamagotchi Doki Doki! Uchū no Maigotchi !? ( えいがでとーじょーた!まごっちドキドキ!うちゅーのまいごっち!? , Dt. "Appearance in the cinema! Tamagotchi palpitations! A Missing Space Child Tamagotchi !?") in Japanese theaters and a year later on December 20, 2008 its sequel Eiga! Tamagotchi: Uchū Ichi Happy na Monogatari !? ( 映 画! た ま ご っ ち う ち ゅ ー い ち ハ ッ ピ ー な 物語!? , Eng. "The film! Tamagotchi: The happiest story in space !?"). A web anime in three episodes called Tamagotchi Original Anime ( た ま ご っ ち オ リ ジ ナ ル ア ニ メ ) was streamed on Bandai's YouTube channel Bandai Channel on December 12, 2008 .

From 12 October 2009 to September 3, 2012 was on TV Tokyo television series Tamagotchi! ( た ま ご っ ち! ) Broadcast with 143 episodes. This was followed by Tamagotchi from September 10, 2012 to August 29, 2013 ! Yume Kira Dream ( た ま ご っ ち! ゆ め キ ラ ド リ ー ム ) with 49 episodes, from September 5, 2013 to March 27, 2014 Tamagotchi! - Miracle Friends ( た ま ご っ ち! み ら く る フ レ ン ズ ) with 29 episodes, from April 3, 2014 to March 26, 2015 Go-Go Tamagotchi! ( GO-GO た ま ご っ ち! ) With 50 episodes and from April 2 to September 24, 2015 Tamagotchi! Tamatomo Daishū Go ( た ま ご っ ち! た ま と も だ い し ゅ ー GO ) with 26 episodes.

The German Eurodance formation Sqeezer released a single called "Tamagotchi" in September 1998, which became the toy’s official promotional song.

On the album released on April 13, 2012 by the German band Die Ärzte there is also a song called “Tamagotchi”, which contains numerous allusions to the toy.

See also

literature

  • Stefan Jahrling: Push me! Kiss Me! Feed me! The Tamagotchi conquered children's rooms 20 years ago. In: Das Archiv, 2, 2017, pp. 48–49.

Web links

Commons : Tamagotchi  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Tamagotchi  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ バ ン ダ イ タ イ ム マ シ ン . Bandai, archived from the original on November 19, 2007 ; Retrieved May 10, 2011 (Japanese).
  2. ^ Report of the Berliner Zeitung of October 2, 1997.