Difference between revisions of "Tamagotchi"

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=== The Tamagotchi and Children ===
 
=== The Tamagotchi and Children ===
  
=== The Tamagotchi and Teenagers and Adults ===
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=== The Tamagotchi and Teenagers/Adults ===
  
 
== Controversy ==
 
== Controversy ==

Revision as of 17:21, 17 October 2010

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First Generation Tamagotchis - [image taken from http://webs.adam.es/rllorens/news.htm]

The Tamagotchi was a small, egg-shaped, hand-held LCD video game that was created in Japan in 1996. It became wildly popular in Japan, the United States, and other locations across the world, but only for a very brief period of time. According to one scholar, “manufacturers and distributors claim rarely to have seen such a meteoric rise of a product followed by such a phenomenal crash … practically overnight” (Bloch 286). At its most popular, fifteen Tamagotchis were sold every minute in the U.S. and Canada. Manufactured by the Bandai Corporation of Japan, it was marketed as “the original virtual reality pet” (Lee 305). The toy was the brainchild of a Japanese mother whose home was too small to accommodate a real pet, which her children desperately wanted. The idea was that the interactive “virtual pet” would fulfill the same desire that the children harbored for a real pet. The toy was composed of an LCD display screen, a hard and usually brightly-colored plastic case, several buttons, and a keychain. The images displayed on the screen were basic dot images that, despite their simplicity, managed to be incredibly engaging and entertaining. Multiple generations of the toy were manufactured, and it was also mimicked by several different companies.

The Evolution Process - [image taken from http://www.freewebs.com/tamagotchiexcitement/wheretogettamas.htm]

The name “Tamagotchi” is a wordplay on the Japanese “tamago,” which means egg (Gilson 368). Appropriately, the game began with a tiny egg, from which hatched a virtual animal. The object of the game was to care for the animal by performing various duties, including feeding it, playing with it, disciplining it, allowing it to sleep, and maintaining its hygiene. If the caregiver did a good job, the little animal would thrive and evolve into more sophisticated, attractive forms of itself. If the animal was neglected, however, it became ugly and unruly. Eventually, the animal would “die,” though nurtured animals did “live” longer than neglected ones. After death, the player could reset the toy and begin again with a brand new Tamagotchi egg.

The Rise of the Tamagotchi

Marketing and Advertising

Social and Psychological Implications

The Tamagotchi and Children

The Tamagotchi and Teenagers/Adults

Controversy

The Decline of the Tamagotchi

Bibliography