A Tamagotchi comeback? Toy gets first UK store as global sales double
Tamagotchi is having a moment – again.
The egg-shaped toy housing a virtual pet was one of the biggest crazes of the 1990s.
And several attempts to reignite the brand over the years appears to have now paid off for owner Bandai Namco.
Global sales more than doubled between 2022 and 2023, it tells the BBC, and Tamagotchi has now opened its first shop in the UK – something it didn’t even do when it was 1996’s hottest gadget.
Unsurprisingly, the modern Tamagotchi isn’t the same thing you would have bought in the 1990s.
It still looks the same – a garishly coloured egg with a small digital screen and buttons – but the actual toy has much more functionality.
“Now you can connect with friends, you can play on Wi-Fi and download different items, and that’s really combating that sense of fatigue that you might have gotten with some earlier models,” Tamagotchi brand manager Priya Jadeja told the BBC.
The virtual pet officially relaunched in the UK in 2019 and has been growing since – with a perhaps surprising mix of players young and old.
“When we relaunched, we thought it would be a very millennial-focused relaunch,” Ms Jadeja says.
“But it’s being introduced to kids who’ve never had this sort of device before – it’s really exciting to see them embracing it.”
Unlike in 1996, now there are many other virtual pets on the market.
For example Bitzee, made by Hatchimals, uses a flexible display that responds to your touch, and reacts to tilt-based movement.
Meanwhile Punirunes has a popular feature where you can place your finger inside the toy to “stroke” the virtual pet on the screen.
And there’s also Digimon virtual pets – another 1990s throwback – though these are also owned by Bandai Namco, and were originally designed as Tamagotchi for boys.
Despite those gender-based lines being drawn back in the day, Jadeja says there doesn’t seem to be any real difference in who buys the toys now.
For the Tamagotchi fans we spoke to, nostalgia is playing a big role.
