Pocket Pets

Pocket Pets

Apparently that’s the name for the little Chihuahuas that seem so popular among the glitterati. Which reminded me of those other pocket pets, the Tamagotchi. Where did they disappear?

For those that don’t remember (or never knew) them, the Tamagotchi are tiny plastic computer game pets with a small screen and three buttons. You hatch a little screen critter that then needs taking care of, just like a baby. My daughter and her friends used to feed and diaper and comfort their little guys while in class holding them under the table. If they weren’t fed promptly, they beeped. If they weren’t well taken care of, they got sick. True negligence would lead to death. They were the hottest toy of 1997, and then they disappeared. Almost. Here’s one girl’s description of the latest model from Amazon:

First step:
You see your Tamagotchi egg first. Then you get to set time and stuff like that. After a couple of minutes, it'll hatch. Congratulations! It will say if it is a boy or a girl and then you can name it.

Second Step:
Now, your tama is very important especially when it's younger. It usually beeps frequently so be aware. You might want to check it to see if it poops because I don't think it beeps when it poops and it's younger. After a day or so it will become a toddler.

Third Step:
So you have a toddler? Congrats! Basically it’s just like the baby.

Fourth:
After a while it will become a very cool teen. And if u cared for it well, you get a nice kind teen...if not, you'd get a rebel teen. You can check out character info on www.tamagotchi.com

Fifth:
Eventually, it will became an adult...maybe its fifth year? And soon it will get a mate...sweet! It'll have a baby...and if your first tama dies, you'd have another to take care of! Isn't that awesome!

And all this done with three buttons and a 1’x1’ screen… Genius.