Gif: Bandai America
Years before smartphones, kids’ preferred digital distraction was the Tamagotchi. The tiny gadgets were revived back in 2017, and have since evolved into more sophisticated handhelds. The latest version, the $60 Tamagotchi Pix, has a digital camera that introduces some novel interactivity and lets kids snap selfies with their virtual pets.
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Bandai America resurrected the original Tamagotchi 20 years after its debut (and 21 years after it first took Japan by storm) both for ‘90s kids looking to scratch a nostalgic itch and for a new generation looking for their next digital addiction. But in 2017 the Tamagotchi had to compete with the Nintendo Switch, upgraded smartphones, and even smart wearables. Not even the lure of nostalgia could make the original Tamagotchi compelling enough to devote endless hours to again, so it quickly evolved. Just a few years later, a better Tamagotchi arrived with a color screen, wireless interactivity, and even virt