Tamagotchi

Tamagotchi became popular in the fall of 1996 when they were introduced in Japan by the Bandai Toy Company. They are sold as "interactive digital pets."

First, the fad spread out among high school girls and office girls, and then the mass media also put out a lot of news to inform the public about tamagotchi.

When a store receives a new shipment of tamagotchi, many people always find out and form a huge line outside the store the night before it opens. They wait there all night, sometimes ten hours or longer, hoping to buy one. Everyone is crazy about them.

Problems created by the tamagotchi
It is hard to get a tamagotchi because they are in great demand. The company tries to make more, but stores sell them as fast as the company makes them.

There are never enough, so there are a lot of problems. For example, many high school girls play with them while they are in class, and even office workers play with them when they should be working. As a result, some schools have made rules against them, and they tell the students not to bring them to school.

Another problem is that people steal them from each other. Sometimes, a person who has just bought a tamagotchi is followed by other people who couldn't get one and who try to take them.

Another problem is that people sell them for too much money, especially the white tomagotchi. On the Internet, these white ones are sold for over 150,000 yen (over $1,500)!

Why do tamagotchis attract so many people?
One critic said that this phenomenon is the result of modern times. People who live in cities can't have pets in apartments of crowded towns. That is why there is so much demand for tamagotchis. People can't have real pets, so they want virtual pets.

How the tamagotchi works
The tamagotchi is egg-shaped, and it has a small screen and three buttons. If you push one of the buttons, an egg hatches. Then you have to feed and take care of the chick. It is like a real pet because it cries when it is hungry or when it wakes up or when it poops. Then you have to push a button to feed it or clean it up. Sometimes, you have to play with it.

It's an easy game, but you have to win. If you win the game, the chick (the tamagotchi) is happy and grows well. However, if you lose, the chick is bad and can even die. The company made 8 different kinds of tamagotchi characters, but you don't know which one you will get. People all over Japan want to get a tamagotchi, but sometimes they get a strange one. It is usually hard work to take care of them.