Iconic 90s toy gets first UK store in massive comeback

One of the biggest nineties toys is making a comeback, complete with its own UK store.

Those of a certain vintage will remember their first virtual pet – the iconic Tamagotchi.

There have been several attempts to reignite the egg-shaped toy over the years, and the effort now appears to have paid off for the Japanese owner Bandai Namco.

Tamagotchi relaunched in the UK in 2019 and has been growing since.

The Tamagotchi Official Shop has now arrived at the Bandai Namco Cross Store in Camden Market, London.

There was no Tamagotchi shop in the UK at the height of the franchise in the 1990s.

The new toy looks much the same as the 90’s version, but it is also different in many ways.

‘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.

‘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.’

There are now a number of other virtual pets available on the market.

For example, Bitzee, made by Hatchimals, uses a flexible display that responds to your touch, and reacts to tilt-based movement.

Punirunes has a popular feature where you can place your finger inside the toy to ‘stroke’ your virtual pet on the screen.

There’s also Digimon virtual pets – another 1990s throwback – but 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.

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