Bandai Namco announced on Wednesday that its new Tamagotchi device will have a built-in camera. Yes, users will still be able to do basic Tamagotchi things, such as feeding pets and cleaning wolves, but they will also use the camera function to bring the world to a Tamagotchi.
Four colors – pink, purple, blue and green – will be available for $ 59.99 per device. Bandai Namco’s senior director for brand strategy, Tara Badie, tells Polygon that there is also a built-in social feed where players can share and store photos with their Tamagotchi and the friends they have met around the world. (There are 100 real-world Tamagotchi friends who can be found taking pictures there.) The device does not require an internet connection to use the device and its functionality, but can do things online.
The camera is not just for taking pictures – using it, you can interact with your pet in new ways, such as combining colors for cooking. Badie described it this way: When you cook, you can take pictures of real-life objects that have different colors, then throw those colors into a pot to mix. That’s how food happens! Of course, you can eat Tamagotchi immediately, but you can also keep the food in the fridge.
Of course, this is 2021, so users can also give up cooking for their pet and just order its delivery.
Elsewhere in the device, Bandai Namco removed the physical buttons and opted for a touch button; During an interview with Badie, she used the button to give her Tamagotchi pets, a la Sabia Pokémon and Shieldcharacteristic of the camp. Pre-sales for Tamagotchi Pix begin today in the United States at various retailers.
Tamagotchi Pix is intended for children ages six to 12, but there are still a large number of nostalgic, older players who continue to support the franchise. Bandai Namco has launched a new Tamagotchi device in 2020 – Tamagotchi On Wonder Garden. The device inspired by the ’90s brought new color and graphics to the world of Tamagotchi. Tamagotchi Pix is an extension of this, with several things to do: raising a pet for a profession, “taking care of Tamagotchi’s future career” (????) and seeing the next egg – when this Tamagotchi returns on his home planet – influenced by the choices made by users.
Here’s hoping I can keep my new friend alive!