Tucked inside every 90s kid’s backpack or blazer was an egg-shaped keyring that would beep at regular intervals throughout the day.
Inside this colorful trinket lived a crude blob that required almost constant attention. One moment it needed cleaning, the next it needed to go to the loo – and it was almost always hungry.
Its creators described it as a “virtual pet”, but it was best known as a Tamagotchi. In its brief heyday, the uber-successful toy was a love-it-or-hate-it cultural phenomenon. You either spammed it with food to shut it up or cared for it with the type of devotion typically reserved for a real-life kitten or puppy.
If nurtured correctly, your Tamagotchi would age and even have a baby, but neglected pets would do a runner or, worse still, die.
Now, after the latest in a long line of relaunches and rebrands, Tamagotchi is gaining traction once more.
Where is the Tamagotchi store in London?
Global sales for the toy more than doubled between 2022 and 2023, prompting Tamagotchi’s creator Bandai Namco to open its first shop in the UK, reports the BBC.
Fittingly, you can find the store inside Camden Market, a vestibule for vintage tchotchkes and pre-loved fashion.
The shop, a veritable time machine for millennials who were once scolded for catering to their Tamagotchi during class, is stocked with numerous variations on the classic toy.
Its latest incarnation comes with a few contemporary perks, allowing you to play on Wi-Fi, download new items and connect with friends. Kids in the US even got a version that could whip up pics of them next to their virtual playthings, thanks to an in-built camera.
So, can it win over today’s teens, who have been raised on a dopamine-releasing diet of endless TikTok videos and Roblox mini-games? Bandai Namco’s recent decision to launch a mobile game based on the classic toy, dubbed Tamagotchi Forever, shows it knows which way the wind is blowing.
If the little ones wind up tossing it onto the heap of unwanted toys and stocking fillers, you’ll likely be the one called upon to care for it. Ignore its whimpers at your own risk.
