From the unlikely return of Gladiators to the resurgence of the layered blowout hairstyle beloved of Rachel from Friends, 90s nostalgia is in rude health. It was only a matter of time, then, until we witnessed the return of the era’s most baffling toy – the Tamagotchi.
Created by Akihiro Yokoi and Aki Maita in 1996, these keychain-sized gaming devices became an instant playground phenomenon, seeing millions of children neglect their real-life pets in favour of cleaning pixelated poop. Then, just as quickly as they arrived, these pocket playthings disappeared. While Nintendo channelled the Tamagotchi spirit into the hugely successful Nintendogs series, the rise of increasingly complex life sims, such as … well, The Sims, saw the pet and play genre die an untimely death – until now.
