If you're of a certain age, chances are you remember the moment your first tamagotchi died. Well, get ready to relive the sorrow all over again, because it seems everyone's favourite '90s virtual pet is coming back – and this time, you can wear it on your wrist.
Tamagotchi producer Bandai has revealed the Tamagotchi Smart, the first ever smartwatch version of the product, complete with touch and voice controls. It's certainly an intriguing, nostalgia-soaked proposition – but we have a feeling it won't cause too much worry to Apple Watch or the other devices in our guide to the best smartwatch.
Conceived to coincide with the Tamagotchi's 25th anniversary (no, we can't believe it either), Tamagotchi Smart features three buttons, just like the original. Users can also pet their, er, pet, using touch controls, and even talk to it thanks to voice recognition.
And there are even some more traditional smartwatch features, such as a step counter and the ability to, yep, tell the time. It looks like Tamagotchi Smart will be available in pink or cyan, and it also looks fairly large – like, believe it or not, you've strapped an actual Tamagotchi to your wrist.
Tamagotchi Smart will be available in pink or cyan (Image credit: Bandai)
While Bandai's reveal video (above) appears to pitch the product at children, we wouldn't be surprised to see it prove a hit with those who remember the halcyon days of the original Tamagotchi. Indeed, nostalgia is big business right now – from the revival of iOS 4 to Sonic the Hedgehog Lego, it seems plenty of us are yearning to recall simpler times (perhaps unsurprising after the events of the past year).
According to Kotaku, it will arrive in Japan in November, but there's currently no word on an international release. If you can't wait, check out today's best Apple Watch deals below.
Read more:
Get the Creative Bloq Newsletter
Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.
Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
