TL;DR: Your iPhone may have 128GB of storage, but does it scream for attention, poop in public, and die if you forget to feed it? No? Then it’s no Tamagotchi. Let’s pour one out for the digital pets that raised an entire generation of sleep-deprived, snack-trading, trauma-bonded ’90s kids.

They Were Our First Dependents (and Our First Casualties)

Before TikTok, before Instagram, even before flip phones, we had Tamagotchis—those egg-shaped, beeping blobs of pixelated need. Launched in 1996 by Bandai, these handheld anxiety machines sold over 91 million units worldwide (Forbes, Bandai) by 2023. They were marketed as “pets,” but let’s be honest: they were glorified guilt boxes. You fed them, cleaned up their relentless pixel poops, praised them… and if you slipped up? They didn’t run away or rebel. They died. Permanently.

The name ‘Tamagotchi’ combines the Japanese words for ‘egg’ (tamago) and ‘watch’ (uotchi). (source)

The Y2K Plague of the Playground

If you were in school between 1997 and 2002, you’ll never forget the sound: that shrill, panicked BEEP-BEEP-BEEP during silent reading time. Tamagotchis were banned in thousands of schools worldwide (source) — not because they were dangerous, but because nothing derailed a math lesson faster than a virtual death alert.

And the maintenance? Brutal. These things pooped every 60ish minutes in their early life stages. You either became a time management prodigy or developed a permanent side-eye for that kid who “accidentally” let yours starve during recess.

Codependency, But Make It Cute

What made Tamagotchis iconic wasn’t the gameplay (if you can call feeding and poop-scooping a “game”). It was the emotional terrorism. You were 10 years old, juggling multiplication tables and fruit roll-up trades, yet somehow responsible for keeping this digital gremlin alive. Forget to check it during a field trip? Your Tamagotchi would get sick, leave a trail of pixelated waste, and die before the bus ride home.

We were trauma-bonded to these keychain demons years before ghosting and gaslighting entered the cultural lexicon. And honestly? Some of us still check our old drawers, half-expecting to find a long-dead Tamagotchi blinking accusingly up at us.

Tamagotchi Never Died – They Evolved

The OG shells faded, but the legacy lives on: smartwatch reboots, mobile apps with actual sleep cycles (cheaters), and collabs with franchises like Demon Slayer and Sanrio. Tamagotchis aren’t just toys — they’re time capsules. Proof that love, guilt, and existential dread once fit in a 1.5” screen.

Still Feel That Guilty Pull? (We Do Too.)

If your inner child still tenses at the sound of a low battery alert, revive the nostalgia — without the responsibility. Our Tamagotchi-themed shirts let you rep those 8-bit panic attacks in style. Ultra-soft, retro designs, and zero risk of digital demise if you forget to charge them. You should still wash them every once in a while, though.