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Even Tamagotchi has a camera now

Feed, clean up poop, and take pictures

A pink Tamagotchi and a purple Tamagotchi, which are egg-shaped devices where little creatures live Image: Bandai Namco
Nicole Carpenter is a senior reporter specializing in investigative features about labor issues in the game industry, as well as the business and culture of games.

Bandai Namco announced Wednesday that its new Tamagotchi device will have a built-in camera. Yes, users will still be able to do basic Tamagotchi things, like feeding their pets and cleaning up their poops, but also use the camera feature to bring the world to a Tamagotchi.

Four colors will be available — pink, purple, blue, and green — for $59.99 per device. Bandai Namco senior director for brand strategy Tara Badie tells Polygon that there’s also a built-in social feed where players can share and store photos of their Tamagotchi and the friends its met out in the world. (There are 100 Tamagotchi friends in the real world, which can be found by taking pictures out there.) The device doesn’t need an internet connection to use the device and its feature, but it can do stuff online.

The camera isn’t only for taking pictures — using it, you can interact with the pet in new ways, like combining colors for cooking. Badie described it like this: When cooking, you can take photos of real-life objects that are different colors, then toss those colors into a pot to mix together. That’s how food happens! Naturally, you can feed your Tamagotchi right away, but also store the food in a refrigerator.

Of course, this is 2021, so users can also forgo cooking for their pet entirely and just order it delivery, too.

Elsewhere on the device, Bandai Namco has removed physical buttons and opted for a touch button; during an interview with Badie, she used the button to give pets to her Tamagotchi, a la 笔辞办é尘辞苍 Sword and Shield’s camp feature. Pre-sales for Tamagotchi Pix begin today in the United States, at various retailers.

Tamagotchi Pix is intended for six to 12 year olds, but there’s still a large portion of nostalgic, older players that continue to support the franchise. Bandai Namco launched a new Tamagotchi device in 2020 — Tamagotchi On Wonder Garden. The ’90s-inspired device brought color and new graphics to the Tamagotchi world. Tamagotchi Pix is an extension of that, with more stuff to do: raise a pet for a profession, “curate your Tamagotchi’s future career” (????), and see the next egg — when this Tamagotchi goes back to its home planet — influenced by the choices users have made.

Here’s to hoping I can keep my new buddy alive!

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