Megsy travels back to a time before smart phones and the internet, to find out some little known facts about a small portable toy that took over our lives.
Hatch this episode of Craze now. *Batteries not included*.
Let’s throw it back to the 90’s! The pop music? The culture? Dial up internet? Nope, it’s one of the world’s snazziest gadgets that took 1997 by storm; the Tamagotchi!
The digital pet that hung from a keychain around your neck was the forefront for the ‘cool kids’ in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. The pet that had every kid yelling to their parents “MUM, DAD, I WANT A TAMAGOTCHI!”
But where did it come from and why were they so popular? Well, Megsy has your answer.
Well, sort of. She needed a little bit of help to figure out the CRAZY obsession for our little friends, and called upon Jamie Garcia. Jamie is a senior lecturer at the school of computer science- who teaches game design and game development- I mean come on right!? The perfect person to ask.
The Tamagotchi- meaning ‘egg watch’- was created in 1997 by Akihiro Yokoi and Aki Maita from Japan and within the first six months, five million units were sold in Japan.
CRAZE producer Mel LOVED her Tamagotchi and along with technological advances, was able to connect her beloved digital pet to her computer, in Tamagotchi town!
Every kid was obsessed! So we all know what would have happened to those very kids when they found out their beloved pet had switched off for good.
And, apparently they’re still a thing- they will never die!
We think Megsy is on her way right now to pick up a brand new one.
This is an AFTRS original podcast and was made on Bidjigal and Gadigal country. We would like to acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional custodians of this land. We pay our very deep respects to Aboriginal elders past, present and emerging.
This episode was produced by Camille Thomson, Mel Maltby and Nat Agius
Executive Producer Grace Rouvray
Hosted by Megsy Hui
Our theme track is composed by Simon Beaton