Tamagotchi Technical Description – Sindy’s Work For Writing For Engineering

Dissection of the acclaimed 90’s toy: The Tamagotchi

Sindy Hernandez

Division of Science, The City College of New York

ENG 21007

Professor Sara Jacobson

March 22, 2023

Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3

Caring for your Tama……………………………………………………………………………………………………….3

Surgery…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11

Reference page………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12

Reflection……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..13

Introduction

A tiny handheld digital pet had everyone of all ages in a chokehold in the 90s. The Tamagotchi was born on November 23, 1997, by co-creators Aki Maita and Yokoi Akihiro and is owned by Bandai. The egg-sized pet got its name Tamagotchi from the words “Tamago” meaning egg and “uotchi” meaning watch. Just as the name claims, this egg requires you to take care of your pet using the three buttons (A, B, and C) which all have distinct functions. What influenced Yokoi to create the idea of the Tama was a commercial of a boy who could not bring his turtle on vacation. This left fans wondering about where this commercial came from, nevertheless, Yokoi thought about creating a virtual pet that you could carry around all the time. This inspiration led Yokoi to contact Aki Maita who worked for Bandai and then the rest is history. Soon the toy became a hit with Bandai selling 82 million units of Tamagotchi with 102 releases as of 2022. There are video games (for Nintendo DS, 3DS, Gameboy, PC, Sega, and Wii) as well as films and short films depicting the lives of the characters. This egg-sized pet has created a strong community of fans that help each other with learning more about their Tamagotchis, sharing information, as well as selling their own Tamagotchis. There are websites like Tamatalk and Facebook communities where collectors can share their love for Tamas.

Caring for your Tama

What differentiated the Tamagotchi from the Pet Rock that was also released in the 90s is that if you do not take care of your Tamagotchi, it will die and then you will restart and hatch a new egg. The level of care given to the Tamagotchi affects the growth of the pet as well as which pet you get. There are growth charts available online to see the requirements needed to obtain certain characters. Using the three buttons (A, B, and C), users can feed their Tama, play games, clean their poop, and turn off the lights. The Tama beeps to tell users when they must pay attention to their Tama and tend to their needs. Failure to respond to your Tamagotchi’s needs results in your Tama becoming sick. They can also become sick if you do not maintain a clean environment for your Tama. The functions vary depending on the certain release that you have as well as what you need to do to level up your pet. An example is the demon slayer edition of the Tamagotchi. As shown in Figure 1, the Tamagotchi characters in the demon slayer can evolve to different characters based on the level of care. Users will first start off with the starter character which in this case is the Mizunoto which later evolves to Kinoe. After Kinoe this is where your “adult” character comes in based on how you take care of the character in the Kinoe phase which can also be seen as the teen phase in other versions. What makes this version different is that depending on which game you play out of the three your character can evolve to get one of the nine Hashira’s or you can get Tanjiro, Inosuke, or Zenitsu from the Mizunoto phase. The amount of food you give your character also influences which character you get. Tamagotchis has special characters and, in this case, Nezuko is the special character that can be achieved by getting Tanjiro first. You must get 15 perfect games with Tanjiro to get Nezuko. This demon slayer growth chart is just one of many growth charts out there that are released by Tamagotchi themselves or by Tama fans. These small egg sized digital pets may not seem complex but they are.

Figure 1

Demon Slayer Growth Chart

Note. Demon Slayer growth chart. From Demon Slayer Tamagotchi, by Fandom (n.d). (https://tamagotchi.fandom.com/wiki/Demon_Slayer_Tamagotchi/Character_list).

Surgery

There are many distinct parts to a Tamagotchi that allows the digital pet to function. Before performing surgery on a Tamagotchi, the tool you will need is a Phillips-head screwdriver. As you follow the steps to break apart the Tamagotchi, you must proceed with caution and gently remove all the parts. The images below will demonstrate the dismantling of a p1 Tamagotchi. Knowing how to break apart a Tamagotchi can help collectors or anyone who is interested in Tamagotchi be able to repair it or make any personalized changes if need be.

First step: Unscrewing the battery casing

The first step needed to dismantle the Tamagotchi is to remove the battery casing. As shown in Figure 2, that’s what the Tamagotchi looks like with the four screws in tact and the battery casing as well.

Figure 2

Battery Casing

After unscrewing all four screws and removing the battery casing your Tamagotchi should look like Figure 3.

Figure 3

Removal of Battery Casing

Second Step: Removal of batteries

After removing your battery casing, you will see the batteries that give life to the Tamagotchi. As you start to remove both the batteries your Tamagotchi should start “dying” and have its screen fade away.

Figure 4

Batteries Removed

Third step: Removal of the main casing

After removing the batteries, you will have to remove another casing (main casing) that contains four longer screws than the original screws used for the battery cover. Place the batteries and screws in a safe area and separate the different screw types to avoid confusion.

Figure 5

Removal of Main Casing

Note. The Tamagotchi is about to get the four longer screws removed to lift up the main casing. From Tamagotchi Surgery, by Ed T. Toton III, 1997. (http://necrobones.com/tamasurg/). Copyright 1997, Ed T. Toton III.

Fourth step: After unscrewing the main casing

After unscrewing the main casing, you will pull apart the casing to reveal the circuit board. The circuit board can be seen in the middle of the two halves attached by two wires. As you start to pull apart the casing the reset button may fall so make sure to not lose it.

Figure 6

What Happens After the Main Casing is Removed

Figure 7

Reset Button

Fifth step: Integrated circuit

Once you pull apart the cover’s halves, it reveals the integrated circuit which is the brains behind the Tamagotchi. Figure 8 will show what the Tamagotchi looks like with the foam insert and Figure 9 will show how it looks like without the foam insert and shows the integrated circuit covered by protective plastic.

Figure 8

Foam Insert

Figure 9

Intergrated Circuit

Sixth step: Removing the cardboard backing

Figure 10 will demonstrate what the Tamagotchi looks like with the cardboard backing and figure 11 will reveal the screen of the Tama once the backing is removed which is interesting because you can see the screen that brings the character to life. In Figure 10, a toothpick is being used to lift the cardboard backing since it is fragile. It is important to be careful when removing the cardboard backing because there are spacers on the top and bottom of the cardboard that contain conductors that connect the LCD screen to the circuit board.

Figure 10

Cardboard Backing

Note. This half of the main casing contains the screen, buttons, and cardboard backing. Removal of the cardboard backing is being performed. From Tamagotchi Surgery, by Ed T. Toton III, 1997. (http://necrobones.com/tamasurg/). Copyright 1997, Ed T. Toton III

Figure 11

Screen

Seventh step: Removing the backing

Once the cardboard backing has been gently removed, you can change it if you would like or leave it alone. As shown in Figure 13, the buttons are also revealed once the backing has been removed. You can also customize the buttons if you would like.

Figure 12

Backing

Figure 13

Buttons

After completing all these steps, Tamagotchi users have now successfully dismantled a Tamagotchi.

Conclusion

As the years go by, Tamagotchi has evolved to be more than just a handheld digital pet. It has taken form in all different types of platforms and game consoles. It has also formed a dedicated community of Tamagotchi-loving fans who keep the Tama alive. Customizations and repairs can be made by simply breaking apart the Tamagotchi. Just like how you need to be careful when breaking apart the Tamagotchi, you also must take diligent care of your digital pet. The amount of care that you give to your character influences which one you get as well as how much care your character will need after it is evolved. After 27 years since its release, Tamagotchi continues to plan to make new releases.

Works Cited

Andersen, S. S. (2021, November 23). The Tamagotchi Was Tiny, but Its Impact Was Huge. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/tamagotchi-25-year-anniversary-impact/

Bereznak, A. (2017, March 27). The Underground World of Tamagotchi Collectors. The Ringer. https://www.theringer.com/2017/3/27/16038420/tamagotchi-collectors-bandai-digital-pets-9b946143c747

Fandom. (n.d.). List of all Tamagotchi Releases. Tamagotchi Wiki. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://tamagotchi.fandom.com/wiki/Category:List_of_all_Tamagotchi_Releases

Fandom. (n.d.). Demon Slayer Tamagotchi/Character list. Tamagotchi Wiki. Retrieved April 13, 2023, from https://tamagotchi.fandom.com/wiki/Demon_Slayer_Tamagotchi/Character_list

Magazine, S., & Delgado, M. (2021, December 22). Keeping Tamagotchi Alive. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/keeping-tamagotchi-alive-180979264/

Totton III, Ed. T. (1997). NecroBones.com. Necrobones.com. http://necrobones.com/tamasurg/

XenForo. (n.d.). Tamagotchi Forum. Tamagotchi Forum. https://www.tamatalk.com

Reflection

This assignment was new for me, and I enjoyed it because it was a product chosen by me. Owning my own Tamagotchi, I saw how the Tamagotchi played a more significant role in other people’s lives. I always enjoyed games especially Nintendo’s and while doing research for this technical description I learned how although some people might see old games or toys as dead, there are still communities out there of fans who are keeping the product alive because they genuinely enjoy it.

For the parts of the Tamagotchi, I had some confusion about how to approach it but after researching there were many resources out there on the various parts of the Tamagotchi. I think one part that I struggled with was the in-text citations of the images. I’ve done it before but needed to refresh my memory on how to do it. Another issue I had come across was how to format the parts of the Tamagotchi. Unlike the peers I worked with, they had one image to show the different parts whereas I used several images to show the different parts being broken apart. I didn’t know which was better but I thought that the separate images was better for me. It was easier to understand since the Tamagotchi is so small.

Throughout the course of this technical description, I was able to learn more about a topic that I enjoyed. I learned new facts that I never knew about before. The amount of Tamagotchis and different versions shocked me and it was enjoyable being able to see the different parts of such a tiny egg.