30 Years of Tamagotchi

30 Years of Tamagotchi, a Special Celebration in Tokyo

From a pocket-sized icon of the 1990s to an immersive experience today, Tamagotchi continues to connect memory, technology, and pop culture, captivating both longtime fans and new generations.

Tokyo is celebrating one of the most recognizable symbols of Japanese pop culture from the 1990s. Tamagotchi has turned 30. Since its debut, more than 100 million of the small virtual pets have been sold worldwide, charming users with their constant demands for food, care, and attention.

To mark the anniversary, celebrated on January 7, the Japanese company behind the phenomenon opened the Tamagotchi Grand Exhibition at the Roppongi Museum. The exhibition traces the evolution of these iconic pocket devices, often described as digital Easter eggs.

Visitors are taken on a journey through time, starting with the earliest black and white pixel models, moving on to infrared-enabled versions released in 2004, full color LCD screens introduced in 2008, and finally the most recent Tamagotchi devices featuring touchscreens in 2021 and Wi Fi connectivity in 2023.

The name Tamagotchi comes from the combination of the Japanese words for egg and watch. Over the years, it has become a fashion accessory as much as a toy, often clipped to bags or keychains, especially among younger users. Last year, British retailer Hamleys included Tamagotchi in its list of the 100 greatest toys of all time, alongside the Rubik’s Cube and Lego.

The Tokyo exhibition begins with visitors walking through a giant white egg before entering a playful world of photographic displays and interactive rooms. One section is dedicated to history, where guests can play with several of the dozens of Tamagotchi models released over the decades.

Most Tamagotchi sales have taken place in Japan and the Americas, while numbers remain lower in other parts of the world. Still, the brand’s global influence is undeniable.

The exhibition’s official website describes the characters like this: Tamagotchi are creatures who live on the Tamagotchi planet, far away from Earth. Since their discovery on Earth in 1996, millions of people around the world have raised them. Tamagotchi love humans because they feed them delicious food, play with them, and make them happy. They can be a little selfish and make a bit of a mess, but every day spent with a Tamagotchi is full of smiles. Strange, quirky, yet lovable, they are creatures that need care but grow stronger by your side.

Thirty years after its creation, the digital egg continues to make people smile, bringing together past and present on a small screen that represents an entire generation.