Identify this Odd Pet (MGA)?

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Skygryph

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Apparently I have a MGA pet, which I never knew until I typed in "MGA virtual pet" on Ebay and realized the shell design looked near identical to the one I have. However, it doesn't seem to match either the Godzilla or Dino version exactly. The shell looks similar to the Godzilla version, but the gameplay is identical to the Dino one (I watched WhiteClaw's video of the Dino MGA pet, and it's exactly the same as mine).

My uncle received it as a promotional item at the company he worked at in 1997 (West Group/Keycite, as written on the bottom flap) and gave it to me. I posted some pics below--any ideas or information on it at all?

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Looks a MGA Dinosaur to me.

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Oh. You said you watched it.

Hm, well you could check out Tamenagerie.

Dunno what else you want to know. lol

 
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XD I was wondering why it looks different. It isn't green, doesn't have "Dino" written on the top, and has Keycite/West Group on the botttom instead of the T-Rex picture. I'm kind of confused why it's different.

 
Probably because its difficult coming up with a completely original pet.

So your uncle's work most likely just put the MGA Dino guts into a similar shell but with their logo on it.

 
Hmm, so pretty much a knock-off, then? I was wondering if that could be it. Only thing is it has MGA Entertainment (with the copyright symbol in front) on the back...I thought knock-offs usually remove the original companies' name?

Could it also be possible West Group/Keycite worked out a deal with MGA, so they could use the dino guts but advertise the company? The company my uncle worked for was supposedly very well known, so it seems odd they would infringe on copyright like that. Not only that, but it was actually a law firm. XD Keycite was software used for legal matters. It just doesn't seem right for a company that specialized in legal matters to...well, steal someone's idea in such an obvious way.

 
I was also thinking that.

Maybe MGA did let them use their virtual pet but put their logo on it to help sell for the company and MGA.

Not sure though.

 
:D It really is an adorable pet. It's actually my all-time favorite virtual pet (including Tamas). I just love all the animations...it has a lot of character.

 
It's an MGA T. Rex but oddly on a Godzilla shell that seems to have it's picture missing as well as all the designs.

This is the Rex:

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I tried to get a Rex before and went through 3 of them, brand new, and all had the Godzilla guts inside. It seems this is a Godzilla with Rex guts inside. Very interesting. o.o I was lucky enough to finally find a Rex in the correct shell recently, though, but good find. They also make a mermaid (might be just a fish pet), a kitty, a puppy, a penguin, a bear, and a bunny. There might be more but I'm drawing blanks right now.

 
Well, the pet is likely real with a company logo sticker on it. Down in New Orleans, they toss out free stuff with labels of a company on them. I naturally wondered what labels/company names were. I figure it was a cheap buy from a company or an old stock and they slapped a sticker on it. So, being what it is, you would be more apt to reconize or research the group name. Hence, more profit or recommendations for the company.

So, an easy way to advertise on a working item. In some cases, pets like that can be bought in bulk for some cheap change.

 
:) glad my videos are helping lol!! It's definitely a t-rex just in a different shell (Godzilla shell). Very cool! I had no idea they gave out virtual pets as promotional items but then again they were such a big deal back then that I can see it being possible lol!

 
@WhiteClaw: Your videos definitely helped, WhiteClaw! I wouldn't have even had an idea what this thing was if I didn't see your MGA Dino review.

So, it looks like it was a promotional item after all. That really does say something about the times and how insanely popular v-pets were. I'll definitely keep it as a neat memento. :D

My guess is that the company wanted a unique design, so they went with MGA's Dino/Godzilla shells (or MGA contacted them--however it worked). They probably decided not to go with Godzilla due to licensing issues and chose the Dino instead, However, they may have wanted a sleeker, more professional design, so they chose the black Godzilla shell minus the markings for a cleaner look.

That's all hypothesis, of course, but it seems like a decent possibility.

Thanks everyone for your help! :D

 
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