Tamagotchi: forgotten and abandoned from the rest of the world...

[TamaFoxx]

Hey folks ^_^

ok, that title sounds a little weird, I know XD but I thought it may fit into it.

Bandai made some awesome Tamagotchi's throughout the past few years, and we all fell in love with them. The color was a good step forward and all the features, additions, etc. - WOW! Much love for any Tama-Fan!

But, seriously, I really would like to know, why Bandai never released the color edition to other countries? The last we (Europe) had, was the Tamagotchi Friends, I think. Black & White. We never had a color version and as far as I know, other countries neither.

But why?

I think they'd do a lot of money with them. There are so many fans around the world (young and old) and according to their statistic they should realize, that we're really craving for it (since we even buy the Japanese version). I don't mind, really, although it's hard to read what they say XD But it would be nice if it's at least in English.

Or, overthinking that: why don't they produce them in English at all? It wouldn't be a big deal and everyone else could enjoy them, too. I don't need to have them in German but English would be fine.

 

[Knighttchi's Ballad]

I'm guessing allot of it has to do with the waning interest and older technology in the English releases. Tamagotchis started out as a solely Japanese product and only because of their popularity were they brought over to other countries. In late 2008, the first colour Tamagotchi (the Tamagotchi Plus Colour) was released in Japan while in the English countries (and probably the rest of the world) the most recent model was the Music Star, which was still using and LCD display. By the time the Tama-Go was released in 2010 - which is similar to the Tamagotchi Friends - interest in Tamagotchis had waned in non-Japanese markets. By introducing colour screens, Japan had done something new with Tamagotchis while the rest of the world still had the same technology for eight releases straight.

Now Tamagotchis were only brought overseas because they were popular and because interest had waned, it seems like no one wanted to buy Tamagotchis anymore and thus there was no profit. Everything a company does is solely motivated by profit. The release of the Tamagotchi Friends was intended to see if people were still interested in Tamagotchis and the LCD screen was probably used for nostalgia purposes. Even still, what often brings people back to Tamagotchis is nostalgia - and practically everyone I've shown my Tamagotchis to either says "My kids had them!" or "I had one as a kid!". As one person summarized, the Tamagotchi Friends looked like a rehash of the same old thing. So after the failure of the Tamagotchi Friends, Bandai should feel even more discouraged to invest in English Tamagotchi releases because it is further proven that there is no demand for Tamagotchis.

Thus I would hypothesize that the reason Bandai will never make an English Colour Tamagotchi is because they don't see the demand for it and they do not want to try testing the market again. I would also hypothesize that the reason Japanese Colour Tamagotchis are still being made is because they have had a consistent release from 2008 onward, thus proving there is a demand for Tamagotchis in Japan. I believe that in the distant future, there will eventually be an English Colour Tamagotchi release because Tamagotchi has proved itself to be more than just a fad. After all, Tamagotchis didn't just fade out of existence in Japan or in other countries - and TamaTalk is a testament to the English fanbase.

But, I could see a few hurdles in creating an English Colour version. Firstly, a person named Mr. Blinky has created an English patch for most Tamagotchi releases. With a few pieces of equipment, and English-speaking fan can turn their Japanese Tamagotchi into and English one. Thus the English fanbase could become content with their patched Tamagotchis. Secondly, price. I forget where I read this, but someone raised the point that if they released an English Colour version, it would be at least $50. The older Tamagotchi releases sold for around $20-30 so a $50 price could be too expensive for the target market.

I think they'd do a lot of money with them. There are so many fans around the world (young and old) and according to their statistic they should realize, that we're really craving for it (since we even buy the Japanese version).

I'm not sure how Bandai would be able to tell that non-Japanese people are buying Japanese Tamagotchis. There are websites that import Japanese products and ways of foreigners buying off Japanese websites that only ship to Japan, but Bandai would only know this if they decided to research it. The same with the age and gender of fans, Bandai would have to research this information in order to find it. I could see a petition for an English Colour release being worthwhile and a way of telling Bandai that Tamagotchi has non-Japanese fans. But for me, it will be awhile till I buy more colour versions as I have other priorities, and the older versions are more likely to become rare.

 

[TamaFoxx]

I think the nostalgiga aspect is a good reason. Of course, they were awesome, and to keep this style/design/concept may be a good idea, but after all: people are literally crying for something new. Repeating the old type is like "nothing new", and they're losing the interest. Which may be the reason, why nobody was going to buy one of the newer releases. The last Tamagotchi I bought, before I stopped collecting them, was the Tamagotchi Plus Color. It was something new, I was completely overwhelmed and I remember, that people were talking about, that they'd get back into it, if they'd bring that to other countries too. Sadly Bandai never did. People were quite disappointed and I get it.

I remember that I was talking to a friend, a couple of weeks ago. She found out, that I've a Tamagotchi (Sanrio) and she asked me, if they still exist. I told her, yes, completely, but not over here. And as she recognized, how awesome they are, with colors, lighter display, etc. she was completely overwhelmed. She said, now(!) she would like to buy one again (she used to have one as child), but what scares her away is the Japanese language.

I think the price wouldn't be the problem, although there are always people complaining (even the $30 were already too much for some of them). But next to smartphones, computer games, and other stuff, I wouldn't say that $50 is too much. And the fanbase would be grateful for it.

What may be a big issue, is the connection. I think the idea from the 4U/4U+ was great, but sadly it didn't work with every phone. Mr. Blinky's patch was literally one of the reasons, why I got back into Tamagotchis. I'm really thankful for his website! And thanks god, I found a phone, which lets me connect to the 4U. But unfortunately that doesn't work with the others.

I mean, I don't mind buying the Japanese Tamagotchis, although I would like to know, what they say ^^° (even that there are websites with a detailed translation for it). But basically everyone I'm talking to, wouldn't mind to have one too - just the language is their issue.

I know, it's a risk for Bandai and investing in a release oversea could end out bad. But if they never try, they'll never find out. So, maybe a petition isn't a bad idea