Tamagotchi's were designed for people age 12

[tamagotchiversion3]

I found an old article on tamagotchi's (1996 or 1997), and in the article it said Tamagotchi's were originally made for people ages 12 (pre-teen). They said people usually start to babysit at this age as a job, so the tamagotchi's were meant to show them responsibility before they started to babysit.

I dont know how a tama can help you prepare caring for a person, but that's what the article said.

 

[phantazm8872]

well, tamagotchis can definitely help you understand babysitting and things like that. I mean, if you think about it, tamas need food, happiness, etc., and so do kids. But I don't think a tamagotchi is a very efficient way to teach preteens "babysitting". How about Sims?

 

[haze]

True, true.. Although now, there's a massive age range of who uses Tamagotchis.

In a sense, they do give you a sense of responsibility, though that article would have been released when Tamagotchi's were first starting to make their mark, Bandai could have been using that as a marketing tactic to draw parents to buy Tamagotchis, its a pretty smart thing to say about a virtual pet, for marketing..

//Haze

 

[tamagotchiversion3]

Yes the article was for the original Tamagotchis.

 

[~.Forever.~]

Hm... Designed for 12 yr olds? It can possably be true.

 

[teletchi12]

I saw a 5 year old with a tamagotchi

 

[tamagotchiversion3]

I know people of all ages own tamagotchi's, but the creators made them mostly for 12 year olds. I think there great for any age.

 

[Sweet Kandi]

Keep in mind that tamas were meant for the 12 yr old age group back in 1996-1998. I was 6 when I first owned my tama. That was back in 1996 ^.^ Even if they're designed for a certain age group doesn't mean you *have* to be that age to play with it. People of all ages enjoy all sorts of things.

Age is only a number.

 

[Horsetuna]

I greatly like the idea of kids getting virtual pets instead of real pets.

I used to work in a fish store and let me tell you - a goldfish CANNOT live in a tiny tank! A one inch goldfish needs TEN GALLONS of water, and he will get bigger! He also needs a water pump to clean the water and a bubbler and everything else. It saddens me to see kids buying goldfish that I know will be dead in a tiny bowl...

At least with the virtual pet, you buy it once then just 'reset' when it dies. You can't do that with a real fish.