I was surprised to see that the 1997 Digimon Virtual Pets (Digivices) are selling for a lot on eBay right now. I’m seriously debating selling mine. I have a dark blue one (the one that looks like a rectangular rock) in really good condition, but it’s always been my favorite giga pet, along with my Pikachu GS 2. I miss my Talking Nano Puppy – I lost him a long time ago. I don’t think I ever owned an actual Tamagotchi. I wonder what happened to their popularity?
My little sister, who is now 13, has almost no memory of virtual pets, though I did make sure she had the Pikachu GS 2 when it came out years ago, along with a couple of the more “modern” Nanos. Granted, her generation also has no memory of life without computers. When I was her age, the most advanced technology was a pixelized Oregon Trail played on a desktop that would make a long clicking sound whenever it had to process the unfortunate death of a squirrel or bison. You’d think everyone’s life now exists on their iPhone or other device.
Speaking of iPhones, there is a horrible selection of virtual pets. You’d think that with modern processing speeds and the ubiquity of portable devices, there would be a plethora of virtual pets. Imagine if iPhones had debuted in the early 90’s! I can only find a few legitimate virtual pets in the iTunes AppStore – the 3D iHusky, 3D Touch Pets (Cats or Dogs) and the 2D (but perhaps more expansive) Kimimon. The latter option comes closest to the original concept behind the 90’s Tamagotchi, though it is far more advanced in both options and graphics. For now we must settle with things like the Pokewalker. I think it would be nice to find emulations of these past giga pets, for any platform.
Perhaps the days of giga pets are long gone, left to a digital grave, a fad of the 90’s. But I’m sure there are those who, like me, hope the phenomena will one day be resurrected, much like the pets themselves.
