Taken by the Tamagotchi How A Toy Changed The Perspective On Mobile Technology

Laura Lawton

Abstract

Mobile technology has become a ubiquitous influence on the way we live. In 1996, however, mobile devices were clumsy and remained distinctly outside of the consumer’s social fabric. Inc’s introduction of the Tamagotchi, a toy that could be taken anywhere, and portrayed a pixelated alien in need of constant nurturing, represented a significant shift in the role of mobile technology in daily life. Through its cuteness, the Tamagotchi convinced consumers to willingly dedicate their time, attention, and emotions to the virtual pet. This paper will explore how the Tamagotchi played a role in influencing how individuals viewed the developing mobile technology market, and how it prepared us for the constant presence of technology that we are so familiar with today.

Keywords: Tamagotchi, mobile technology, digital pets

“Tamagotchi is a tiny pet from cyberspace who needs your love to survive and grow. If you take good care of your Tamagotchi pet, it will slowly grow bigger, healthier, and more beautiful every day. But if you neglect your little cyber creature your Tamagotchi may grow up to be mean or ugly. How old will your Tamagotchi be when it returns to its home planet? What kind of virtual caretaker will you be?” (Tamagotchi packaging, as cited in Allison, 2006)

In 1996, the economically struggling toy company Bandai Inc. released an innovative toy, uncertain of its success. This egg-shaped, portable gadget was called the Tamagotchi, and at the peak of its popularity it was titled “the world’s most popular toy” (Allison, 2006, p. 163). The premise of the game LAWTON TAKEN BY THE TAMAGOTCHI

was to hatch and raise the virtual pet into adulthood, where it would return to its home planet ‘healthy’ and ‘beautiful.’ Depending on the care provided, the Tamagotchi would respond to its user and develop characteristics in relation to the quality of care it received. The electronic creature was a success, producing revenues of more than $160 million in the United States alone in 1997 (Allison, 2006, p. 164) The Tamagotchi had the ability to fit in one’s pocket and be taken everywhere –on the train, in the living room, or to a café with friends – while the television or cord phone stayed behind. This level of convenience in interaction with the virtual creature, combined with cuteness and dependency, caused many to form an emotional attachment to their device. From an individual to societal scale, this kind of attachment led to a general shift in perspectives on mobile technology. Today, mobile devices such as , tablets and laptops are ubiquitously woven into our daily lives. In 1996, however, the first form of mobile technology that could have this relationship with its user was not a phone but a pixelated, demanding Tamagotchi. This paper will explore how the Tamagotchi played a role in influencing how individuals viewed the developing mobile technology market, and how it prepared people for the constant presence of technology that we are so familiar with today. Through its ability to facilitate emotional and social bonds, the Tamagotchi helped to ‘sell’ the world on the idea of mobile technology.

The Virtual Animal Part of the Tamagotchi’s success can be attributed to the shape the virtual creature’s body and its ability to convince users of its animalistic qualities. Clinical psychologist Neil Frude provides insight into the relationship between artificial companion systems and our emotional attachment to them. “Animism” is our tendency to “attribute life and consciousness to inanimate objects” which, in turn, creates an emotional attachment between the user and objects (Frude & Jandric, 2015, p. 411). The concept of the Tamagotchi introduced virtual pets into the consumer market, and many journalists were surprised when it was a phenomenal success. The success of the toy was due to a combination of factors, including a novel approach to marketing an intriguing version of “kawaii” (meaning ‘cute’ in Japanese) in North America and providing consumers with the ability to interact with technology in a new way. Users could develop a unique relationship with their Tamagotchi that responded accordingly to different factors, based on the decisions of the owner and the level of care provided. Frude remarks that “[t]he emotional impact is not surprising given the animistic tendency, which some people believed to be a novel effect and labelled the Tamagotchi effect” (Frude, 2015, p. 412). The Tamagotchi, although very different in physicality from live pets, delivered the right amount of animism to facilitate the user’s imagination and emotional response. The creatures themselves, although pixelated and simple in design, featured ears, beaks, or tentacles while wearing a hat or perhaps a mask (Allison, 2006, p. 172). The characteristics of the virtual creatures resembled animals likely known to the user in real life such as a dog or a bird, while adding other odd characteristics to appear as a unique creature. It presented a virtual alien that was simultaneously familiar and strange, almost “remix[ing] the virtual and the real”

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(Allison, 2006, p. 172). The Tamagotchi offered consumers something they were inherently expected from of a pet, while also encompassing an otherworldly factor that encouraged the curiosity of the users while they watched it ‘grow.’ Judith Donath (2010) describes how successful virtual pets share key behaviours with real pets by giving the appearance of free will, being dependent on their owners for care, and requiring constant attention from their caretakers. In addition, the virtual pet’s responsiveness to their owner’s actions and decisions mimic the behaviour of a real pet. The ‘animism’ in the Tamagotchi made users interact with the technology like real pet owners, and come to tolerate the behaviours of the Tamagotchi as they would an untrained pet. The impatience of the Tamagotchi would soon develop tolerance in the user, suddenly enabling a new, more demanding relationship with technology. Donath believes that “[i]f we think of them as games, the time spent playing with them is entertainment and somewhat self-indulgent; if we think of them as animals, time spent playing with them is care-taking, an act of responsibility and altruism” (Donath, 2010, p. 4). The success the user feels is deeply tied to their sense of self, their ability to be a ‘good’ owner to the ‘pet’ and create ‘life-changing consequences’ in the development of the Tamagotchi. One of the most noted aspects of the toy is the “uncanny sense of presence it generates in its players” because of its imperfect existence (Allison, 2006, p. 176). The creator of the Tamagotchi, Yokoi Akihiro, intended to teach the user that “[p]ets are only cute 20 to 30 percent of the time, and the rest is a lot of trouble, a lot of work,” and continued to state he “wanted to incorporate this kind of idea into a toy…you also start to love them when you take care of them” (Gibson, 1998, p.34). The reality of raising a pet successfully lies in constant vigilance to the creature’s needs. However, through menial tasks such as feeding the virtual pet, cleaning it, and walking it, an intimate knowledge of the creature’s progress develops. The relationship of care between the creature and caretaker can create an intimate bond, even when it is just a machine. It is a toy that requires constant attention, and requires constant attention because it may act out in ‘bad behaviour’ if its needs are not met. Successful parenting is measured by the personality of the Tamagotchi throughout its stages of development, and Bandai’s official Tamagotchi guidebook directly correlates the behaviours of ‘good’ caretaking with particular Tamagotchi traits. For example, in the appearance of a Mametchi Tamagotchi, programmed to have a high intelligence, the guidebook says that it “shows that you’ve really paid a lot of attention to your Tamagotchi” (Allison, 2006, p. 174). However, in the appearance of a more unfavourable creature, such as the Takarotchi that has smelly feet and an aloof disposition, the guidebook notes “[i]f you have been neglecting your Tamagotchi, it may turn out like this” (Allison, 2006, p. 174). The Tamagotchi becomes a reflection of its user’s dedication and creates perceived accountability to the virtual world of the Tamagotchi. The animalistic qualities of the virtual pet allowed for the user to fully engage in imaginative nurturance, fostering a level of personalization and an “emotional closeness with cyber-technology previously unseen with kids” (Allison, 2006, p. 175).

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Emotional and Social Spaces In 1996, Arjun Appadurai wrote Modernity at Large, which discussed how a new role of imagination had come to be a part of social life due to the emergence of electronic media and emigration from ‘home.’ The displacement many felt allowed for “the diffusion of the imagination into everyday life” (Allison, 2006, p. 179) where the places we physically occupy are constructed by current surroundings in addition to ideas or “things from different, shifting worlds” (Allison, 2006, p. 179). In Millennial Monsters, Anne Allison (2006) uses the term “deterritorialization” to describe a decrease of the local, and a dispersed sense of belonging to specific places. The imagination, in Allison’s interpretation of Appadurai, is “what captures and recreates a sense of sociality in a world fissured by dispersal and encounters with difference” (Allison, 2006, p. 179). Imagination is a mechanism to ground people in a world with little boundaries, and it also allows individuals to create a world for themselves to incorporate aspects beyond their current reality. This globally “fissured” state, both Appadurai and Allison argue, extends to the creation of new ways of imagination and emotional response. Throughout the entire experience of playing with a Tamagotchi, the user is engaging with a screen that acts as both a window into the world of the Tamagotchi and a barrier from entering it. However, the creature gives the impression that it is completely dependent on human input to survive, beeping for attention and input from its owner to meet its needs, creating a link from its world to ours. The ability for users to readily engage with this concept of a virtual creature existing both within its own virtual world and the user’s physical one indicates the imaginative ability described by both Appadurai and Allison. The premise of the game is to care for a creature from an undefined “cyberspace” that is left open to the interpretation of the user. The owner can only see the physical limitations of the device, a portable plastic egg with a screen, but it must engage with cyberspatiality to successfully raise the pet. Although the Tamagotchi is a pixelated, strange looking creature, it effectively conveys a sense of presence as if it were a living thing. Relating to the “Tamagotchi as if it were alive produces a bond that is deeply personal, intimate, and social” (Allison, 2006, p. 183). In the original, the device did not feature a pause button, an intentional design aspect to foster a degree of tension that would encourage users to invest time to their Tamagotchis to avoid its death. It also presented the reality of the inconvenience of a real pet, where their needs do not operate on the exact schedule of the owner. The absence of a pause button also allowed the Tamagotchi to beep for attention whenever it pleased, intending for the user to engage with it constantly and facilitate an emotional bond. The portability of the device and its need for attention created a relationship with its user where it was a constant presence in their lives, shifting the boundaries of where technology could be, such as in the classroom or at the dinner table. By presenting itself as a lovable pet, the emotional connection to the device seemed less inappropriate. For example, for a person to abruptly leave the dinner table to respond to a device would be impolite, whereas leaving the table to respond to the needs of a pet would appear responsible. As previously mentioned, the “Tamagotchi Effect” emerged as a term to describe how owners developed emotional attachments to their virtual pets. A new kind of bond between human and

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machine was created. Journalist Nagao Takeshi linked the heightened emotional response to the Tamagotchi to the contemporary lifestyle of the Japanese, who were described as being isolated, busy, and in high-pressure environments (Allison, 2006, p. 180). The constant presence of the device allowed for it to not only infiltrate the previously fixed social spaces of the user, but also to create new ones in the absence of social interaction. Allison describes how the Tamagotchi kept children “distracted and plugged into something meaningful…even when no one else was around” (Allison, 2006, p. 183). It provided positive feedback to the user in instances that were otherwise devoid of meaning or entertainment, and it could be an opportunity to boost self-esteem through the positive responses of the Tamagotchi. Furthermore, due to its bright colours and keychain it could be visibly attached to an article of clothing on the user, worn as a fashion statement noticed by others in the Tamagotchi community. The toy provided simple instructions on how to engage with the Tamagotchi to achieve optimal results, laying out a positive social interaction between the pet and owner. For individuals who find real interactions complicated or confusing, the simplicity and neediness of the creature could fill in the gaps of social interaction present in modern life. The Tamagotchi’s strangeness can be an endearing quality for people who may feel strange themselves, and it portrays an approachable vulnerability. Additionally, the time the Tamagotchi user spends gives the appearance they are contributing to something larger than themselves, through the outcome of the virtual pet’s “life” and a greater social community. The guidebook concludes by saying, “If Tamagotchi is raised by joining love with goals, it will be able to contribute to human culture and peace as a national citizen” (Allison, 2006, p. 174). This single sentence is indicative of how the creators attempted to incorporate a sense of cultural identity and social commitment for the children that accounted for a large part of the user base into the toy. The statement perpetuates the idea that the direct actions of the user on this device contributes to some sort of global outcome, that they are a part of an unseen network of citizens. In some ways, the imaginative world created for the Tamagotchi user by perpetuating the idea of a global, omnipresent community has become realised through social media. Today, individuals are connected to a larger virtual network, connecting people around the globe through websites and apps. Users can be updated on events occurring across the globe in real time, interacting with others worldwide through commentary, or perhaps clicking a “like” button. The marketing of the Tamagotchi encouraged the concept of social bonds between users, in the immediate sense and on a global scale, even though individual devices were not linked. In the past, Tamagotchi users could only use the toy and their imagination to feel globally connected; today all they need is a with a data plan.

Mobility In the article “Cell Phone Culture,” Gerard Goggin (2006) discusses how cell phones have become ubiquitous in daily activities for “identity-construction,” “remote parenting,” and “fashion.” He continues to say that “[c]ell phones have come to be associated with qualities of mobility,” and they “fit into new ways of organising and conducting one’s life” (Goggin, 2006, p. 2). But perhaps cell phones simply

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added depth to concepts regarding mobile technology previously introduced. In 2005, the organisation Mobile Life (commissioned by the London School of Economics) studied 16,500 UK mobile users and identified six groups that characterised the adoption of mobile technology. The cohorts titled “Generation Mobile,” (ages 18-24) identified as students or young professionals, and “Phonatics,” an overlapping demographic of ages 18-34, were the two “tribes” that valued their mobile devices as “their most important electronic possession” (Taylor, 2012, p. 42). The study also concluded that these cohorts had adapted more readily to technology than older demographics, “indicating a generational switch of allegiance to alterity” (Taylor, 2012, p.42). Perhaps it was easier for these generations to adapt because they had been introduced to the concept at an earlier stage. There had already been opportunities for technology to weave itself seamlessly into the social construct of their daily lives. In 1996, both “Generation Mobile” and “Phonatics” were prime demographics for the marketing of the Tamagotchi and other emerging mobile technologies. The Communicator was released in 1996, integrating Internet accessibility, short messaging services (SMS), and phone capabilities into a single device (Smyth, 2000, p. 2). The Tamagotchi was released in the same year, and within its first year a downloadable Tamagotchi ringtone was available for purchase. In his book Cinematic Perspectives on Digital Culture, Norman Taylor describes this ringtone as “the first personalised content for mobile phones” (Taylor, 2012, p. 43) that was followed by the ability to stream content such as news or advertisements through SMS. Advertisements even began to adopt stylized concepts like the Tamagotchi marketing scheme by incorporating “cartoon images of phones in advertising campaigns [that] sprouted arms and legs, with faces that conferred Tamagotchi” (Taylor, 2012, p. 43). By changing the metaphor that consumers attributed to the developing mobile phone market, it “changes how we understand the interface,” and how we engage with the object itself (Donath, 2010, p. 101). A clear line was drawn between the mobility of the Tamagotchi and the beginnings of mobile phones; the “Tamapitchi,” for example, allowed users with a “Personal Handy-Phone System” (PHS) and a Tamagotchi to send digital images of their digital pet to friends via phone for the price of $500.00 (Allison, 2006, p. 175). Mobility was a key factor in the success of both devices, and consumers became accustomed to the constant presence (and demanding input) of both devices through the Tamagotchi. A study conducted by the University of South Carolina and National Chengchi University in 2001, using a sample of Taiwanese students, found that mobile phones strengthened social bonds by “expanding their psychological neighbourhoods” and extending their “symbolic proximity” to the individuals they contacted (Wei & Ven-whei, 2006, p. 80). For individuals who identified as having fewer social connections, the visibility of owning a cell phone served as a fashion symbol and assisted in the creation of social connections. A participant in the study said “strap a cell phone around your neck or on your belt, and you instantly become a member of a community, whether you actually use the phone or not” (Wei & Ven-whei, 2006, p. 80). The same can be said for the Tamagotchi, where its ability to be mobile and ‘strapped on’ via keychain allows users to engage with it at all times and identify themselves as a part

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of the Tamagotchi community. Donath attributes an aspect of the Tamagotchi’s success to the mobility provided by being on a keychain, comparing it to screen-based virtual pets by saying, “the key-chain pets were embodied—the pet is the whole physical package, not just the image on the screen. Seeing the pet as an object, rather than a program, helped lend it credence as a creature” (Donath, 2010, p. 102). For Mina Ruckenstein, “the Tamagotchi invites children to become mobile in a manner that is only possible through digital technologies” (2010, p. 504). Ruckenstein conducted research involving participant observation and interviews with children ranging from the ages five to seven. Through observation of how children interact with their virtual toys, she concluded that “toys invite children to rehearse and pursue certain kinds of orientations to the world” (Ruckenstein, 2010, p. 503). The virtual pet generates an ability to move between the ‘actual’ and the “virtual, a computer-generated space that technologically enlarges the actual living space of the children” (Ruckenstein, 2010, p. 504). Through play, the Tamagotchi encourages a duality of meeting needs in a physical sense familiar to human bodily needs (i.e, the need for food, medicine, and a clean environment) while simultaneously encouraging participation in the cyber world through the character development of the Tamagotchi and its consequent departure to another place beyond the screen. This ‘movement’ between the real and virtual, Ruckenstein argues, stems from the fact the Tamagotchi is not simply a toy but rather a “media mix” that combines accessories, games, and Internet. Although Ruckenstein focuses on the current version of the Tamagotchi, the same can be said of the original, which incorporated a Tamagotchi television series and offered downloadable ring tones. The continued multimedia marketing scheme used for today’s Tamagotchi exemplifies the persuasiveness the original toy had in using this strategy on a consumer base that was unaccustomed to the advertising of this new technological paradigm – mobile devices. Before the Tamagotchi, the mobile device was clumsy and constrained in its capacity to deliver lasting improvements to the way people lived. The marketability of mobile devices lacked appeal to consumers because of a perceived lack of relevance; however, the Tamagotchi enlivened interest by presenting mobile technology in an emotional context. The Tamagotchi continues to ingrain a sense of mobility in its users today; as Ruckenstein notes, “if preschoolers eventually lose interest in their virtual pets, they are likely to take advantage of what the pet has taught them: they will continue to enjoy the mobility offered by media mixes, because mobility, both in a physical and a computer-generated sense, remains at the heart of contemporary understandings of how to be part of the world” (Ruckenstein, 2010, p. 509). Applying this logic to the initial users of the Tamagotchi, it is unsurprising many adapted quickly to the use of cell phones that required a similar parsing through the ‘actual’ and ‘virtual’ world. Although the intent of the game was to nurture and discipline the Tamagotchi, users in turn were also disciplined in dividing their attention to tend to the virtual world the pet existed in while continuing daily activities.

Conclusion The Tamagotchi represented a perspective of technology where it was “embedded within a player’s

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everyday routines” (Allison, 2006, p. 186) and in lives where many decidedly turned off their devices or left them in designated places; it became “a person’s constant companion almost more than anything outside the body itself [offering] distraction from, the intricacies and intimacies of daily existence” (Allison, 2006, p. 186). In today’s world, the presence of mobile technology has become ubiquitous and mobile technology is readily accepted. However, in the mid-, the Tamagotchi was first to execute a form of mobile technology designed specifically to elicit an emotional response from the user. Through the Tamagotchi’s ability to persuade its users into viewing it as ‘alive,’ its portability, and sociability, it technologized play in an unprecedented way. The Tamagotchi irrevocably changed the beginnings of how mobile technologies were perceived, with effects that are still felt today.

References

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