Tamagotchi (nonfiction)

The Tamagotchi (たまごっち?) is a handheld digital pet, created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai.

It was first sold by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan.

As of 2010, over 76 million Tamagotchis had been sold world-wide.

Most Tamagotchi are housed in a small egg-shaped computer with an interface usually consisting of three buttons, although the number of buttons may vary.

According to Bandai, the name is a portmanteau (nonfiction) combining the Japanese word "たまご" (tamago), which means "egg", and the English word "watch".

Consequently, the name is sometimes romanized as "Tamagotch" without the "i" in Japan.

Most Tamagotchi characters' names end in 'tchi' or 'っち' in Japanese, with few exceptions.

Nonfiction cross reference

• Japan (nonfiction)
• Portmanteau (nonfiction)

Fiction cross reference

• Reverse Tamagotchi

External links

• Tamagotchi @ Wikipedia