Tamagotchi

Wikipedia

The is a handheld digital pet created in 1996 by Aki Maita and sold by Bandai. Over 70 million Tamagotchis have been sold as of 2008. The Tamagotchi is housed in a small and simple egg-shaped computer. Three buttons (A, B, and C) allow the user to select and perform an activity, including:
* Feeding the Tamagotchi a piece of food or a snack.
* Playing games with the Tamagotchi.
* Cleaning up a Tamagotchis waste.
* Checking its age, discipline, hunger, happiness and other statistics.
* Connecting with other friends
* Marrying other tamagotchis
Meaning of "Tamagotchi"
According to Bandai the name is a portmanteau combining the Japanese word "たまご" (tamago) which means "egg", and the English word "watch" (as in timepiece). Consequently, the name is romanized as "Tamagotch" without the "i" in Japan.

Tamagotchi releases

As of 2009, there have been 44 Tamagotchi versions released since their creation in 1996. Several of them are Japanese Tamagotchis. These include the original Tamagotchi, Christmas-themed Tamagotchi and newer Tamagotchi versions, known as Connection, Connexion or Plus, which can communicate with other Tamagotchi for games and breeding. The most recent versions are the Tamagotchi Music Star, in which the player can raise a single Tamagotchi, where it will eventually form a band after making friends; and the Tamagotchi Plus Color, a Japan-exclusive virtual pet with a full-color 128x128 screen with enhanced graphics and gameplay.

Tamagotchi Video Games
Tamagotchi for Game Boy and Game Boy Color which are similar to the original handheld games. Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop, Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2, and Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3 for Nintendo DS are games where the players can run shops to make money. The players can choose between Mametchi, Memetchi, Kuchipatchi, and in Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3, Violetchi, to become a partner, and work together to keep their customer read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagotchi