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Virtual Pet' Craze Sweeps Japan22 January 1997 TOKYO (Reuter) - Japan, a land famed for sudden fads, has a new craze -- ``The Virtual Pet.'' The new object of consumer desire is the latest in high-tech ``cuteness'' -- an electronic bird creature the size of an egg that has sold out everywhere and is now only available on the street at more than 20 times its retail price of 1,980 yen ($16). You can feed it, stroke it, carry it in your pocket and even take it to the bathroom -- all with the push of a button. But watch out, if you don't care for your ``Tamagotchi'' -- the Japanese word for ``loveable egg'' -- your pet will die before your eyes and before its time. ``We've sold 350,000, far beyond expectations because our target range for customers wasn't wide enough,'' said Tomio Motofu, spokeswoman for Japanese toymaker Bandai Co Ltd. ``It's not just high-school girls who are buying them, but primary school kids, office secretaries and middle-aged men,'' she said. The Tamagotchi starts life as an endearing, bird-like image on the screen of an egg-shaped keyring device. It changes from a chick to a fully grown adult in around 10 days. However, the owner must feed, groom and soothe the digital creature or else see it waste away and die from neglect. The owner may choose to feed the creature digital sweets or food and enjoy its sounds of delight, or ``play'' with it by pressing buttons in response to the creature's movements. ``In the beginning, I thought it would be just a bother to look after it but it eats food and sweets and you can play with it,'' a middle-aged woman said. ``And when you clean up its droppings, it jumps up and down and looks really happy. So you stop thinking of it as just a picture,'' she added. Psychologist Takahashi Tomita believes the action of caring for one's own loveable, pocket-sized pet responds to a deep, instinctive need not satisfied in modern Japan's urban society. ``Everyone has what is called an 'emotional demand', that is the instinct to pour our emotion into someone or to smother something with our affection,'' Tomita said. ``This instinctual desire is not being satisfied nowadays as most people living in the city can't have pets,'' Tomita said. A high school girl told a television interviewer she feels the toy is teaching her traits useful for later life. ``It's great because it teaches me to be a parent,'' she said. ``I paid 50,000 yen ($420) for mine. It's supposed to sell for 1,980 ($16), but the shops are all sold out,'' said a middle-aged office worker. Bandai's Motofu said the firm sold the 350,000 Tamagotchis in just 38 days since the Nov. 23 launch and expects to sell several million by March. ``We are increasing production,'' she said. ``We can't keep up with demand.'' Motofu's advice to virtual pet owners was to suspend reality and think of their pets as real creatures. ``It's not a game. You're looking after a space creature whose lifespan depends on how you care for it,'' she said. Reut16:43 01-22-97 (22 Jan 1997 16:40 EST) Copyright 1996 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without Reuters prior written consent. |
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