Another classic Tamagotchi gets the reboot treatment. Bandai announced this week that it’s bringing it back The Tamagotchi Connection to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the toy’s release. The Tamagotchi Connection, which first came out in 2004, was a major entry into the virtual pet family, introducing more modern features like infrared pairing so it could connect two devices. There were several versions over the next decade, but v3 brought the beloved shell design that the Connection family became famous for: the familiar Tamagotchi egg, but with a fake antenna. This is the style that Bandai resurrected.
Pre-orders for English are now open The Tamagotchi Connection in six colors: Bubbles (light blue), Ice Cream (pink), Rainbow Sky, multicolor Clear Retro, and Blue and Pink Graffiti. They’re $30 each, or you can get two Graffiti cases as a pair for $58. As always, some extra, even sweeter crusts come out Japan.
Although the new Connection v3 revives the design, it seems that the game will combine elements of not one, but several previous models in color, or even add some new touches. According to the materials released so far, the toy will feature over 50 characters and come with 150 in-game items to collect. Some items will be unlocked by finding a password. And the devices will, of course, be able to connect to each other.
There are still plenty of questions about what else the new Link will offer – especially given that the original v3 was the first Tamagotchi released internationally to join the now-defunct TamaTown. Bandai hasn’t said anything about launching anything similar at this point (although eagle-eyed fans it may be on recent trademark based cards), but a girl can dream. The re-release of Tamagotchi Connection is huge in itself; fans have been asking for just that for years, and now it’s coming true.
