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[Osumesu21]

I think that while the modern Tamagotchi's aren't flying off the shelves like hot cakes, their sales are, at the very least, solid enough for Bandai to continue producing them.

However, that might not mean a whole lot, as the majority of Bandai's income is now from their other lines, such as Power Rangers and Ben10. Tamagotchi isn't based on a cartoon show that kids watch daily, and Bandai only makes it worse by VERY POORLY advertising new Tamagotchi products. They have 1 commercial every 10 years on Nickelodeon, and everything we know about the pets are things we learn in the forums using information we collect ourselves, rather than Bandai just telling us things. They came back in 2004, and in 2008, I'm still hearing the same old thing, "Those things are still around? I haven't seen them in years!"

The thing is that outside Japan, Tamagotchi's are never looked beyond their plastic shell...people think they're just random virtual pets, and nobody really gets the time to know the characters any better. While Japan has tons of Tamagotchi merchandise, foods, mangas, an anime, and now a movie; the most that the rest of the world gets are just the toys and lanyards. Maybe if Bandai America could find a better way to promote the characters and pets, they could score better sales. Heck, they could work with McDonald's again, like they did in '97.

It's not a massive craze, but they're still going strong; they just need a little nudge to push the sales bar up.

~OM21

[Chi]

I put "dying down a little, but still alive".  Where I live, you still see them in stores and on the occasional ad, but, as Mimitchi said, they are usually isolated from their own kind in an odd section or channel.     And I've never met another person with a Tamagotchi, except for ONE TIME when I was getting a picture framed and the cashier said her daughter had one.  Now she always asks how mine are! 

[crystal_gardian]

Where I am? Its so alive that Bandai ships to us first, No seriously we always get the new version tamas around a week before they are supposed to come out. here is what my local walmart does when they get the first shipment, down on the main isle of walmart they put 5 gigantic metal bins one on each end. They are all full to the brim with new tama's in their shiny plastic wrapping. By the third day the bins are half empty, by the time its been a week since the new ones have come out, the only ones left in the bins are the ones with really ugly designs or the ones that were damaged in the buying ruckess or shipping. (cracked screen etc.) And even after that they have a hard time keeping them on the shelves. so it really is still alive here.Although it means I have to get up really early to get a tama.(Aww how cute my tam and its baby were just yawning at eachother that was priceless! )

[Madcow]

Wow crystal, I'd like to live in your town! My town is completely DEAD of tamagotchi fever whatsoever.  First of all, I don't even have anywhere in my town that sells tamagotchi, so I have to drive 30 minutes to a Wal Mart/Target/Toys R Us/etc. to get one, and when I get there they usually have a lot...although a couple times I've gone and they didn't have any at all, so I guess that's mildly popular.

[tamaleaftchi64]

I've seen the commercials for V. 5 (I think it's that Version), and it looks like it's getting to be a bit much. I like V. 3, the one I have, hidden somewhere in my closet. All I need is batteries, and I'll get back to being addicted to it. 

[Amigop]

Lots and lots of people have tamas where I live! I am currently named: Best caretaker with the most tamas.

[MistyKetchum]

I think that(surprisingly) Tamagotchi is actually MORE popular in the US (and other countries?) than Japan, according to what some have told me.

Whenever a new Tamagotchi version hits the market where I live, it's EXTREMELY hard to find them since they sell out so fast! After a few weeks or a month or two, they're very easy to find, though. While most of my friends know what they are, I think since the V1 was a craze that affected younger kids, most adults never realized they came back. I often get "Wow, those things are still around?" or " How does that thing still work?" often. I really think that if the Japanese products came here(anywhere other than Japan), the Tama sales would increase. All I can find other than Tamas themselves are junky charm bracelet-maker sets, lanyards/leashes and(harder to find but adorable!) Tamagotchi plushies. Not to mention I probably see a 10-second hard-to-follow non-interesting V5 commercial (maybe!) every 3 months!

I also think that the "raise a family" V5 concept is supposed to sound interesting to young children, but the simpler v1-like concept is supposed to be appealing to us- the ones who want the original or v1-like tams.

It's pretty much the 4-8 year olds who maybe have Tamas. It's a *little* popular among the 10-14 year olds, but... I have NEVER seen a guy with a Tama. Ever. All the guys on here are the ONLY guys I have ever seen(...)/know that like Tamagotchis! It's sad...(and if you don't know already, yes I'm a girl.)

[Amigop]

i agree i feel like i am the only guy with a tama

[magixkarp]

Sure feels like it.
I remember getting my very first digimon for christmas in 2002. My mum told me they were locked up in a glass cabinet in the electronic/music section, and there were very few left, and the one she had purchased was the only one with "nice colours" (I have a clear purple with pink frame and buttons, though the frame is long gone)
Then, when the connexions were super popular at the end of 2005, My mum (The things she does for me..) had to bite and scratch and blackmail and flirt in order to get me one in time for christmas.

The other day I was in k-mart and I came across 3 ever so familiar toys in the baby doll/hannah montana section going for 20 bucks.
My first reaction was, *grab them all and run to checkout*
My second reaction was, *tear*, what has become of my favourite nerdy pastime?

I put the tamas back on the shelf neatly, and I was very sad for the rest of the day.

):

[Seraphim]

Dunno about the rest of the world but they're since long dead over here (Sweden).