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[masketchi]

When a new tamagotchi comes out, they always tri to make it different. They make it different but most of its the same. They may be fun when you get it but then it gets boring. In V.4 There was one Tamagotchi on the screen and in V.5 there is 3, and maybe there is maybe a bit of difference in tama town but what else Its all the same really.

[Mothra]

It is necessary to stick with some of this 'sameness' just because it's a Tamagotchi and must stay a Tamagotchi and not cross the line to being a pocket game. It has to stay a pet though it's been straying off that path ever so slightly.

What do you want from a Tamagotchi?

I think they have gotten rather complicated. Sometimes in a good way and someitmes in a bad way. I'm glad the mail system is gone. I really didn't like that.
These things have to change from model to model. I wish they would be more simple.

[TigerLily013]

I agree Bandai North America has been rather on the complicated side at times, and some things I don't agree with either that htey have done with virtual pets...but really there's pros and cons to every virtual pet. And the Tamagotchi brand name is no exception. Here's my thoughts...

Original Tamagotchis back in 1996-1997, and the first version of the Tamagotchi Connection that came out were simple. So there's little "cons" on either of them since they just came out (unless you didn't like the design colours and such on the shell or something).

Version 2 connections came with more characters which I felt was great (I felt it mixed P1 and P2 characters in nicely with some old japanese characters that never came to N.A). The money system was good to start but I mostly only felt it was used for when you wanted to get certain items. I mean buying food for your tama wasn't needed before. I never buy food for my V2's. So that became a "con".

Version 3 connections looking back on them now, the programming could of been better and suddenly it became a lot harder to get characters like mimitchi and other characters you'd get on a V1. I still don't know anyone on any forum who had a V3 who got a mimitchi. If you did congrats but daaaaaaang! Also the original game "Get" to catch music notes isn't hard, but it was tedious when you had for me to have 2 V3's going and wanted to play a game with them at the same time (multitasking FTW). And the games you'd get when they were older were not much better (except maybe Sprint). I have to be in the right mindset and mood to wanna run a V3 or more than one V3.

Now entamas and version 4's are one of my favourites that you have more control in getting characters you want to get. The mini job stuff on the V4's as opposed to the entamas just getting 1000+ dollars just for having one was a little much. I think Bandai should of stuck with that much of the programming of the Japanese counterpart there. This logic also applies to the V4.5's.

The famitama's aka V5's they did the right thing and kept all programming in Japanese and english ones the same. I totally give kudos to Bandai for doing that. I'm assuming from what I heard in between the royal famitamas and the V5.5's that there are some differences, but nothing to be considered major...so that's alright.

As for the current music star version of the Tamagotchi Connection, yes it's a lot more advanced compared to the V1. Its harder and I heard a lot of folks just starting out with one of these wondering why it's semi difficult. I have nothing against a challenge, and I haven't played with the ones I got yet...but anything that's a bit harder to master I consider a good thing because it makes you think more about strategies, time and effort.

I was on a kick with the older tamas back in 2008 and I forgot sometimes how much work they CAN be when you aren't exposed to a demand level they can give you. I'm better now obviously but hopefully you get where I'm going with this.

[piranhapete]

Interesting discussion, guys!
I have all of the Tamas up to the V4 and was looking at the newer models. Honestly, I don't like them quite as much; I understand they have to "shake it up" a little, which I don't mind, but I don't really like the concept of having more than one pet in your Tama, much less a band.
I'd be much more up for a remake of the insect or ocean Tamagotchis as variants. Nowadays it seems like the company's trying to make a "Tamagotchi world," but wasn't the whole point of Tamagotchis to be something you could just chill with? I always thought of them as accessories to one's world, not whole worlds in and of themselves. Now you can go on the internet with them, buy like a bajillion items.... It seems like they're trying too hard, which is why I really like my V4. The characters look relatively sane; it reminds me of older, simpler Tamagotchis.
Am I the only one hoping they go back to just one? "KISS" comes to mind.

[DuchessOfTheArctic]

I am personally a fan of the originals and the V4. I agree that to an extent when Bandai throws in all this fancy shmancy stuff it makes me less likely to play (with the V4 being an exception). The most complicated ones, I think, are the V3 and Music Star. I have wanted to throw both across the room out of frustration (but obviously never did  ). The V3 demands a lot of attention, and the Music Star is just plain difficult. But one thing I think happened as the Tamagotchi's became more developed is that we got a better sense of what Tamagotchi Planet really is. In the beginning, all we knew is that that was where the Tamas came from and went back to after we took care of it. It probably left many people asking, "What is it like on the Tama Planet?" As the versions kept growing, that question was finally answered. However, some people may have had their own ideas about Tama Planet that were made invalid by the revelation of the "real" Tamagotchi Planet. At any rate, I do think that the latest Tamagotchis are really on the edge of what I'd really call a "virtual pet" in the sense that the pet is more petlike than humanlike. I hope this makes sense to you guys 

[Masktchi]

This is an interesting topic, and one I've considered a lot as of late. I currently have a limited experience of Tamagotchi, only ever owning a P1/P2 and P1 Digimon. I own a more vast collection as of now, but I have yet to actually try them. I've read about different Tamagotchi and read logs, but not actually played with them myself.

Anyway, I've always been partial to the old style of Tamagotchi. Throughout all the older incarnations, the characters and theme changed, there was some slight changes in features which fit in with that type of Tamagotchi (like praise for angels, predators for ocean/morino, not to mention the cocoon was a neat twist and arguably a better choice to the proposed US Garden style). However, the basic idea and system has always been the same. It was really the new characters and new styles which made them interesting. And of course, all the different characters & the way you get different characters everytime based on your case is what drove Tamagotchi and made it a truly interesting and imo, superior V-Pet. To me, it's really what sets it apart from the 'knock-off' pets, not to mention the better animations. I've glimpsed at some other V-Pets, and the gameplay and characters are just not interesting enough to be more than a novelty. Even Nano Pets, which at least are original and somewhat interesting in that they really grow and become genuinely old, don't have the same appeal. My brother had one, and the idea is cool, I'll admit. But having a cat or dog through the same 3 stages is too regular for me. Tamagotchi was really something original, with unprecedented (even though they did start the trend), unique characters. And honestly... would you really buy something called "Dinky Dino".

But yeah, the note-worthy thing about the old style was that was interesting, but it was also simple. It really did feel like a pet, and I didn't really mind that they didn't probe the story too much. Some things are better left unsaid. You can take them with you and care for them occasionally, but they generally aren't a burden.

I haven't bought any of the new releases yet and I'm definitely not as familiar with them as I am with Morino, Ocean, Angel, etc (thank you Mystic Fortress ). My reaction to them is kind of mixed. Characters like Mametchi, and apparently now Masktchi, who I grew up with look very different. For the record, Mametchi looks different, mainly his eyes, but I don't mind it and think he looks cute and unique. Not really a fan of new-school Masktchi though. <_< The animations are more detailed now apparently, and even in colour sometimes. The same thing happeend with Digimon, although I personally liked the animations of the original, even though Greymon looks more like a Kangaroo tbh. >_> There's just something about them, I guess a nostalgia? Just the style of them. Even though the newer products had more accurate depictions (ignoring that they stray vastly from what I like in the original), they don't have the same appeal and even cuteness that the original animations had. The original, I really liked how they could be both cute and fearsome.

Anyways, back on topic, I like some of the new animation styles and how they combined a roster of old, updated and new characters. The connection thing is also neat in a way, a sort of interaction. I'm kind of mixed about what I've heard about the new Tamas, but even the idea of them having a rock group was kind of funny and interesting, although the idea does strike me as fairly cheesy. I'm also not really big on the whole money, item and Tama world thing. I don't really know enough about it, but it again strikes me as kind of cheesy, as if Bandai is trying too hard and milking it. Rather than a pet who is with you, as said before, it's more like they're in their own world, and they are more person-like than pet-like.

Also, being more challenging is a nice idea, but in practicality, a Tamagotchi really is meant to be part of your life, to add to it. Having it be too demanding can be annoying, taking away from whatever you're doing. It really is meant to take with you, care for occasionally, but the idea is for it to be casual and a companion, not something you have to drop everything to focus on or have to pause if you can't be completely dedicated to it. Quite personally, I don't think my lifestyle and time would permit me to really raise one like that. It's nice to carry with you as an occasional distraction and a plus to have to look forward to during your day. But it doesn't work if it's actually like a game, requiring a lot of attention and focus and taking away from what I'm doing. That won't fly when you're working, and it's equally disrupting on your own time when you're doing your own things. I have other activities and games for a test of skill/strategy to keep me entertained, a total distraction isn't really what I look for in a Tamagotchi.

So yeah, I can understand Bandai wanting to keep things moving (they have to change and make it interesting, can't just release the same thing repeatedly), but it doesn't have the same charm to me as the original. Not saying that it can't be fun or that I might not like it, but it does come off to me as gimmicky and just deviating from idea of Tamagotchi sort of. The interaction and rock band formation does kind of interest me though. But again, making it too human... I agree that Bandai is kind of walking a fine line there. It would be like having Tamagotchi racing, Tamagotchi astranaut, Tamagotchi Physicist... I believe that the evolution of Digimon with regards to the TV show, or the continuing expansion of Pokemon are good comparisons to this. At first they were original, pet-like (even though I didn't like how human-like and talkative Digimon were >_>). But then Digimon did the inevitable jumping of the shark, becoming mainstream or trendy or whatever. I wasn't a serious fan, but at one point they started wearing their Digimon like armour, or a gundam/megazord?? (you can't get much more stereotypically Japanese than that, afterall ). With Pokemon, the continued releases got less and less... 'original'. They appeared to be a lot less clever and really, just desperate. Almost as if they were using kids' fanfic pokemon just to keep it going, if anyone knows what I'm talking about. You really have to draw the line somewhere for stuff like that.



*sigh* And another huge, essay-esque post. I swear, it really just happens. I can't really help it. It just comes out this way. O:)

[Masktchi]

As an afterthought, not sure how the breeding/families in the newer Tamas work, but I thought it would be cool to expand on the Osutchi/Mesutchi idea, making breeding more complicated and creating different paths based on the two mating characters. I guess that also interests me with regards to the connection idea.

And speaking of Osu/Mesu, I liked that they had an "overweight" character, that your Tama changed based on their diet. I think it would be equally interesting if they had a concept like this in the newer Tamagotchi, the characters subtly changing or getting bigger based on their care. Still being the same character, but their sprite would vary in slight ways as they got heavier, rather than being just an extreme, screen-bloating blob. XD A similar idea might apply to age, your Tama changes somewhat as it gets older. And yes, I guess I just knocked-off a knock-off. Nano pets were interesting in that respect, it might be interesting to see something like that in Tamagotchi. It would be a good way of advancing/changing them, although more geared towards adults.

...Man, I really want to play Creatures talking about all this. XD

[piranhapete]

I don't mind essay-esque! I mean, hey, are we here to discuss the electronic eggs or not?
Personally, yeah, I think Bandai's trying too hard. But I do think they got a pretty good formula on the V4 'cause I like how varied yet organized the character system is. I feel I should tell you I think the newer Tamas can net you a "overweight" character (as well as "underfed" and "unhappy" characters), although they don't just change the pixel animation like you suggested. I personally like just having the pixel animation the way it is - it's a little simpler.
Also on breeding, I'm not really sure but I think what family your Tama grows into on the V4 is determined by the parents. I could be wrong, but it's something I've subtly noticed (but I only have 9G on my V4 so I'm not that experienced.) And I actually am pretty sure there are lots of separate "family paths" you can take your Tama on on the V5 depending on parents or something like that - there's a royal family path you can take as well as a space path if I'm not mistaken, but I have yet to buy a V5. I think the character system is much more simple on the V6 since that whole Tama is mainly to showcase the band aspect.

[Rose]

First, I have to say my history with tamas a little.

I got into tamagotchi when the v3 was new. I'd never heard of them before, but I liked the concept. I had never had a virtual pet before. I found Kat's site, and I knew I wanted one. When my birthday came around, I begged my parents to get me one. They came through, and here I am today. ^_^

Since the v2, tamagotchi have been getting steadily more complex. I think that the different concepts are kinda cool, but I agree with the title- tamagotchi have lost their way. I hate how they revamped some of the characters, like mametchi. Mametchi looks so much less chipmunk-like now.

Though my first contact with tamagotchi was the v3, I am undoubtedly a collector in my heart, because I read about these early generations and knew I wanted to try them. I did, and now I have seen the light- those early versions had so much more... I don't know. I don't think there's a word for it. Charm doesn't seem like the right word. I like the simplicity, and I wish the new tamagotchi had that, because the just... aren't simple anymore.

They have this huge, complex world, and yet Bandai feels that they have to keep expanding it. Every tamagotchi needs a job now, be it in the v4 and v4.5 or the Music Star. Tamagotchi were originally cute little handheld pets that you cared for and were completely dependent on you, but now they seem so... human. I wish that they could be just the little pets they were, but I don't think we can ever go back to the simplistic. 

Maybe someday, someone at Bandai will realize, and try to go back, just a little. I think a combination of the early and the new tamagotchi would be ideal- A tamagotchi with the connections and around 10 final characters, yet without all the complex items and foods-maybe a choice of 2 or 3. Can anybody see what I mean?

Sorry for the long, rambly post.

[Masktchi]

Yeah, like I said before, the new Tamagotchi are a lot more person-like than pet like. Introducing schools, jobs, etc is more like raising a kid than a Tamagotchi. I guess there's only so much they can do, they have to change the Tamagotchi to justify continuing to make new ones. They do have some interesting changes, and I've convinced myself that I would eventually like to try some of the new ones. But the old-school Tamagotchi are my favourite (basically meaning before V1 or w/e).

The new Tamagotchi seem to be more like a "game" rather than a pet. They have their own world, their items, a money/job system apparently, etc etc. I think some concepts, such as the connection and breeding system are interesting a present definite potential, but a lot of seems to be a gimmick to make it less of a gimmick, if that makes sense. Basically by adding more stuff to do and such, I think they intend to make it more fun and less of a novelty for people, since they have more to do and different things to keep their interest. This however presents two consequences.

One is that the pets lose that "pet feeling" of the original, I suppose because they are making them more human, making them feel less pet-like. Additionally, the items etc make it feel more like a game, taking away from that pet feeling which focused just on care and was more simple. This is the second consequence. Being more complicated and demanding takes away from the original idea. That you could take them with you and do your own thing with them, as well as caring for them. By making it more like a game and making them more demanding, it requires more of your attention, and feels more like an obligation of sorts. Kind of like a game to distract you when you're bored, and it just doesn't feel the same, it doesn't feel exactly like a pet, even tho it's a Tamagotchi. Basically like you need free time to play with it.

This is mostly theorycraft on my part from what I've seen and heard. Apparently the V4 I think (too lazy to scroll) was a good balance between the old and new styles. Less demanding and a feel more true to the original, but still different. I think this is evidence Bandai realizes that, but the design has obviously progressed. They will adapt it, but they do have to move forward to justify making new Tamagotchi. Successive releases either way will eventually differ for better or worse, they have to change to some degree. Either way, it's probably only a matter of time before they milk a concept too hard or jump the shark trying to reinvent it. The sucessive generations of pokemon are a good example of this imo.

So the king of essay posts has spoken. :|