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Tamagotchi is Back: Virtual pets for your Android phone

Tamagotchi is back!

Nostalgia Alert: Tamagotchi for Android!

Remember your first virtual pet? Sure you do. You killed it because you were irresponsible. Now you can redeem yourself and show off your hard-earned maturity... because Tamagotchi is back.

That's right: Tamagotchi is turning 16 years old, and could legally drive in the USA if they had bodies. Bandai is celebrating with the release of a free Android app, hatching Tamagotchi into the 21st Century.

Tamagotchi was first introduced in 1997, and kids everywhere delighted in the antics of their 8-bit pets. I was too old for the original Tamagotchi craze, but damned if I'm gonna miss it the second time around. That's right... I just hatched a freakin' Tamagotchi... in the name of journalism.

The new Tamagotchi app is called L.I.F.E. (Life Is Fun Everywhere). I'd have preferred C.R.E.A.M. (Creatures Run Everything [on my] Android Mobile), but it wasn't my call. Anyway, it's a free app, so go nuts.

As you can see, I can engage my crudely-rendered pet in a game of Rock Paper Scissors. It beat me, but I'll practice for the next tournament.

Tapping the magnifying glass or swiping with two fingers will bring your Tamagotchi into App Mode, so your aren't looking at it through a 1997-era plastic egg. The controls are shifted accordingly to match smartphone-UX sensibilities

Can You Get Tamagotchi for the iPhone?

I'm not used to writing this, but here goes... the Tamagotchi app will be available for the iPhone soon, but the release date has not yet been announced. Hey, iOS gets Vine, so we get Tamagotchi.

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