Tamagotchi collectors rejoice: Bandai is finally rereleasing a beloved model from 2004
Another classic Tamagotchi is getting the reboot treatment. Bandai announced this week that it's bringing back the Tamagotchi Connection to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the toy's release. Tamagotchi Connection, which first came out in 2004, was a pivotal entry to the virtual pet family, introducing more modern capabilities like infrared pairing so two devices could link up. There were several versions over the course of the subsequent decade, but v3 brought the beloved shell design the Connection family has become known for: the recognizable Tamagotchi egg, but with a faux antenna attached. This is the style Bandai is resurrecting.
Pre-orders are now open for the English-language Tamagotchi Connection in six colors: Bubbles (light blue), Ice Cream (pink), Rainbow Sky, the multicolored Clear Retro, and Blue and Pink Graffiti. They're $30 each, or you can get the two Graffiti shells as a pair for $58. As usual, some additional, even cuter shells appear to be coming out in Japan.
While the new Connection revives the v3 design, it looks like the gameplay will combine elements of a few models from the pre-color era rather than just the one, or even add some new touches. Per the materials that have been released so far, the toy will feature more than 50 characters and come with 150 in-game items to collect. Some items will be unlockable by finding passwords. And the devices will, of course, be able to connect to one another.
There are still a lot of questions about what else the new Connection will offer - especially when considering the original v3 was the first internationally released Tamagotchi to connect to a companion website, the now-defunct TamaTown. Bandai hasn't said anything at this point about launching something similar (though eagle-eyed fans speculate it may be in the cards based on a recent trademark filing), but a girl can dream. The rerelease of Tamagotchi Connection is huge in and of itself, though; fans have been asking for exactly this for years, and now it's actually happening.