Tamagotchi is back, and the people most excited about this collaboration are probably all in their thirties, which could actually work pretty well for the busy lifestyle for most middle-aged geeks.
Listen, if you weren’t around for the Tamagotchi boom then this looks like it will be the perfect time to see what it was all about. These are cute little pets you take care of and keep alive by feeding them and spending time with them. The craze originally took off before smartphones and portable gaming were a thing, so it was especially magical at the time. Now it’s coming back but with the circuity and attitude of everyone’s favourite droid, R2-D2.
There’s an Amazon link listed on the announcement too, but the link is inactive at the time of writing. The R2-D2 Tamagotchi is an official collaboration between Disney and Bandai. In the announcement, Takayoshi Oyama, manager of the Business Management Team at Bandai, pointed out something everyone else is just now realizing. This is the perfect combination.
Oyama said, “Star Wars has proven to be a timeless franchise … which makes it an absolute thrill to … incorporate it into the Tamagotchi experience.” He went on to say,” The R2-D2 Tamagotchi is an epic collaboration … and we can’t wait to see how fans … react to this out-of-this-world device!”
During the original craze, a Tamagotchi was typically a creature or animal, but this idea is perfect. Who wouldn’t want to take care of R2-D2?
It will be available in two colour variants: a white version with some R2-D2 aesthetic added around the edges, and blue version that looks a lot like the devices from the late ’90s. They both should appeal nicely to the target audiences. New fans that are jumping into something new for Star Wars and old fans ready to accidentally kill their Tamagotchi pet again.
A price hasn’t been announced yet but the R2-D2 Tamagotchi will be available for pre-order August 2 at 9 PM PT, so we’ll know the price pretty quickly. It releases November 11, 2021.
