Japanese pop culture and nostalgia is a winning combination. Tamagotchi — a ’90s-era portable digital pet — has returned with a vengeance, with an accumulated number of shipments from its debut in 1996 through last month topping 100 million worldwide.
Since the first Tamagotchi hit stores, parent company Bandai Namco Holdings has released updated models, but the growth of the valuable “kidult” market — a multibillion-dollar segment that encompasses teens and adults — has given it a second wind.
Tamagotchi is one of several examples of ’90s games making a comeback among adults, with toy analysts citing the power of nostalgia to invoke escapism.
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