Tamagotchi Philippines
ï 2008-Oct-3 - SEGA Toys' Handheld Aquarium
Let me take a break from the huge influx of Tamagotchi Plus Color news to feature another pet that is silently creeping in the virtual pet realm.
The Japanese Trend Shop has Sega Toys latest contribution to the world of virtual pets, the Handheld Aquarium. If Bandai has impressed people with their colored screen in the soon-to-be-released-in-Japan Tamagotchi Plus Color, Sega Toys tries to put one over by placing a full color liquid crystal monitor in their pet complete with 3D-like graphics and animations.
Looking like a mini-Nintendo Wii controller, this Handheld Aquarium lets you take care of either an angelfish (blue) or a dolphin (pink), depending on which one you pick up. It has three games and an expanding world that your pet can explore when it grows up. Powered by three AAA batteries, its battery life is expected to last around a month. |
Comments (1) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
ï 2008-Aug-6 - iGotchi popular, who knew? / iPhone in the Philippines
Forbes.com notes that the first virtual pet for the iPhone, the iGotchi is the 61st most popular paid application. 1,000 to 2,000 copies have been purchased for $1.99 each since July 11.
Considering that there are hundreds of applications for the iPhone, this is a pretty good feat for the iGotchi application.
This may prove that the virtual pet craze is still alive even across the "older" generation. After all, I'm assuming that an 8-year old does not own an iPhone. Or maybe there are a lot of parents who own an iPhone and just want an application for their kids to enjoy.
Long live virtual pets!
Speaking of iPhone, Globe Philippines will be the official suppliers of the iPhone 3G here in the country. For those who are anxious to get this Apple product (and grab the iGotchi app), it will be officially out on August 22, 2008. The price of these phones are very steep though. The 8GB iPhone 3G prepaid kit is priced at Php 41,899, while the 16GB is at Php 48,899.
I won't buy one though. Never crossed my mind. I love my current phone. I love buttons and tactile feedback.
Man, I could by thousands of Tamagotchis at that amount, two to three Nokia NSeries phones or a good DSLR camera with an extra lens! I really believe Globe really overpriced these units here that you can actually import one from the US at a lesser amount.
For those who are willing to go postpaid, here are the rates.
 |
Comments (0) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
ï 2008-Jul-13 - IPhone's Tamagotchi Challenger
The much awaited IPhone 3G was just released a few days ago in certain parts of the world along with their Apps store. In there, there lay iGotchi, a virtual pet game similar to that of our beloved Tamagotchi.
It looks like a fur ball with legs, comes in different colors and responds to touch. You can also name your iGotchi, play games with it, and feed it, just like the Tamagotchi.
I'm not sure how better it is compared to Bandai's Tamagotchi except for its 3D-ish graphics and touch sensor, but I'll probably pick the virtual pet that started it all instead of this iGotchi character. The IPhone is not exactly aimed to kids, and I can't imagine one lending his/her IPhone to a kid who might accidentally break it.
It is however interesting how companies try to top Bandai's successful creation though. |
Comments (0) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
ï 2008-Jun-20 - The Ikemenbank
ï 2008-Mar-31 - Some Pets to Keep One Company
In case you can't wait for the Tamagotchi V5, there are other virtual pets available as well here in the Philippines. You may want to take a look at them especially if you like "real" pets instead of our alien Tamagotchi buddies.
Anipalz Dog and Anipalz Cat (left) are now priced at Php 429.75, about a 50% off its original price when they first came out in the country. They do not have any buttons anywhere as the makers opted for a touch-sensitive surface. Cased in a portable multimedia player like housing, the hard plastic used seems robust enough to withstand an accidental fall to solid ground without damaging the product.
Littlest Petshop virtual pets (right) are priced at Php 829.75. Often aimed at a girl audience, its casing is shaped into a small house colored with pink and purple hues. Its features include taking your pet out for adventures, tons of activities, and special charms for interacting with the pet.
You might notice that both pets are priced much lower than the original price of a Tamagotchi (Php 999.75) so these may be good alternatives without draining too much of your funds. |
Comments (0) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
ï 2008-Mar-15 - Takara - Horse Breeder
I found a particularly interesting item in E-Bay Philippines for virtual pet lovers everywhere.
It's supposedly a Pocket Horse Breeder made by Takara. It's actually the first time I've encountered such a virtual pet despite my exposure to a lot of them so I can't tell you how it works, what its gameplay is and other things.
If you're interested, bid now on E-Bay. The seller is selling it pretty cheap! |
Comments (0) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
ï 2008-Feb-2 - A look back: the Arukotchi
Since there may be a re-release, or a refresh of the Arukotchi, Bandai's pedometer pet, sometime in July, I thought of making a flashback just for remembrance's sake.
On a side note, I actually have a pedometer clipped on my belt for several weeks already aiming to reach at least 10,000 steps per day. I feel much fitter because of this. After all, according to tests, 10,000 steps is like taking a walk roughly around 5 miles, which is quite a distance compared to most people's daily walking regimen.
Of course you can use it as a clock similar to the tamagotchi pets. And of course, there is the game that goes alongside with its pedometer functions.
Arukotchi, the main character, walks around town in search for a gotchi-boy. As she walks, she will find some items, meet some boys, receive some gifts, and may be if lucky, receive a proposal from a gotchi-boy. There are 15 gotchi-boys that Arukotchi can meet.
This is where you come in. If you don't walk with Arukotchi, those events would not happen. Arukotchi is a shy girl, so she needs you to walk alongside her for decisions and "frontman" for those gotchi-boys. She may come across a mystery box which you will have to decide whether or not she can open it, accept or reject any advances coming from gotchi-boys and more.
There is also a health meter that determines how fit Arukotchi is will not increase. She will be less healthy, and her dreams of finding her true love won't be fulfilled. A beauty meter is also present that measures how pretty Arukotchi is. It will increase or decrease depending on what items she gets.
To summarize everything, Arukotchi will get better endings if you take a walk with her. The more steps you take, the higher chances Arukotchi will end up happy. Also, you'll be much fitter than before (http://www.thewalkingsite.com/10000steps.html). Arukotchi motivates you as well, celebrating when you get 1000, 5000, 10000, 15000, 20000 and so on steps.
Who says virtual pets can't make you healthy? |
Comments (0) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
ï 2007-Nov-25 - The Infrared Battle Pet (Part 2)
A wide selection of pets greet you the moment you pull the protective tab off the virtual pet. Seeing this bevy of pets available for the infrared battle pet gives a major hint that this sports a totally different program in it, and not a tamagotchi knockoff much like the JD Touch Pet.
These are all real life animals from whales to pigs, ducks to bats. Although there are a few that I do not recognize (Is that an Evee of Pokemon frame in Column 2, row 3), this virtual pet caters to the people who like real-life animals to take care of, and not a bunch of alien life forms like Tamagotchis.
If all these animals will act independently of each other (different animations for everything, different personalities) or if they will evolve and have children remains to be seen, So far, its graphics are far better than the JD touch pet, most likely due to the smaller pixels it uses. The pixels are still bigger than the tamagotchi, but at least you know that their turtle is really a turtle due to the details they were able to put in each pet.
You only get to pick one pet though to take care of.
|
Comments (0) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
ï 2007-Nov-14 - The Infrared Battle Pet (Part 1)
This has got to be one of the better Tamagotchi Connection V4 lookalikes that have appeared in the Chinese market. And it seems like it's not from our favorite Tamagotchi-imitation maker company, JD as it doesn't bear its Bandai-logo like name anywhere on the packaging.
Presenting the Infrared Battle Pet!
Comparing it side-by-side with a V4, you can hardly spot any difference at first glance. Apart from the lanyard, they've replicated most major details of the V4 in this Tamagotchi imitation, from the ball on top of the pet, the infrared plastic, the circular grooves around the buttons, grooves on the side, and even the egg "crack" in the middle. Of course, if you've memorized V4 designs, you know that this design doesn't exist in Bandai's world.
 The Infrared Battle Pet side-by-side with my Tamagotchi V4
You have to look a little closer to see the differences between Bandai's and this one. The screen design doesn't follow the normal square border/frame design of Bandai. In its place is a stage-like design with curtains to match. The Infrared Battle Pet also doesn't have the same icons compared to the Tamagotchi.
The initial run will be done in part 2 of the review. |
Comments (0) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
ï 2007-Nov-13 - JD's Touch Pet - Part 4
Big and Bold
The graphics are huge compared to Bandai's Tamagotchi. Unlike Bandai's where they use one pixel to draw the character's outline, JD's touch pet uses a three-by-three or two-by-two pixel block to draw Bandai's one pixel equivalent. This produces a bold outline similar to Powerpuff Girls style of drawing, only pixelized. As a result, they could only put little detail in the characters. No Makiko equivalents here due to this drawing style.
Most characters are from Bandai's Tamagotchi series. I've seen JD's versions of Bill, shiroteletchi, mizutamatchi and others. There are some original characters, I think, or just less detailed.
Touch me not
Sadly, it's only used mainly as a replacement for the buttons. Yes, no Iphone like multiple presses (except for the two icons to activate the sound menu), no games that use the touch screen (not even whack-a-mole type of game). Although the concept is innovative, it doesn't really have a point.
Unfortunately, JD placed the cheapest plastic screen I've ever seen in a virtual pet. You can easily scratch it with your fingernails if you've been using your thumb to press the buttons. Even the included stylus can lightly damage the screen. After one week, the touch screen's functionality, the one that I've been raving about in the first part of this review, is gone. I cleaned its screen, thinking that it may be grime that was causing the error. Sad to say, it wasn't. Using the stylus didn't work as well.
To think that I cared for it properly. I never dropped it yet accidentally or purposely, and it was in a small pouch all the time.
Without any buttons and a whacked-out touch screen, this virtual pet became highly unplayable. It still bears the highly sensitive surface, but due to the scratches, it now presses on its own in random increments or the screen doesn't work at all.
My silver Bandai V3 Tamagotchi's screen even looks better than this newly-bought JD Pet despite the time when I grew tired of my tamagotchi and left it lying around with some old coins and other metal stuff.
Eternal life
Baby, Teenager, Adult --- just three growth stages for the JD pet. It takes around 1-2 human days per evolution. So far, I haven't seen anything else after that; if there are matchmakers or something that will take it to the next generation.
I also did the ultimate test in longetivity of a character, how long does it take for it to die? Unlike tamagotchi where the deaths are known, we do not have any information available on the JD pet. Yes, it's a bit morbid, but for experiment's sake, I had to do it. I left it day after day without caring for it.
The pet was crying, with a skull floating above its head indicating that it was sick. The constant beeping was continuously heard in my room complaining that it is hungry.
But it would not die. Its happiness and weight was gone; all the poop, poor health and hunger icons were crowding the screen. Yes, this pet is invincible. I left it alone for a week to test my theory of its eternal life, and indeed, it is immortal. It's the pet that will not die!
The only way for it to "die" is when the batteries run out. This pet doesn't have the "download" option that saves the tamagotchi in an internal memory. When the battery runs out, your pet disappears forever and you'll have to start from scratch again. Bye-bye souvenirs!
Sleep/Wake Times:
I'm glad to say that this version does not keep you awake at night. In fact, it sleeps very early at 8 PM. Waking up is another story. It sometimes wakes up at 7 AM, sometimes it oversleeps and wakes up at 12 NN. There was also a time that it didn't seem to wake up at all (it's not dead of course). When the clock struck 2 PM, I turned on the light, and it woke up without making any fuss. Just remember to set the time correctly!
Final Words:
It's a good pet to play within one day. However, the oversimplified features of the pet and the fact that it does not die or mate (at least, mine hasn't yet) to move on to the next stage kills any replayability of the toy. It having only one non-interactive game sums it all.
It's better for kids who still are too young to understand the intricasies of Bandai's tamagotchi to be able to take care of it properly. At least in their early stage, they can be taught on how to take care of a pet.
It's great for parents who fear that their children might become emotionally scarred for life when their beloved pet dies.
Rating: 2/5 (No replayability and bad plastic screen quality for a touch screen pet make this one a no-no)
Note: If there are other things you wish to inquire about the JD Touch pet, just place it on the comments section and I'll answer them as soon as possible. |
Comments (0) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
ï 2007-Oct-31 - JD's Touch Pet - Part 3
Stats Icon:
The first row (top three pictures) above show the stats screen. It shows the name of your tamagotchi (yes, you can only have three letters in the name of this pet), the heart icon is the age, face icon is the gender, the smiley icon is its happiness, and the scale icon is its weight. You may notice that the scale icon is at 0 now. This JD's touch pet loses weight when you don't feed it often, so in this small sense, it's more real than Bandai's Tamagotchi. This happens to any type of pet here, unlike the well-known Ichigotchi 0 weight "glitch".
Toilet/Bathroom Icon:
Not shown here as there is nothing special here. When pressed, a stream of water appears on the screen similar to Bandai's pet, and cleans up your pet's poop.
Punishment/Reward Icon:
When this icon is pressed, you are given the option of a trophy (reward) or a nail (punishment). Yes, a nail, like the one you use in carpentry. Up until now, I'm not sure when to reward or when to punish. There is no indication when to use this, and it seemingly doesn't affect the pet in any way. There is no discipline stat for the JD Touch pet, so I'm not sure what this is for.
However, strangely, it bears the same animation as of the sickness "skull" icon. It does work sometimes when the skull icon appears, but it's a crapshoot.
Time screen:
When you press the enter button without any selection, you get to enter the time screen. It shows the date and the current time you set in your pet. To set the time/date once again, you press the back and exit buttons located underneath the enter button, a sort of difficult task since these two are so close to one another. You will need to use the stylus and one of your fingers to successfully do this task, or you can try pressing it at the same time with your thumb. This is also the way to turn on/off the sound, except that you need to do it in the pet screen, not the time screen.
Infrared Icon:
Yes, it also has connection properties. When connecting, the red heart above the pet emits a blinking red light. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to test this because you will need another similar JD Touch pet. I don't want to get another one unless it is really worth it.
Items screen:
The bottom row shows a microphone and a corndog, two items/souvenirs you can get when you win the only game in this pet. The last screen is the item selection screen. The house icon is still unaccessible at this time, but I'm assuming that it contains the history of your pet, similar to Bandai's. The gift icon contains all the prizes that you've won and entered in the password screen to claim. Although you cannot use any items, I believe it can be given to another touch pet via infrared as claimed by the V3 instructions included.
Part 4 will contain my review, my experiences with the pet and the summary of the JD Touch Pet coverage.
|
Comments (0) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
ï 2007-Oct-17 - JD's Touch Pet - part 2
I believe there were quite a number of readers waiting for my experience regarding the JD Touch Screen Pet.
For part 2 of this Touch Pet tinkering, I'll run through the JD Touch Pet's features and icons.
It has 9 options (icons). However, only 6 of them are immediately accessible via the touch screen , an enter key, select key and an exit key.
Games Icon:
I should say game since there is only one game in the JD Touch Pet. What's worse, you don't even control it! Yep, it's a random pick. Every time you play, it decreases your pet's weight by 2.
If I could compare it to the games made by Bandai, it's similar to the preschool game sans the teacher. The pet dances around, and you are greeted by either a "WIN" or "LOSE" screen. If you get a WIN screen, you get a password consisting of 4 numbers which you can enter in the password screen (screen row 2, column 4). A lose screen (screen row 1, column 4), you get nothing.
The password generates an item which is logged in your items screen (screen row 2, column 2). You cannot use these items though, similar to the souvenirs you get in Tamatown in Bandai's Tamagotchi --- only for collecting purposes. However, from the instructions in the sheet, you can give this items via IR connection to another JD Touch pet.
The funny thing is, whatever character your JD pet is, it changes into a mizutamatchi-type of character when playing this game (screen row 1, column 1) temporarily.
Cure/Clinic Icon:
The JD Pet also gets sick every now and then, as indicated by a floating skull near the pet's head (screen row 1, column 3). Just press the icon for cure during this time, and the pet will be cured, jumping up and down expressing its joy. It gets sick at least four times a day for no reason at all, so it tends to be a bit annoying.
Food Icon:
When pressed, you are given two choices of food: a barbecue (or is it a chocolate bar?) and bread (screen row 2, column 1). It adds 1-2 pounds to its weight per food. This pet never refuses any food given to it, so your tama's weight balloons quite easily. No toothaches here either. However, unlike the tamagotchi, if you don't feed your tamagotchi, it loses weight as well.
Light Icon:
When your JD Pet takes out its blanket and goes to sleep (screen row 2, column 3), select the light icon. You have the option to turn off or on the light (screen row 1, column 2).
To be continued in Part 3. |
Comments (0) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
|
