Japanese Bandai Corp.'s Tamagotchi virtual pet which lives on minicomputer screen, growing from electronic chick to adult in 10 days but only w. proper care from button-pressing owner. (Photo by Ted Thai//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images). Copyright: Time & Life Pictures

The Tamagotchi (たまごっち , Tamagotchi ? ) is a handheld digital pet , created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai . It was first sold by Bandai in 1996 in Japan. As of 2010, over 76 million Tamagotchis have been sold world-wide. Most Tamagotchis are housed in a small egg-shaped computer with an interface usually consisting of three buttons, although the number of buttons may vary for different variations. _x000D_
According to Bandai, the name is a portmanteau combining the Japanese word "たまご" (tamago), which means "egg", and the English word "watch "(ウオッチ uocchi). Consequently, the name is romanized as "Tamagotch" without the "i" in Japan. But recently in Japan, the romanized name has changed to the English "Tamagotchi" with the i. Most Tamagotchi character's names end in 'tchi' or 'っち' in Japanese, with the exception of a few newer characters such as Makiko.

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