Tamagotchis and Beanie Babies: I have to admit I did have each of these toys as a kid. The first Tamagotchis were introduced in 1996, so I must have been about thirteen. A year later giga-pets came out. Both of these toys had the same concept; they were small, pocket-sized digital pets. Using a few buttons on the tiny device, you could interact with your little cyber companion in a variety of ways. It basically assimilated the responsibilities and enjoyments of having a real pet.
We all know what "Beanie Babies" are. Wikipedia describes one as "essentially a fancy bean bag in the form of a stuffed animal". Right on Wikipedia. I only had one Beanie (a purple hippo), but it seemed some people had hundreds! There were originally nine Beanies launched in 1993 and I can't even find a record online now of how many there currently are. I always found it odd how not only children but adults collected these stuffed animals as if they were valuable artifacts. I have to hand it to Ty (the company that produced them) for making such a craze out of a brand of stuffed animal, or plush toy if you prefer.
Well my memories of days with my Tamagotchi are not pleasant ones...I couldn't keep it happy! It wasn't for lack of trying; I even took the darn thing to school with me and tried to pay attention to it. It took a lot of time, and I think in the end it wasn't fun enough for the effort it required. The name"Tamagotchi", if you are wondering, comes from a combination of the Japanese word tomago (egg) and the English word watch (watch). That is a suitable name because one had to watch the Tamagotchi... all day! It was an interesting idea, and at the time the technology was exciting, but my days playing with my Tamagotchi were limited.
So Beanie Babies didn't do a whole lot but sit there, but they did their job. They were fuzzy and cuddly and managed to minipulate millions into buying them with their cuteness. Who doesn't like a cuddly little stuffed animal? Although Beanie Babies were discontinued in 1999, they had been so popular with consumers and there was such demand that Ty decided to start production again. In 2008 Ty took Beanies online with "Beanie Babies 2.0". With a 2.0 Beanie, you received a code to use online on an interactive website. Interesting, kind of like Tamagotchis. There doesn't seem to be much question in this debate over which was the better toy craze of the 90's. Beanie Babies win!
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