Tamagotchi is back again, this time in smartwatch form

Believe it or not, 2021 marks the 25th anniversary of the first Tamagotchi coming out. So it seems it was only a matter of time before the iconic toy became a better reflection of modern technology. Enter the Smart, an upcoming Tamagotchi that adopts a smartwatch-like form factor.

New to this model is the inclusion of touch and voice controls. As you might have guessed, the former allows you to wake up your pet and pet them. But when it comes to the voice controls, don’t expect speech recognition. A Japanese-language FAQ spotted by Input says you can use the feature to wake your pet up, and it doesn’t actually recognize specific commands. Given that Bandai designed the Tamagotchi Smart with children in mind, that’s probably for the best.

Each Tamagotchi Smart also comes with new characters to care for and watch after. Bandai will also sell separate “TamaSma” cards that allow Smart owners to sideload exclusive characters and items to their wearable. Yay for physical DLC.

Naturally, features from previous Tamagotchi devices like the Pix make a return. The Smart doubles as a digital clock and pedometer. Judging by the YouTube video Bandai release, it may also be possible to listen to music on the device. Naturally, all of those features come in the iconic egg shape of past Tamagotchi devices,

The Tamagotchi Smart will go on sale in Japan in November for about $60. No word yet on an international release.