The tamagotchi (in Japanese, "eggie") in simple terms, is a virtual pet. You interact with your pet through its egg-shaped container. Your pet can range from a tiny chicken to a gigantic dinosaur. You feed it when it's hungry, you clean up after it has made a mess, you treat it when it's sick, and you discipline it when it's naughty. The tamagotchi grows as you nurture it and it will also die if it's neglected. You have, in your hands, what you can expect of a real life puppy, without having to bear with your mother nagging you to clean your dog, or your neighbours complaining about the noise it makes. Maybe that's why it's has cause such a commotion around the globe. It's good to have easy control over somethings in this unpredictable world.

Let's overlook the point that the tamagotchi is a virtual pet, and peer into the technical aspect of the tamagotchi. It is actually an electronic computer program that responds to simple life essentials such as nutrition and survival. A lifeform is created in the digital sense. This lifeform eats and grows according to how much care is given to it by the user. Basically, the program is time-based. By considering how much time has passed, it calculates the amount of food digested and signals the user with an "I'm hungry" response if the gradual decline of food with time drops below a certain level. More complex mathematics may be involved to rope in factors that attribute to the growth of the tamagotchi. Combine a simple feedback system, a life-simulating program and a cool case, and TAMAGOTCHI is born!