Uniqlo to launch Tamagotchi women’s T-shirts in Singapore in homage to the virtual pets

SINGAPORE – Japanese apparel giant Uniqlo is bringing the Tamagotchi to its T-shirts with a collaboration collection paying homage to the pebble-size devices.

The Tamagotchi devices were first released in Japan in 1996, but soon became a worldwide fad. They housed virtual pets their “owners” could care for as they grew, ate and excreted.

Uniqlo Singapore will launch on Dec 15 a collection of four women’s T-shirts, each displaying a different Tamagotchi character or logo, and retailing at $19.90. The designs are inspired by the pixel art of the first-generation Tamagotchi released in the 1990s.

An actual Tamagotchi device will also be sold as part of the launch for $39.90, with the white handheld gadget designed to look like the original.

The collaboration comes as the electronic toys are making a comeback as fashion accessories, with some people attaching them to their bags or around their waists as decorative charms.

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website with Uniqlo original mini-games

has been set up to mark the collaboration and 30th anniversary of the virtual pets. One game allows players to control a Uniqlo-wearing Mametchi, the virtual pet in a Tamagotchi, as it gathers food, among other things.