Tamagotchi Connexion Corner Shop • Eurogamer.net

NanaOn-Sha man concerned.

NanaOn-Sha's Masaya Matsuura has said developers in Japan are getting a bit concerned about the longevity of the DS and the audience to which it appeals.

Tamagotchi Connexion Corner Shop

Like a boring pet rock.

Weren't Tamagotchi supposed to be about interaction? Remember that dreadful fad a few years back when children clung to plastic keyrings, declaring every fifteen seconds that "it needs to be fed!" or "it needs to go for a poo!"? These were, at least, somewhat novel. The toy you had to keep playing with, or it would die. Nevermind that a new one would hatch right away - the previous one was dead, and now there would be tears and tantrums.

So it's somewhat sad that the most immediately absent feature of this new Tamagotchi-based DS game is that the buggers can't die. Not that you'll be wishing them dead, but that they simply aren't Tamagotchi. What we have here is something of the most extreme obscurity - the type that's hard to write about without worrying people will think you're making it up - without managing to be interesting at any point.

At the beginning you choose one of three Tamagotchi partners, and then pick between two modes, Care, or Store. Store is where the game really takes place, and Care is where the game really should have taken place. In Store you can choose between an ever-increasing number of small commercial enterprises, which with the assistance of your Tamagotchi friend you must satisfy a never-ending stream of ‘Gotchi customers. Stores include a cake decorating service, a dentist, and, er, a tree-based bath house. Yes, all the first things you'd think of.