Gen Z have revived popular 90s toy that was a favorite of millennials but there's a massive difference today

First it was low rise jeans and UGG boots, and now decades-old tech is coming back into fashion.

Arguably the 90s was one of the best years for games from Bop It and Street Fighter to Polly Pocket and The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (best known as the SNEZ), it was a pretty good time to be a kid.

But as great as they were, I'm afraid Gen Zers aren't investing their time building Polly Pocket's newest mansion - instead they've directed their attention to the humble yet extremely entertaining Tamagotchi.

Tamagotchi's global sales have reportedly doubled (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

The egg-shaped toy was first released in Japan in 1997 and followed suit in the US a year later.

For those of you who have no idea what a Tamagotchi is, the pocket-sized tech houses a virtual pet for you to look after. You do this by keeping your virtual friend happy, fed and trained.

As of 2021, 83 million units had been sold, Janbox reports, but this has since skyrocketed.

According to BBC News, between 2022 and 2023 Tamagotchi's global sales have doubled - yes, doubled.

While the toy has had a bit of an upgrade since its initial popularity in the 90s, the premise of it remains the same.

Charli D'Amelio hosted a Tamagotchi Uni Launch Party last year (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Tamagotchi brand manager Priya Jadeja told the BBC: "Now you can connect with friends, you can play on Wi-Fi and download different items, and that's really combating that sense of fatigue that you might have gotten with some earlier models."

Echoing similar sentiments, Liz Grampp, Vice President of Brand Management at Bandai America, told MailOnline last year: "It's about resource management, it's about nurturing, caring for a little virtual pet, and that basic human emotion of taking care of something that I don't think ever goes away.

"What's different is our delivery. So, it's a more classic pixel game, which has a little bit of a trend of its own."

The tiny toy was relaunched in 2019 and has been gaining momentum ever since.

The company thought that the toy would appeal to millennials for nostalgia purposes, but it turns out that the younger generation is also enjoying it.

"When we relaunched, we thought it would be a very millennial-focused relaunch," Jadeja said.

"But it's being introduced to kids who've never had this sort of device before - it's really exciting to see them embracing it."

I'm not sure about you, but Tamagotchi becoming hugely popular again wasn't on my bingo card for 2024.

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