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Nostalgia and New Fans as Tamagotchi Turns 30

More than 100 million of the pocket-sized plastic eggs have been sold worldwide since their debut three decades ago. (AFP)
More than 100 million of the pocket-sized plastic eggs have been sold worldwide since their debut three decades ago. (AFP)
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Nostalgia and New Fans as Tamagotchi Turns 30

More than 100 million of the pocket-sized plastic eggs have been sold worldwide since their debut three decades ago. (AFP)
More than 100 million of the pocket-sized plastic eggs have been sold worldwide since their debut three decades ago. (AFP)

Japan's Tamagotchi toys were a 1990s playground craze and the virtual pets that demand food and attention are still a hit among retro-loving Gen Z and nostalgic parents.

More than 100 million of the pocket-sized plastic eggs have been sold worldwide since their debut, manufacturer Bandai Namco says.

The company is showing off the Tamagotchi's evolution from bouncing black-and-white pixelated characters to color screens and wifi connectivity at a special 30th anniversary exhibition that opens in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Swinging from keychains, the Tamagotchi -- whose name is a portmanteau of the Japanese words for "egg" and "watch" -- has become a popular fashion accessory among young people in recent years, according to Bandai.

Sales of Tamagotchi merchandise, not including video games, rose around sevenfold in five years from 2019, it says.

Rafaela Miranda Freire, a 15-year-old Brazilian tourist visiting Tokyo's Harajuku shopping district with her mother, told AFP she didn't own a Tamagotchi but liked the idea.

"It's really nostalgic and cute. Like some 2000s cute aesthetic," she said, admitting that some people her age "just don't like it or think it's childish".

But old-school toys can be a healthy alternative to social media, Freire said.

"It's good. You just get off the phone and appreciate the small things in life."

- Top toy -

Last year British retailer Hamleys ranked the Tamagotchi in its list of the top 100 toys of all time, alongside the likes of Lego and the Rubik's Cube.

The digital pets, which need attending to when they are hungry, sick or have defecated on the virtual floor, grow up as users care for them -- but can die if they are neglected.

Entering the exhibition through a giant white egg, visitors can view various photo-friendly displays and a history room where they can play with some of the dozens of different models released over the years.

Nearly half of all Tamagotchi unit sales were in Japan, with 33 percent in the Americas but just two percent in other Asia-Pacific countries, Bandai Namco says.

Harajuku shopper Yumeho Akita, 25, told AFP she had good memories of raising her Tamagotchi for several months during her childhood.

"I really wanted one, and I finally got one, so I cherished it and raised the character very carefully," she recalled.

And some parents say they want their children to experience the same.

US screenwriter Justin Piasecki, on holiday in Japan, told AFP he had recently bought Tamagotchis for Christmas for his two daughters, aged four and six.

"They basically have a computer science degree in Tamagotchi at this point," the 41-year-old told AFP. "I thought I would need to show them how to do it, but now they're showing me."

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Varieties

Volcano Guides at Mount Etna are Protesting over New Safety Rules

A group of people observes glowing lava emerging from a fissure during ongoing volcanic activity on Mount Etna in Catania, Sicily, Italy, January 3, 2026. REUTERS/Antonio Denti
A group of people observes glowing lava emerging from a fissure during ongoing volcanic activity on Mount Etna in Catania, Sicily, Italy, January 3, 2026. REUTERS/Antonio Denti
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Volcano Guides at Mount Etna are Protesting over New Safety Rules

A group of people observes glowing lava emerging from a fissure during ongoing volcanic activity on Mount Etna in Catania, Sicily, Italy, January 3, 2026. REUTERS/Antonio Denti
A group of people observes glowing lava emerging from a fissure during ongoing volcanic activity on Mount Etna in Catania, Sicily, Italy, January 3, 2026. REUTERS/Antonio Denti

Guides who take tourists to enjoy the striking views of Sicily’s Mount Etna are up in arms over tougher restrictions imposed by local authorities after a round of eruptions at the giant volcano in recent weeks.

Authorities in the city of Catania have suspended or restricted excursions to see the volcano's lava flows, prompting guides to go on strike for the first time in decades and leaving disgruntled tourists with fewer options to see the spectacle up close, The Associated Press reported.

Dozens of the guides demonstrated Wednesday in front of Mount Etna’s lava flow gate, calling the new restrictions excessive and saying the lava flows are slow-moving enough to be viewed safely as has been done in the past.

“These measures effectively nullify the role of guides, stripping them of their skills, function, and professional responsibility,” a statement by the guides’ regional board said.

The lava flows are especially spectacular after sunset, but under the new rules, excursions are allowed only until dusk and can go no closer than 200 meters (660 feet) to the lava flow. Also, a previously existing limit of 10 people per group is being vigorously enforced, including with drones.

Mount Etna is Europe’s most active volcano and the continent’s largest. It attracts hikers and backpackers to its slopes, while less adventurous tourists can take it in from a distance, most stunningly from the Ionian Sea.

At 3,350 meters (almost 10,990 feet) tall and 35 kilometers (21.7 miles) wide, the Sicilian giant frequently offers a front-row seat to nature’s power. Last June, a massive eruption forced tourists to flee the volcano after a plume of high-temperature gases, ash and rock several kilometers high billowed into the air above them.

The latest restrictions were adopted after Mount Etna started a round of eruptions on Christmas Eve.

The most advanced lava front reached 1,360 meters (4,460 feet) above sea level, before stopping and entering a cooling phase after a journey of approximately 3.4 kilometers (about 2 miles), local authorities said. The lava flow poses no danger to nearby residential areas, volcanologists say.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology confirmed this week that Mount Etna’s eruption is ongoing, but said the lava fronts are cooling and not advancing further.

“This is a lava flow that is descending very slowly on an area that is now also flat or semi-flat,” said Dario Teri, 43, a member of Sicily’s association of alpine and volcano guides who participated in Wednesday’s protest.

The guides, who are expected to continue their strike in the coming days, hope to come to a compromise with authorities that can protect their profession while also ensuring the safety of visitors.

Claudia Mancini, a 32-year-old tourist, said she came from Palermo for an excursion with a guide at Mount Etna.

“Unfortunately, we got the bad news of the cancelling of all activity,” Mancini said, adding that she sympathized with the guides over a situation that “is not making anyone happy.”

Varieties

Lego Unveils Tech-Filled Smart Bricks

Lego unveils Smart Bricks (AFP)
Lego unveils Smart Bricks (AFP)
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Lego Unveils Tech-Filled Smart Bricks

Lego unveils Smart Bricks (AFP)
Lego unveils Smart Bricks (AFP)

Lego has unveiled Smart Bricks - tech-filled versions of its small building blocks - which it says will bring sets to life with sound, light and reaction to movement, according to the BBC.

However, the new product range has got a mixed reaction from play experts, who said it risks undermining what makes Lego distinct for children in an increasingly digital world.

Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2026 in Las Vegas, the Danish toymaker's Smart Play system introduces new electronic components to the classic plastic blocks.

Lego said its new tech-enabled products, launching in March with a new Star Wars set, are its “most revolutionary innovation” in nearly 50 years.

But Josh Golin, executive director of children's wellbeing group Fairplay, believes Smart Bricks could “undermine what was once great about Legos” - harnessing children's own imagination during play.

He said the toy did not require extra features to generate sounds or other effects.

“As anyone who has ever watched a child play with old-school Legos knows, children's Lego creations already do move and make noises through the power of children's imaginations,” he told the BBC.

Andrew Manches, professor of children and technology at the University of Edinburgh, agreed the beauty of Lego lay in “the freedom to create, re-create, and adapt simple blocks into endless stories powered by children's imagination.”

But he also welcomed Lego's efforts to integrate physical and digital play with tools that react to the way children interact with its Smart Play products.

Julia Goldin, the company's chief product and marketing officer, previously told the BBC it viewed digital technology as an opportunity to “expand physical play and physical building.”

“We don't look at the digital world as a threat,” she said - adding its smart range weaves interactivity “seamlessly” with its physical products.

What are Lego Smart Bricks?

Lego says its Smart Bricks can sense motion, position and distance, allowing the models to respond in various ways during play.

Measuring 2x4, the brick itself contains sensors, lights, a small sound synthesizer, an accelerometer and a custom-made silicon chip enabling it to detect movement and react to it.

But it is designed to be used with Smart Minifigures and Smart Tags tiles - two additional products making up Lego's Smart Play System.

Similarly adapted from existing Lego components, these possess digital identifiers triggering different sounds or reactions when they detect and interact with each other.

For instance, when tried out by the BBC at CES, a Lego birthday cake recognized when its “candles” were blown out - sounding a cheer and a happy birthday song.

Meanwhile, a Lego helicopter made whooshing sounds when moved or rotated, with its Smart Brick lighting up red upon crashing.

Tom Donaldson, head of Lego's Creative Play Lab, said the tech intended to respond to children's actions and complement the way they naturally play.

He said the Smart Brick's reactions to responses would “hopefully inspire and surprise the user to keep them continuing to play.”

“We are building a platform that we want to last for many years,” he said.
Manches told the BBC reduced cost and size of components has “enabled more toymakers to integrate digital technology seamlessly into a range of toys.”

But he added despite exciting innovation, concerns remain about the security and privacy of new and emerging smart toys for children - particularly those which integrate AI.

“The key is to us all to remain critically reflective of the design of these toys, and to pay much attention to how they influence children's everyday lives,” he said.

It is not the first time Lego has dabbled in digital experimentation or sought to appeal to increasingly online audiences.

Since 2017 it has released augmented reality apps and experiences letting people play with computer-generated models layered over their surroundings.

Through collaborations with video game publishers such as Nintendo and Fortnite-maker Epic Games it has also looked to appeal to fans of trending games or new launches - releasing a Super Mario Minifigure in 2020 with a tiny display screen.

Lego chief executive Niels B. Christiansen said in the firm’s 2024 annual report it had accelerated spending on digital technology as a “strategic area” for the company.

Varieties

Did Leonardo da Vinci Leave his DNA on Artwork?

Beige seamless vector background with Leonardo da Vinci sketch drawings (Shutterstock)
Beige seamless vector background with Leonardo da Vinci sketch drawings (Shutterstock)
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Did Leonardo da Vinci Leave his DNA on Artwork?

Beige seamless vector background with Leonardo da Vinci sketch drawings (Shutterstock)
Beige seamless vector background with Leonardo da Vinci sketch drawings (Shutterstock)

Scientists have recovered tiny DNA traces left on Renaissance artifacts, at least some of which they suspect belong to visionary Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci.

They have recovered trace DNA from a red chalk drawing on paper called “Holy Child”, possibly made by da Vinci, and letters written by his ancestor, Frosino di Ser Giovanni da Vinci, held at a historical archive in Italy, according to The Independent.

Some Y-chromosome DNA sequences from the “Holy Child” artwork and from a letter penned by one of Leonardo’s cousins appear to belong to a genetic grouping of people with a shared ancestry in Tuscany, where the painter was born, according to the study.

When scientists compared the Y-chromosome DNA sequences from the artifacts with large Y-chromosome reference databases, they found the closest match within the broad lineage.

This Y-chromosome lineage is found today at notable frequencies in southern Europe, including Italy, North Africa and parts of the Near East.

Some of the DNA may be from da Vinci himself.

However, this is not conclusive proof, as establishing that any DNA trace from the artifacts indeed belongs to da Vinci is extremely complex, researchers said.

This is because scientists can’t verify genetic sequences from the artifacts against DNA known to have come from da Vinci himself. The iconic inventor has no known descendants and his burial site was disturbed in the early 19th century.

Historical artifacts can accumulate DNA from their environments and can potentially offer useful information about the people who created and handled them, the materials used to make them as well as the environments they passed through.

But studying such precious objects without damaging or contaminating them has long been a challenge.

Now, though, scientists have developed a “minimally invasive” method to recover “biological signatures of history” from Renaissance artwork and correspondence associated with da Vinci’s ancestors.

Most of the DNA traces belong to bacteria, fungi, plants, and viruses, shedding light on the nature of the materials of these artifacts, their storage environment, conservation treatments, and handling over the years.

Some of the genetic material, however, comes from humans.

Since the artifacts assessed in the new study were associated with male historical figures, scientists looked at markers of Y-chromosome DNA found in the biological samples.

“To enable stronger claims, especially relating to provenance, geolocation, or historical characteristics, future work is needed to help distinguish artifact-associated signal from modern handling,” researchers said.