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Tamagotchi On Stations? Bandai America Has Another Idea

One of the most common questions we get is if Bandai America has plans to bring over the Tamagotchi Stations for the Tamagotchi On device that was just released in both the United States and Canada. Back in May we wrote an article informing Tamagotchi fans not to count on Tamagotchi On Stations anytime soon. We have some additional information on this topic.

Since there is so much attention and question over Tamagotchi Stations for the Tamagotchi On device we reached out to Bandai America directly to see if this is a possibility, and what the plans were. Much to our surprise we received an answer that we did NOT expect.

When asked if Tamagotchi On stations would be available in the United States & Canada as they are in Japan we received the following response:

“Our retailers work very differently than Japan retailers, so this isn’t something that works in our market. So, we will not have that feature, though we are seeing about doing something special with a specific retailer.”

So what exactly does that mean? Well in the United States retailers save their shelves for product, space is money. Retailers would not sacrifice their precious space that can fit product for a Tamagotchi On Station that would just attract visitors to connect and receive items. This is a challenge for the stations here in the United States. However this isn’t the only reason, Bandai America goes on to say that there are various reasons and barriers for the Stations. The last sentence of their response does provide some hope.

Bandai America is working with some specific retailer to create something special! We know Bandai has a recent love affair with GameStop so we’d imagine them being the retailer of choice. So if Bandai America is not bringing over the stations, then what exactly are they working on? They did not want go in any further detail about this plan yet, but we suspect perhaps they may bring over the station in some capacity, or maybe even a photo spot. A photo spot allows users to connect their Tamagotchi devices via bluetooth using the camera function to download items and more. This seem like a more reasonable feature to bring over that does not require much if any shelf space. This feature was most recently seen at the 2019 Tokyo Toy Show.

image courtesy of A-CHAN

When following up on the discussion a few months later Bandai America did give us some unsettling news. We were hoping to get an update to inform fans about this program, but we got exactly the opposite.

“We were working on something we hoped we could do, though for various reasons, it’s been put on hold. They were not Stations. …We want to give our consumers the best program, and we do things which aren’t done elsewhere as every market is different.”

Although not great news it does confirm that we will not be seeing Stations outside of the Japanese market. It also does look like perhaps there was, or maybe still is, the opportunity for photo spots. The project has since been placed on hold but we will be sure to follow up with Bandai America in the upcoming months to see if there is any progress being made. Keep the faith!

Tamagotchi On Stations? Don’t Count On It

One great feature to the Japanese Tamagotchi’s is that they’re able to connect to “stations”. These stations allow you to connect via infrared and download exclusive season content such as items, outfits, accessories, play games, enter contests, and much more. These stations are typically found in retail stores throughout Japan and are often found around the Tamagotchi products.

The last time Bandai brought this type of connectivity outside of Japan was with the Tamagotchi Friends Dekatama, which allowed users to “bump” with stations that unlocked exclusive content. This was only available in select countries, and never made it to the US.

When the Tamagotchi On was announced, many fans were wondering if the United States or Canada would receive Tamagotchi On stations, and the instruction manual dug up from the FCC’s website gives us a clear answer.

The instruction manual states that the “Download” function in the Connection menu will not be available in the US or Canada at this time.

Now this doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen ever, but at this time there are no plans to roll out Tamagotchi On Stations. The device does contain the functionality, so if Bandai does change their mind it would be as simple as designing Stations, and getting retail partnerships for in-store play. Bandai could very well be waiting to see how successful this new device is before releasing this feature.

What about Tamagotchi Download Spots? These allow you to download exclusive content from a Tamagotchi device that is typically stationed in a retail store, and not as elaborate as the Stations are. The Tamagotchi On does have the Item Box function, which allows you to access the camera, therefore leaving the door open for Tamagotchi On Download Spots.

We’re not sure what the future holds for Tamagotchi On Stations & Download Spots, but if the demand is strong for the device, and Bandai sees increasing interest; then the possibilities are endless.