Mezamashi Interview with Takichi Hongo, 1996 Bandai Planning and Development
Part 2 in the Mezamashi Tamagotchi 30th anniversary series! How awesome is it that Tamagotchi will be celebrating its 30th birthday next year in 2026? Mezamashi, a Japanese media company recently interviewed Takichi Hongo, who is 70 years old and worked for Bandai Namco Japan back in 1996 in Planning and Development and he was directly involved in the development of Tamagotchi!
It’s really interesting to learn about the skepticism that Bandai had with commercializing the Tamagotchi, and how they did not expect it to be such a hit for so long. Hongo mentions there were several proposals of a Tamagotchi device, and he wanted to ensure that it conveyed the hardship of raising pets even though the device was primarily for children. The device originally was planned for a wristband-type product, but then switched to a ball chain device to reduce manufacturing costs.
What really started to give them confidence were the test sales before the original release. It was sold with more momentum than expected, mainly among female students. Tamagotchi was then a social phenomenon in 1996, and nominated for the New Word and Buzzword Award for the following year.
As time went on, and the boom died down, demand fell sharply and Bandai recorded a special loss of 6 billion yen in 1999. At the time Hongo thought that Tamagotchi would no longer re-emerge into the market again. However it was 2004 when Tamagotchi would return with the Tamagotchi Connection and create the second zoom. Equipped with infrared communication technology, connecting with others made this a hit.
Mr. Hongo retired as a director of Bandai back in 2006, and he is no longer directly involved in Tamagotchi as a job, but is familiar with the latest models although he is really glad to see they pay tribute to the original concept. “There is no one who doesn’t know the name “Tamagotchi”. I was able to make a product that shook the souls of so many peoples and I was moved to think about it now that I was involved in it”.
Looking back at the past 30 years, one has to wonder what is next, Mr. Hongo mentions that the children of the employee who were involved in the brand are going to take care of this, and it will evolve naturally.
Great article, be sure to check it out here!