Tat Tuesday.

I started High School in the second half of 1997. Which was the same year that the Digimon virtual pet was released. I was given one as a gift from a relative who worked for a toy store. I got it before it was supposed to be released. This was during the virtual pet boom. You had Tamagotchi, Dogz  on PCs, and of course Pokemon. Eventually I got a Gameboy Color and Pokemon Red and Blue, but before that Digimon was the thing. I still have a place in my heart for that little piece of plastic. Which is why we're going to take a look back at it.
 

Before we get to the Digimon virtual pet I have to take a few minutes to mention the larger Digimon franchise. As I am sure you know Digimon has become second only to Pokemon when it comes to the modern virtual pet/RPG world. I haven't played any of the modern Digimon games but I am a huge fan of the multiple Anime series. As far as I'm concerned the Digimon series are heads and tails above the Pokemon cartoon. That's just my opinion.

The original Digimon was a spinoff of the Tamagotchi, but aimed for boys. Both of the devices were released by Bandai. The device was similar to the other virtual pet toys available at the time. The main difference, and selling point, was the ability to connect two of the devices and battle. I always found this funny. I would spend all this time caring form my little pixelated buddy just so that I can force him into a life and death battle. Actually, since I was the only one who had one, I never battled. Which is probably for the best.

You see I wasn't a very good Digimon parent. More often than not my Digimon would turn into the Slime monster due to the fact that I would leave it unattended for days at a time. When you do that the Digimon's shit would pile up. This would cause the Digimon to become ill. This wasn't my fault.

Whenever I took my Digimon to school one of my friends would inevitably ask to see it. Like the moron that I can be at times I would always say "Yes". And, without fail, he would reset the device thereby killing the Digimon. After the first dozen times I decided to leave it at home. Once it was no longer in my pocket I would quickly forget about it. One time I found it in my closet and was surprised that not only was the thing still alive but that the batteries hadn't died yet. It must have been in there for a couple of months if not a year at least. I spent the next few day nursing it to health. Then forgot all about it again. I treated my real pets much, much better.

I went a little of the rails there. Let's talk about the actual device. Much like the animated series the Digimon would evolve into different creatures based on how it was treated and which version you had. There were a total of 6 original versions but the sixth was only available in Australia. In the conversion from Japanese to American version the "Digimon Mainframe" concept was added. This meant that the American Digimon never died they just returned to the Mainframe. The Japanese versions flat out died.

As is the norm with technological devices there were upgraded versions. The first upgrade to the Digimon device was the Digimon Pendulum. This model had a feature that counted the number of times the device was shaken. There were 6 versions numbered 0 to 5 as well as an additional 5 version that were given the designation ".5". Such as 1.5, 2.5, and so one. Which means that there were a total of 11 version of this model. Each with a different a lineup.

The Digimon Pendulum was followed by the Digimon Pendulum Progress. These devices retained the pendulum feature but expanded the character lineup. This model also included the ability to fight a computer monster as opposed to linking up with another device. There were three versions of this model.

Next came the Digimon Pendulum X. This version added side quests which expanded the play factor of the device. It was also the first device to feature a three-prong connector. There were only 3 versions of this model.

The Digimon Accel was a very different beast from the previous outings. Digimon Accel, or Digimon Accelerator had the ability to scan Digimon Data Plates, These 'DDPs', aside from the one that came with the device, were available for purchase separately.  This added a collecting aspect to the virtual pet genre. There were four versions available.

After the more complicated Accel, Bandai took a step back and released the Digimon Mini. This scaled back and smaller device was reminiscent of the original. The lineup was reduced but it retained compatibility with the Pendulum X and Accel. The Mini came in three versions.

Following the Mini came the Digivice iC which was a cosmetic upgrade more than anything. With the success of the Anime the Digivice iC was modeled after the Digivice seen on the show. It was compatible with the Accel, Mini, and other iC models.  There were four version of the iC including the Digivice Burst which did not have the iC suffix.

The Digimon Twin was another interesting development in the virtual pet genre. This model allowed Digimon to interact with each other in a none combat environment. Your Digimon could eat together, train together, or receive an item. Considering how much of the line was about combat this was a nice change.

There were other similar Digimon devices but they don't really fall into the virtual pet genre and as such aren't relevant to this post. My own experience with Digimon has been a long one. While I never used my Digimon to it's fullest extent, I enjoyed it while I had it. To be honest I was sold on it when I looked at the device and saw the little plastic cage around the screen. That little touch caught my imagination. It may seem silly but little things like that show how much thought went into the device.  As the Digimon license grew I was always watching. I haven't seen every episode of every series but I will always be willing to give them a try. All because of that little Virtual Pet toy. Over 15 years later it still holds a fond place in my heart. That is saying something.

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