Do you remember the Tamagotchi? Well, it's back. Only, this time it's called 'Tamagotchi Friends.' The company that brought you the original Tamagotchi back in the 90's has just launched Tamagotchi Friends at the NY Toy Fair.

This time around, the company is aiming for kids that want to raise a virtual baby - or something like that.

All About Tamagotchi Friends

Even though the new Tamagotchi Friends looks just like the old Tamagotchi 'egg,' the newest product has some very new tricks. One thing that kids might find fun is the ability to tap two Tamagotchi Friends together in order to send virtual gifts and text messages. Users can also have 'play dates' by virtually sending one Tamagotchi Friend to another to play.

There's no WiFi connectivity here, but kids under a certain age won't mind too much about that missing piece. The idea is to play as many games as a user can in order to gain virtual money to go shopping in a virtual mall-like atmosphere. The product has already launched in Europe and has gained wide appeal, but Tamagotchi Friends won't launch in the U.S. until the spring rolls around.

An App Too!

Just when you thought you could purchase a toy for your kid that didn't involve a smartphone, the Tamagotchi company has decided to develop an app to go along with the new Tamagotchi Friends too. This app is called 'Tamagotchi Life Angel,' and is directly aimed at spreading awareness for Tamagotchi Friends. The app works with iOS and Android, and it can be found now in some areas.

Of course, this being a Tamagotchi, users are expected to feed, play, bathe, and take care of the virtual pet/baby/whatever you want to call it. This aspect of the toy may teach kids to take care of a living thing. If the toy is not taken care of properly, it will die, and that means that the toy becomes very much useless. If you want your kids to learn about caring for something, this is the toy to buy - but I'm not sure that it will be a hit.

Can This Toy be Revived?

Back in the 90's Tamagotchi's were somewhat popular. I'm not entirely convinced that the new Tamagotchi Friends is going to work in the same way. In fact, it doesn't seem likely that this toy will catch on as much as its predecessor, simply because kids today want something that's more connected to the virtual world (most kids under the age of 10 have a Facebook page now!). But, we'll have to wait and see how it goes.

Tamagotchi Friends doesn't have a specific launch date or price tag yet, though I'm guessing that this toy will be on the very affordable side. Would you buy one of these for your kids? Do you think that this toy will catch on with kids, or is it simply not sophisticated enough for today's child? Let me know what you think about the new Tamagotchi below!