Giga Pet facts for kids
Baby T-Rex (The Lost World) v2, released in 1997
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| Type | Digital pet |
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| Inventor(s) | REHCO LLC |
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| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1997–present |
Giga Pets are digital pet toys that were first released by Tiger Electronics in the United States in 1997 in the midst of a virtual-pet toy fad. Available in a variety of different characters, each Giga Pet is a palm-sized unit with an LCD screen and attached key ring. To ensure a happy, healthy pet, its owner has to take care of it similar to how one might care for a real animal, including feeding, cleaning, and playing with their Giga Pet.
Contents
Operation
Giga Pets are "born" on a tiny LCD screen after the owner pulls back a tab on the back. The pets come to life in different ways. For example, Baby T-Rex hatches from an egg. Compu Kitty is delivered by a stork. A beep sound and alert icon notify the owner that the pet requires attention. To determine what the Giga Pet needs, owners must scroll through various activities and push a button to select one. Activities include but are not limited to bathing, exercising, and disciplining the pet. Sometimes a selected activity is refused and the owner has to try a different one. A running score determines the pet's overall well-being; neglect leads to the pet's demise. The average life of a Giga Pet is 2 weeks but very healthy pets can live longer. When a Giga Pet dies it grows angel wings. When Giga Pets were initially tested, it was reported that the first thing most girls did was name their pets whereas most boys opted to discipline the digital creatures.
Giga Pets and Furby
Roger Shiffman, a Chicago native and co-founder of Tiger Electronics, is credited as being the driving force behind Giga Pets and Furby, a furry interactive pet with big eyes and pointed ears that could talk, shuffle and sneeze. Intended to be a follow up to Giga Pets, Shiffman included Furby in the deal he made with Hasbro when Tiger Electronics was sold to the giant toy manufacturer in 1998 for US$335 million. Approximately 20 million Furbies were sold in the first 6 months following its 1998 release.
TV game system and new handhelds launched in 2006
In 2006, Hasbro launched the Giga Pets Explorer TV game system and new Giga Pets handheld devices. The TV game system included three pets within the unit itself along with a separate handheld Giga Pet (Hamster) and sold for approximately US$40. Handhelds were sold in a 12-package assortment of characters as well as individually. The characters Pixie, Tomcat, Puffball, Dragon Lizard, Scorpion, and Bunny were all available individually at a suggested retail price of approximately US$15. The puppy character (Pup) was sold exclusively at Toys R Us. Gameplay on the handheld device consisted of feeding, playing with, bathing, and caring for your pet using various food items, toys, and medicines. These supplies could be replenished by having your pet visit the General Store are purchasing more supplies using in-game currency (Bucks). Bucks could be found by having your pet dig up hidden items from the ground. Much like a video game cartridge, the handheld Giga Pets unit could also be inserted into the TV game system, allowing users to see their pet on the TV.
Giga Pets AR 2018 relaunch
Top Secret Toys LLC, formed by the owners of Lehco LLC, relaunched GigaPets on August 1, 2018. The new line of virtual pets are made by the same manufacturer, programmers, and game designers from the 1990s. Top Secret Toys aimed to renew customer engagement and nostalgia through design contests allowing the winners to have their pet designs manufactured and sold.
The new Giga Pets AR (for "augmented reality") have nearly identical features as the original Giga Pets, but with the addition of trophies that can be earned for completing certain tasks. A compatible cell phone app can be downloaded and used to scan your trophies in order to unlock new games and to view your pet perform actions in augmented reality. There are currently six models available: Puppy, Unicorn, T-Rex, and three varieties of Trolls. A customer-designed model, Magical Garden Pixie, is currently in production, with two new customer-designed models, Star Cat and Baby Bigfoot, slated to follow thereafter.
