First off, I'm going to suggest that this perhaps become a pinned topic. I think it would be useful for anyone who is considering buying the toys I will be talking about in this thread, but who are unsure if they are really tamagotchi-like in nature. Hopefully this will keep other people from making the same mistake and being let down when they find it doesn't work anything the way a vpet should. I've already had this happen a couple of times so I will go ahead and list.
A true 'Vpet' is one that has some sort of status screen for the pet you're raising and the bars deplete throughout the day while the pet continuously runs in real time. It runs similarly to a Tamagotchi pet, yet it may or may not evolve quite like a Tamagotchi, but there is some sort of growth (IE. The pet grows bigger or some feature on the pet developes.).
The List of 'fake' VPets is as follows:
*Penguin Pals "Electronic Pet Penguin", By MGA Games - It looks like a light blue snow dome with an LCD screen behind the waterfilled dome. On the packaging it says feed and play with the virtual pet and choose between 3 different penguins. There is no status screen for any of the penguins. Everytime you switch the unit off it resets itself and you have to pick a new penguin. Each penguin has 2 different outfits, but they all play the same 3 games. Playing the games doesn't change the penguins disposition nor does feeding.
*Purse Pals, by Wild Planet - At first glance you may think that this is a true vpet. It has a very small and narrow LCD screen that will display a set of hearts. Have played with this for some time and noticed that there isn't any clock that needs to be set, nor does it seem to have any rhyme or reason to the hearts depleating. Also, there isn't any change to the character itself.
*Littlest Pet Shop Pals, by Hasbro - I believe the one my stepdaughter has is the first wave pet. You can groom it, play games with it, but once again there isn't a time based system to it. The pet doesn't change, nor is there any sort of status screen to the pet. I'm disappointed as the toy it self looked like a promising addition.
*My Meebas, by Mattel - Ok this one is a toughie, but I decided to throw it under a 'fake' vpet as it just doesn't fit the category. The hearts never deplete, and feeding it just doesn't do anything other than makes a cute little animation. The meeba *does* evolve, but only to the pet that is in the tube and only by playing games. You don't need to watch this pet in real time, and once you get the stuffy out there really isn't much to the toy anymore. While I wouldn't discourage someone from buying it as it does have its charm, I would say if you're looking for something more tamagotchi/vpet in nature you will be disappointed as this is kind of a spin off.
*Anipalz-Dog - Basically, all you do with it is train it to do certain tricks. These obviously vary depending on the Anipalz version you have (I know that the Dog's tricks vary from the Frog's), and some of the food changes, but I think that's all that's different.
There are no status meters, and if you leave the pet alone for a few minutes, it will go into 'sleep mode,' where it shows the clock screen. In sleep mode, the pet is still active, but it stops its constant whining/meowing/croaking/etc. and all you can see is the clock. - Submitted by Chaowzee
*http://img.skitch.com/20081115-n42htpcu ... 2x1bwu.png - They come in three different varieties: Miuchiz Pawz, Miuchiz Bratz and Miuchiz Monsterz.
They are handhelds where you raise either a dog, cat, baby or monster. They do not have any growth process at all and are not even pets.
The aim is just to buy things with 'Creditz' to keep your character happy. It has only three status icons: happy, hungry and fun. They get boring very quickly and have no generations, marriage, the games are boring and give you very little money, and there is nothing to do on it. I do not recommend anyone buying these. - Submitted by Jameswa
Added by atashi · 12 November 2008
Awesome! Thanks RT! I went ahead and updated my list with pictures. I pulled them from pictures on Ebay as I do not have a very good camera to take pictures of my examples, and also I threw away all the packaging!! All pictures are hosted on my photobucket account.
It's worth noting that all offenders have been donated to my step-daughter who doesn't have the attention span to watch an actual vpet. Also, I don't really take chances unless I find them in bargain bins. But I could totally understand and see someone paying full price and being sadly disappointed. I need to sit down and think as I know I had another one to add to my list. I guess if anyone adds any to the list in the format that I have started I can go ahead and update my original post and cut and paste the submission. That will make it possible for relevant discussion to take place in this thread.
I don't know about any of you guys but I don't want to see another Virtual Pet fan to be sadly duped out of their money on these wrongly imposing imposters.
Added by Chaowzee · 13 November 2008
I think Anipalz should be added to this list. ^o^
Anipalz-Dog
The link above shows a picture of the Dog Anipalz, which I have. There are other versions, such as Cat, Frog (which I also have), Rabbit and even Penguin.
Basically, all you do with it is train it to do certain tricks. These obviously vary depending on the Anipalz version you have (I know that the Dog's tricks vary from the Frog's), and some of the food changes, but I think that's all that's different.
There are no status meters, and if you leave the pet alone for a few minutes, it will go into 'sleep mode,' where it shows the clock screen. In sleep mode, the pet is still active, but it stops its constant whining/meowing/croaking/etc. and all you can see is the clock.
To be honest, the only goal for this 'pet' is to teach it all of the tricks available using the touch screen. Once you've done that, that's basically it. -_- Once the pet has learnt a trick via the training menu, you can perform it at any time. However, leave the pet a few days and it will forget how to do the trick. Therefore you must keep training it.
You also need to train it to be toilet-trained, eat its food sensibly, sleep inside its house rather than on top of it, and even fetch mail for you. If you don't train it in these kinds of skills daily, then the pet will forget them and might start being naughty (although you can't punish it or anything).
You are able to feed it, wash it and play games with it, as well as wander around the pet's garden, but, to be honest, these are rather minor features in this pet. If you left the pet alone for a long time without food, it wouldn't really care.
As I said, there are no status meters, so you can't tell when the pet needs something, and therefore have to judge the best time to feed it. Which could be never, but hey.There's also nifty features which enable you to take pictures and videos of your pets, but what's the point? -_- There's nothing really memorable about what they do, anyway. XD
Overall, it's pretty fun at first, but since the pet doesn't grow up or anything, it gets boring after around a week. No wonder these were on major sale at Tesco's not too long ago.
The touch-screen is horribly responsive (sometimes it just doesn't work at all-So much for 'revolutionary' as it says on the packet) and often the pet will keep resetting itself randomly. It's more like a leisure pet. The pet never appears to get unhappy with you, even if you leave it for a long time. Sure, it might whimper, but that's basically it.It's good for those who want a simple pet which doesn't demand much, but for those into more active pets, this is not for you. I recommend buying these ONLY when they're on sale-And only when they're REALLY cheap (I got my Frog one for £2.50).
Sorry, a bit long. I had a lot to say about this pet-Total let-down. -_- If it wasn't the glitchy touch-screen or the constant resetting that annoyed me, it was the constant whining (from the Dog) or croaking (from the Frog). XD
Added by Pozhar · 13 November 2008
Oh, I have an Anipalz Cat I got off eBay for a good price--I totally agree with your assessment. I spent about ten minutes cussing at the touch screen and its inability to function properly and then tossed the pet in a drawer and haven't looked at it since. >_> Big waste of money, even though I didn't pay much. (Also, the lack of a sound off feature infuriates me, but that's another story...)
Great idea for a list, atashi! I've seen the Penguin Pals and Purse Pals heavily marked down at a couple of stores around here, and I had been thinking about picking one up. I'm now glad I haven't done so.
Added by atashi · 13 November 2008
Thank you Chaowzee for your submission! I went ahead and modified my original post to include your write-up.
Thinking about it now I did have an anipalz cat in England and I remember it looking really cute and promising, but once again falling short of my expectations. Really kinda stinks, doesn't it?I'm trying to remember what Princess Max was like. I had one a long while back. I remember seeing the commercials in the UK and they mentioned a virtual pet. I bought it thinking it was a unique idea but when I started it up the pet was lacking. I don't remember much detail other than it wasn't virtual pet like and after I played with it for maybe a half hour I put it down and it pretty much never saw the light of day again.
Anyone who has this or has played with this and would like to write a short blip on it feel free as I feel it was soo long ago that I can't remember a whole lot.
Added by Jameswa · 14 November 2008
I think Miuchiz should be added to this list.
They come in three different varieties: Miuchiz Pawz, Miuchiz Bratz and Miuchiz Monsterz.
They are handhelds where you raise either a dog, cat, baby or monster. They do not have any growth process at all and are not even pets.
The aim is just to buy things with 'Creditz' to keep your character happy. It has only three status icons: happy, hungry and fun. They get boring very quickly and have no generations, marriage, the games are boring and give you very little money, and there is nothing to do on it. I do not recommend anyone buying these.
Here is a link to a picture (the colours vary): http://img.skitch.com/20081114-qucim2b9 ... b5p9dy.png
Added by atashi · 14 November 2008
Awesome James! You know I was very tempted to buy this model of toy as it looked really promising! I think what kept me away is I read a buyer had trouble with it crashing alot and that to hook it to the internet was somewhat of a bother...apparently there's alot of updates you have to install. Not to mention I think it only covers your first year of access online and then you've got to pay to keep it...Now I don't know how true that is but it certainly weighed into the final decision.
That and I remember trying to talk my stepdaughter into picking one up with me as she loves (or loved, not sure she's in one of those 'transition phases' right now) Bratz and I thought hey that's a wonderful way for us to meet half way and try to get her foot in the door with vpets. I couldn't convince her and by the sound of it I'm glad!!
BTW, I added your submission to the list, James.
Added by atashi · 14 November 2008
Jameswa @ Nov 15 2008, 09:06 AM wrote:Thanks atashi for adding my contribution and by the way, congratulations on becoming a Moderator! I'm sure you'll be a fantastic person for the job.
I noticed that in your post the Miuchiz image doesn't work, because the address is wrong. It's:
Not a problem at all! ^_^ Thanks for letting me know of linking wrong. I just cut and pasted and probably didn't realise it was wrong. If you could find us a link in the packaging, that might be even better - I figure that will help since you'd see it in the full package at the store.
Thanks for warm wishes for moderator too.
Just to let anyone else who might have some contributions please share, and thanks to all for their input so far!
Added by Chaowzee · 21 March 2009
(Big bump - apologies in advance!
)I had a room clearout yesterday, and I found two old virtual pets which I thought were worthy of being mentioned in this here topic. I'm referring to Aquapets and Blinkies.
I had a play with them but got very bored after 10 minutes. Neither should be listed as virtual pets, in complete honesty.
Aquapets
Here's a link to an image of two: http://www.wishlist.nu/wp-content/uploa ... uapets.jpg
Okay, here's the basics to this 'pet.' What you basically have is a tube containing water and a small 'creature' inside (which is kept at the same level in the water by two strings pinning it down).
The tube is attached to a base, which contains all the electronics. There are two buttons: One is used to give food to your Aquapet and the other is to pet your Aquapet.
And that's it.
Seriously, this pet has NO meters whatsoever, and after the first 30 seconds, you're probably thinking to yourself, "What next?" You've given it a couple of snacks and petted it a couple of times, watching it chirp merrily and swing from side to side, but then you're wondering what else you can do. The answer: Not much.
Every now and then, the Aquapet will want to play a game with you. It will chirp for you and start swinging from side to side. You have to push one of the buttons to guess which way the pet will go, and if you get it right, the pet will chirp in delight and sing you "one of six songs." (I've only heard three at most, and they're all slightly edited versions of one another.) Get it wrong and it will sulk. If so, push the button on the other side and the pet will most likely announce you've won. XD
You can put it to sleep by pressing both buttons simultaneously for around 3 seconds, and then it will stop screeching at you. There isn't a moment's peace with this pet - just like Anipalz. -_-;;;
It's also possible to "talk" to the pet to make it happy and you can apparently connect two together and they will talk to one another.
But other than that, there is really nothing to do with this pet. Plus, leave it in sunlight for ages (just like I did, whoops
) and the water turns brown and yucky, and it seems there is no way to change it. The strings' strength also weakens over time, hence why my Aquapet barely moves nowadays.They come in all sorts of cute designs and colours - I have the inverted Kiko which has a purple body rather than a blue one - and I've seen special ones, such as SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer.
In short, I would only get it for the cute appeal. If you want it for the pet factor, it's definitely NOT the pet for you. Plus, if you hated the Anipalz's constant meowing, barking and croaking, after a while you'll grow to hate the chirps and whines of the Aquapet. Cute at first, but after a while you just can't take any more.
Blinkies
Here's a link to an image of one: http://www.toyretailersassociation.co.u ... INKIES.jpg
Here's the basics to this 'pet.' What you have here is a strange-looking blob-character with two legs and a bizarre hairdo, which differs for each Blinkie. There are many different colours to choose from, and each has its own name. I think I have the one named "Blaze," and it's orange.
You'll also not fail to notice the touch sensors on four parts of the toy. This is how you control the selections on your Blinkie. The screen is where the eyes are shown, and it's very colourful and bright. Unfortunately, they never programmed yellow into the pet, so the little yellow people are now little green people instead. ;D
The aim is to get Blinkie up through three levels. At each level, her eyes are different colours: Blue for level one, and I've forgotten the other colours. XD I know they're green for one of the next levels, though.
To do this, you need to raise the content of her heart meter. No, this is not like a Tamagotchi's happy meter, but rather like a Tamagotchi's training meter. Once the heart is full, you get to the next level, and Blinkie's eyes change colour.
Raising the heart meter is irritating and dull. You have to play a ton of silly games with Blinkie while listening to the sinister "He-he-he-he-hee-hee!" she greets you with EVERY time you get to the main menu (which is around 90% of the time -_-).
There is the concept of feeding, and I remember that the manual advised not to feed her many snacks, but you can barely tell what the foods are (the only one I can actually identify is the apple), and the foods all seem to have equal effect.
Blinkie will get sick often, so you have to check her temperature and give her the correct medicine. Get the wrong one and she starts glaring at you with really shifty eyes...
She'll also get tired of playing the ridiculous games at points and ask for a nap. This can be a short, one minute nap where she goes off into a weird world filled with butterflies, flowers and eyeballs (O_o), or it can be a timed nap. Unfortunately, these go up in hours, and if you forget to come back for Blinkie, she won't be too pleased with you. XP
The 'pet' goes into sleep mode by itself after two minutes anyway, however, she will often have her "heart broken" in that way. What I mean by that is when you leave her alone, the pet just switches off; she doesn't register that she's asleep and well. Meaning, overnight, you'll wake up, touch the sensor to activate Blinkie again and see a cracked heart waiting for you. This isn't actually hard to sort out and it has NO effect on the heart meter, so feel free to neglect Blinkie as much as you want. XD
The colour idea is nice, but it's certainly no Tamagotchi + Colour.
Getting through the levels takes a long time, and passing the third level means... You get reset to the first level again. Your hard work is wasted with no reward. DX
In short, this isn't a true virtual pet, despite having several virtual pet functions, as it's more of a game than a pet, and care has absolutely no effect. Blinkie doesn't "evolve" (unless you consider the changing eye colours an "evolution") and the sinister laugh you'll be encountering 90% of the time (however there might be a sound off function, but I can't remember if there is) will put you off for good.
Once again, sorry for bumping, but I wanted to share my thoughts on these pets to warn anyone who was planning to buy either. I personally find the Aquapet adorable, but incredibly dull, and the Blinkie just plain irritating.
(14 conversational replies were left out. The full discussion is in the archive.)
From the Tama Zone archive: original topic