What is the difference between a 1997 Tamagotchi and a 2004 one?

Bandai dates the English original to May 1997 and the infrared Tamagotchi Connection to 2004. The original does not link to another unit. The Connection does, and it says so on the hardware and the name. They are different toys. Comp the one in your hand. Do not average them.

Is the Original Tamagotchi sold new the 1996 toy?

Bandai’s US history lists an Original Tamagotchi in 2018 as a revival of the overseas model. A new package and a recent copyright are that revival. A yellowed, worn egg with a period back is the older search. Read the year on the toy. Do not pay a 1997 price for a sealed reprint unless the sold listings you are using are reprints.

The screen is blank. Is it worthless?

It is untested or dead. Those are comps, not a zero you invent and not the working price. Corrosion in the battery well explains a lot of blanks. Say so. Some people repair them. Price it as a repair if that is what it is, and do not leave a leaking cell inside for the mail.

How much is an original Tamagotchi worth?

The original Tamagotchi is Bandai’s 1996 egg, in the US from 1997. A 2004 Connection has infrared. A later Original reprint is not a 1997 unit.

By WorthLast updated October 26, 2026Collectibles Thrifting Journal

Short answerThe original Tamagotchi is Bandai’s egg, dated by Bandai to November 1996 in Japan and May 1997 in the US. A 2004 Connection has infrared. A later Original reprint is not a 1997 unit. A dead screen and a cracked shell change the sale. Compare sold listings of that back and that working state.

Bandai’s own history dates the first Tamagotchi to November 23, 1996, in Japan, and the English-language Tamagotchi to May 1997 in the United States and other countries. That first egg is a small monochrome game on a chain or a keychain, with buttons, a printed shell, and no infrared port. Bandai’s history dates the return with infrared to 2004: Tamagotchi Plus in Japan, and Tamagotchi Connection in the US that August on the company’s US timeline. A Connection is a different toy. It has a window or a port for that link, and the back says Connection or Plus. Do not list it as an original 1997 egg because both are eggs and both say Tamagotchi.

Bandai has also sold an “Original Tamagotchi” revival, which the company’s US history places in 2018, aimed at the overseas original rather than at a unit that has been in a drawer since 1997. Packaging, the copyright year, and a fresh shell separate a reprint from a 1997 piece. This page will not quote Bandai’s shipment totals. The press figures change with the year of the press release, and a shipment total is not the price of the cracked egg in your hand. Working screen, dead pixels, battery corrosion, a yellowed or cracked shell, and a complete package are the condition. Counterfeits were a problem in the first boom. Bandai has said so in its own investor notes. A shell with no Bandai mark and a mushy screen is not a rare variant. It is a reason to stop.

What should you look for?

Which egg: Original 1996 or 1997 form, a 2004 Connection or Plus, or a later reprint labeled Original. Read the back. Infrared hardware means you are not holding the first egg. A copyright year of 2017 or 2018 on a clean shell is the revival until the rest of the object proves otherwise. Photograph the entire back, not only the character on the front.
The shell: The printed characters, the color, cracks, yellowing, and a split at the screw or the seam. Shell graphics are how collectors sort originals. Describe what you see. Do not name a rare shell from memory of a chart if the paint is rubbed off. Show the rubbed spot. A cracked shell is damage even if the game still runs.
The screen and the buttons: Power it if you can, with the cell it takes, and say what the screen does. Dead segments, a blank screen, and buttons that stick are faults. Corrosion in the battery well is a leak. Photograph it. A toy you did not test is untested. Untested is a word you should type. Do not type “works” because it worked in 1998.
Package and chain: A ball chain, a clip, an instruction sheet, and a box with a matching shell photo. The box is a separate claim, the way a card is a separate claim on a toy car. A loose egg is the common survivor. A sealed box is a different object and a different risk of a reseal. If you are not prepared to show the seals, do not charge a sealed price.

What moves the price?

Generation: Comp the original against originals, the Connection against Connections, and the 2018-style Original against that reprint. They do not share a price because a child would call all three a Tamagotchi. The back of the toy is the sort. If your comps are “Tamagotchi lot,” they are lots. Do not multiply a boxed original by the number of dead eggs in a drawer.
Working or not: A running game and a dead one are different sales. Corrosion and a cracked shell explain a lot of dead ones. Some buyers repair them. They pay a repair price. Say untested if you will not put a battery in. A battery you leave in the well after the photo is how the next owner inherits your leak. Take it out.
Shell and completeness: A bright matching shell, a sound chain, and an original box with the same art are the complete version of that egg. A faded shell with no chain is the other version. Show the paint loss. Do not describe a shell variant you cannot see. The buyer who collects shells can read a sharp photo. A blurry one only supports a lower claim.
Not a shipment statistic: Bandai has published large worldwide shipment figures at anniversaries. Those numbers describe a company. They do not price your egg. Ignore a listing that cites them as if they were a comp. Sold listings of that back, that shell, and that working state are the comp. The complete-in-box note is what to read before you pay for cardboard.

Where can you sell it?

eBay: Tamagotchi, original or Connection or reprint in words the back supports, tested or untested, shell color, and the crack or the corrosion. Photos of the back and the screen on, if it comes on. A dead common shell may not clear a label. Read the fee. A boxed, tested, early egg is the listing that can.
Local: Right for a drawer of dead eggs and a lot you do not want to test one by one. Say they are untested. A buyer who repairs them can sort the bag. Do not let a single number for the bag assume every egg is the boxed original. Know your best one before you hand it over. The estate-sale note is the same advice.
Keep: A working original is a toy people still play, badly, on purpose. That is a fine outcome. A reprint you buy new is a new toy. Do not age it in the title. The Connection is a better buy if you actually want the infrared play and a worse buy if you wanted the 1997 egg. Read the back in the store.

What can a photo settle?

Front shell, the entire back with any copyright and the word Bandai, the screen powered if you can, the battery well, and the box only if you claim it. Worth can see an egg-shaped toy and the Tamagotchi name. It cannot tell a 1997 original from a 2018 reprint without the back, see dead pixels on a dark screen, or know that a Connection port was cropped out.

What else do people ask?

What is the difference between a 1997 Tamagotchi and a 2004 one?: Bandai dates the English original to May 1997 and the infrared Tamagotchi Connection to 2004. The original does not link to another unit. The Connection does, and it says so on the hardware and the name. They are different toys. Comp the one in your hand. Do not average them.
Is the Original Tamagotchi sold new the 1996 toy?: Bandai’s US history lists an Original Tamagotchi in 2018 as a revival of the overseas model. A new package and a recent copyright are that revival. A yellowed, worn egg with a period back is the older search. Read the year on the toy. Do not pay a 1997 price for a sealed reprint unless the sold listings you are using are reprints.
The screen is blank. Is it worthless?: It is untested or dead. Those are comps, not a zero you invent and not the working price. Corrosion in the battery well explains a lot of blanks. Say so. Some people repair them. Price it as a repair if that is what it is, and do not leave a leaking cell inside for the mail.