Released November 1996

This is it, the original virtual pet. This is the Tamagotchi that started it all. First released in 1996, this toy quickly became the top item on every kid's (and many adults!) wishlist. Almost every school ended up banning this toy due to its distractive nature. The designation "P1" is not officially part of the product's name, but it is used to identify the first wave of Tamagotchi from the second, which featured different characters. P1 and P2 units look the same at a glance (there are even some shared shell designs), but P1s all have a checkerboard background, while the P2s all have a swirled background. In North America, P1s all had connector-ball style keychains, while the P2s had a key ring.