"Barbie: Precious Kitty Giga Pet" Virtual Pet, 1997-1999

01

Artifact Overview

Virtual pets, based on real or imaginary animals, were first introduced to the United States in the late-1990s. Using portable handheld electronic gaming devices, players "adopted" digital animals and controlled buttons to respond to the creatures' needs, such as food, attention, or medical care. A pet could even "die" if the player neglected them.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Toy (Recreational artifact)

Date Made

1997-1999

Location

at Henry Ford Museum in Your Place in Time

Object ID

99.89.1

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Plastic
Metal

Color

Pink (Color)
Blue
Yellow (Color)
White (Color)
Colorless

Dimensions

Height: 7.5 in
Width: 5.5 in
Length: 1 in

Inscriptions

on front of packaging: TIGER ELECTRONICS INC. / ELECTRONIC VIRTUAL PET / AGES 5 & UP / MODEL 70-138 / Barbie / Giga Pets / PRECIOUS KITTY / Your Virtual Friend! / NAME YOUR PET! / Your Giga Pet needs a name! / TAME YOUR PET! / Feed them! Train them! Clean them! / PLAY GAMES WITH / YOUR PET! / We can chase butterflies! / CLAIM YOUR PET! / Take a Giga Pet home today! on back of packaging: INTRODUCING GIGA PETS [...] / TIGER ELECTRONIC INC. / BARBIE is a trademark owned by and / used under license from Mattel Inc. / (c)1997 Mattel, Inc. / All Rights Reserved. / TM & C 1997 / Tiger Electronics, Inc. / 980 Woodlands Parkway, / Vernon Hills, Illinois 60061 / MADE & PRINTED IN CHINA / Printed on Recycled Paper / Use 2 X LR44/G13-A batteries / BATTERY INCLUDED. DO NOT USE / RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES