this virtual pet is like a tamagotchi that you can actually pet

japanese toy company takara tomy has announced that it will be releasing a new virtual pet. dubbed punirunes, the tactile LCD care toy is like a tamagotchi that you can actually pet thanks to an opening with a sensor that detects once a finger is inside, digitally translating it to appear on the LCD screen.

images by takara tomy

produced by takara tomy, the pinarunes are available in more than 50 different type of punipuni characters for users to take care of. they feature three different growth levels for different ages — baby puni, kids puni, and adult puni. with just their finger, users can move the character around the scene, pamper it, wash it, make it jump or spin.

to grow the character, users need to mix and knead ‘mix puni’ and ‘puni no moto’ with ‘fushigi puni’. if you leave your pinarunes alone without care, they will melt and eventually die. truth is that they will die too once they reach a certain age, but a new baby puni will appear.

product info:

name: punirunes

company: takara tomy

type: virtual pet

available: july 2021

pre-order: here