Tamagotchi

1998 Tamagotchi Toyz

The nine egg keychains from the July 1998 North American promotion.

Brand
Tamagotchi
Region
United States and Canada
Promotion window
July 17, 1998 to August 13, 1998
Wave
Original North American promotion
Set size
9
Packaging
Happy Meal premium bags; the ninth magenta toy was distributed through McDonald's restaurants located inside Walmart stores.

McDonald's put the Tamagotchi Toyz set in Happy Meals across the United States and Canada beginning July 17, 1998, at the height of the digital pets trend. The regular promotion contained eight numbered egg-shaped keychains, and a ninth magenta glow-in-the-dark variation was distributed through McDonald's locations inside Walmart stores.

None of the toys contains a virtual pet. Each egg borrows the Tamagotchi silhouette, three-button look and screen shape, then swaps the electronics for one physical trick: a rotating image cube, a hinged case with a movable dog, a three-panel mix-and-match screen, a thermochromic heat-reveal panel, two translucent-figure cases, a wind-up beak game, a battery-powered red light and a glow-in-the-dark figure.

9 releases

Identification notes

Identify each toy by shell color, control color and physical function together, never shell color alone: faded shells and separated inner figures are common. A genuine electronic Tamagotchi has a working LCD and care buttons; every 1998 McDonald's egg has a fixed decorative screen and exactly one physical play feature. Non-working lights, weak glow and faded heat-reveal panels are age-related condition states, not different releases. The ninth toy had no printed promotional name; a later collector nickname is not treated as official.