Keep BTS in your pocket with new TinyTan Tamagotchi

If you’ve ever wished you could spend all day long serving food to BTS… well, you probably can’t. But you’ll soon be able to do the next best thing: be solely responsible for keeping miniature versions of them alive on a Tamagotchi device. Bandai America has opened preorders for the TinyTan Tamagotchi, a version of the handheld game featuring the South Korean band. (BTS’s full name is Romanized as Bangtan Sonyeondan.)

“We are incredibly excited to offer a new interactive experience with the beloved TinyTan characters, who are the adorable mini versions of the members of world phenomenon BTS,” Trish Garrett, brand strategist for Bandai America, said in a statement. “The TinyTan characters add a really fun spin on the Tamagotchi play pattern fans know and love.”

The games will feature the TinyTan characters, a set of little animated humans based on the seven members of BTS. The TinyTan crew has been around for a few years — it has merchandise, stars in cute music videos, and has 3.7 million followers on Twitter.

Some of the things you’ll do with the TinyTan members appear to include dancing (through a mini-game called Dance! Dynamite!), baking (through a mini-game called Make a Custard Tart!), and serving their favorite foods. Hairstyles and costumes will change depending on the games you play.

Now I know what you’re wondering: does this mean you could be responsible for the death of a BTS member? I don’t think as such, but the press release does contain a thinly veiled threat: “Keep your character’s stress barometer low or they will go back to Magic Door.” This is presumably a reference to the TinyTan video, Magic Door, in which the animated group pops into a cafe through a mysterious portal and performs to cheer up a frazzled barista. Perhaps the idea is that your assigned member will use this door to leave your pocket and return to traditional BTS activities, like playing sold-out stadium shows in Vegas and hanging out with Jon Batiste, if you don’t keep them occupied. Which, fair enough.

If this sounds like your thing, you can preorder the TinyTan Tamagotchi now for $19.99. You’ll then need to occupy yourself some other way for the next several months because units aren’t actually hitting shelves until October. I’m absolutely getting one and will report back on whether I’m able to hold my BTS bandmember’s attention.