The craze for virtual pet, may it be desktop virtual pet or virtual pet for mobile, is here to stay. For people looking for a good reason to hold their cell phones, downloading and taking care of a virtual pet is a good alternative than texting. There are virtual pets available for BlackBerry, Nokia, and virtually any other smart phones created.

History of Virtual Pet for Mobile

Before the world learned about desktop virtual pet, virtual pets on electronic gadgets that are as small as a wrist watch or as useful as a keychain is already popular. In 1997, Bandai, the maker of the world’s number virtual pet, Tamagotchi, release the very first virtual pet. The craze spread all over the world faster than wild fire. Almost every children want virtual pets!

And when the world shifts from analog to digital, smart mobile phones, the platform for virtual pets changed too. No longer is your favorite desktop virtual pet confined in your computer; you can now play with it on your mobile phone. And it’s not a surprise that Bandai also dominates the market for virtual pet for mobile.

Popular Virtual Pet for Mobile

You’d think that nothing is permanent in this world—think again. Since Bandai released Tamagotchi in 1997, it enjoyed the greatest market share of virtual pet users. Even now that the virtual games jump from desktop virtual pet to mobile virtual pet, Bandai remains on top. Whether this would be the case a couple of years from now, only time can tell. But judging from the avid fans of Bandai virtual pets on mobile phones, it looks like Bandai can rest knowing that their business is protected. Bandai’s My Little Dogs for Living Mobile available 3D and 2D, for example, continues to be the number one downloaded virtual pet for mobile phones today.

Popular Tamagotchi for Mobile

Here are some popular Tamagotchi pets from Bandai that are available for major smart phone OS these days:

Tamagotchi Angel

Having Tamagotchi Angel on your cell phone is like having your own angel growing from baby to a full grown angel with wing in your cell phone. The catch is on how you care and give your Tamagotchi Angel attention while it’s growing. If you neglect it as a baby, you might be surprise to get a tiny “devil” instead. Remember that your Tamagotchi Angel is growing even if your phone is off, so don’t forget to visit it regularly.

Living Mobile: My Little Dog

For dog lovers, there’s the Living Mobile: My Little Dog that you can raise in your cell phone. It’s played in 3D giving your virtual pet a real look. Aside from feeding and walking your 3D virtual pet dog, you can also play games with your My Little Dog for mobile.

Future of Virtual Pets on Mobile

Since the beginning of virtual pets in key chains to their debut as desktop virtual pets till their availability in mobile phones, it looks as though there’s no end to their popularity. In fact, the virtual pet market has infiltrated the number one smart phone in the world, the BlackBerry. There are virtual pets for Symbian, Apple, and Android too. Of course, expect all Japanese cell phones to carry support of Bandai virtual pets for years to come.

So, try to get your own virtual pet into your cell phone and see if you’re up to the challenge of raising a pet virtually. You’ll not only get a different kind of entertainment from your cell phone, you might also learn what pet is the right for you, for real.