Hatchi – a retro virtual pet - Portable Pixels Ltd

This review of Hatchi – a retro virtual pet was completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 29 November 2018.

About the app

This section contains details about the app provided by an ACCM Reviewer.

ACCM review

This review of Hatchi – a retro virtual pet contains the following information:

• The level to which the game was reviewed
• App description
• Reviewers comments
• In App purchasing
• Online information
• Gambling
• Advertising and product placement
• Gender stereotypes and sexual references
• Coarse language
• Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents
• Other

The level to which the game was reviewed

Game played for one week.

App description

This game is essentially a digital version of the Tamagotchi (a Japanese word meaning: “Egg” – as the hardware version was this shape). The game begins with the player required to crack an egg (by tapping) which releases a baby Hatchi monster. The game assigns either male or female gender to the hatchling and asks you to create a name. The player is required to take care of the monster by pressing a range of options on the bottom of screen (related to: Hunger, Hygiene, Smarts and Activity). These options help you to care for your monster’s levels of energy and happiness. The pet continues to “exist” when the game is unattended, so players may return to an unhappy pet if he’s hungry, tired or needs cleaning. The aim of the game is to keep your monster alive and happy, whilst raising it to adulthood.

Reviewers comments

This game has no banner or pop-up ads, no gambling elements and no questionable themes unhealthy for young minds. However, the game is quite limited in scope – unless players spend real money to unlock features (and this game has a lot of in-app purchases for this). It also connects to Facebook, Twitter and the Game Centre (all require passwords). On a more positive note, it does convey the importance of looking after something with regular attendance, the importance of combining both exercise and learning to work towards growth and happiness. Having said this, if your monster is left unattended for too long – it will die. In this case, players are given the option to either revive the current monster for 4000 coins (5000 coins costs $2.99) or to reset your Hatchi and start again. This would not be an uncommon situation, and many children would be likely to want to save their current monster.

In App purchasing

5000 Coins = $2.99

15,000 Coins = $5.99

50,000 Coins = $14.99

150,000 Coins = $32.99

450,000 Coins = $79.99

Online information

• Connectivity with social media (Facebook, Twitter, Game Center)

Gambling

At the time of review, the reviewer found no simulated gambling content. If you discover simulated gambling content in this app, please contact us with the details so we can update our review.

Advertising and product placement

None noted.

Gender stereotypes and sexual references

The game only gives you options for a boy or a girl. This isn’t so much a problem for younger players, but for adolescents that may be questioning their gender orientation, or believe that they don’t fit into this dichotomy, it may cause some issues.

Coarse language

None noted.

Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents

See Reviewer's comments.

Other

N/A.

Got a suggestion?

You can contact us if you have suggestions of other children's apps to review.