Pocket Neopet

The Pocket Neopet (also referred to as the Personal Pocket Neopet in press releases) is a handheld electronic game which was produced by Tiger Electronics, first released in 2003. These toys are virtual pets with gameplay similar to a Tamagotchi: owners can play with, feed, and care for their Neopet on a small LCD device. The standard Pocket Neopet came with one 3D figure and a collectible card featuring information about the pet, with the Deluxe Pocket Neopet including three figures and three cards. Each card also came with a one-time use Rare Item Code that could be redeemed in the Grundo Warehouse on the site.

Releases

Eight standard Pocket Neopet devices were released over the course of their production run. Every device was themed after a specific Neopet species and land in Neopia, with some devices coming in multiple colors. The earliest releases were the Kougra, Aisha and Kacheek, with the Grundo, Krawk and Tonu devices being released afterward. The final two devices released (and as a result, the most elusive) were the Lupe and Bruce, which were UK exclusives with different packaging. As these devices are small, they are powered by three LR44/A76 batteries (or their equivalents). These devices had a MSRP of $14.99 at release.

• Aisha (Light Blue and Yellow) - Lost Desert
• Bruce (Light Blue) - Happy Valley
• Grundo (Grey) - Virtupets Space Station
• Kacheek (Red and Orange) - Haunted Woods
• Kougra (Green and Yellow) - Mystery Island
• Krawk (Blue) - Krawk Island
• Lupe (Green) - Meridell
• Tonu (Yellow and Red) - Tyrannia

The Pocket Neopet also came in Deluxe form, which was a larger device sporting three figures instead of one. Each device was themed after one land and only came in one color. The deluxe devices also had six games as opposed to four. As these devices are larger, they use three AAA batteries. These devices had a MSRP of $19.99 at release.

• Faerieland - Poogle, Shoyru, Uni
• Meridell - Draik, Ixi, Lupe

Overview

The standard Pocket Neopet device is a clamshell design, where the top half is a rubber environment depicting the land the toy is themed after and the bottom half is the electronic game. Both halves of the device feature three "ports", which the 3D figure the device comes with can be inserted into. The ports on the top half are referred to as non-active ports and are just for playing with the figure, but the active ports on the bottom half function as buttons. The three active ports on the bottom feature pictures of a die, an ice cream cone, and a first-aid kit which when activated allow the player to access games, food, and the hospital respectively.

The bottom half of the handheld also features four directional buttons, an enter button, a cancel button, and a reset button. The portion of the handheld to the left of the screen features the speaker, and the portion to the right features a spot to place the 3D figure when not in use.

The Deluxe Pocket Neopet devices have significantly different designs, due to the inclusion of more figures and more games. Instead of being a clamshell like the smaller devices, the Deluxe devices feature two hinged segments as well as a separate storage compartment for the figures. The four directional buttons, enter and cancel buttons are still present, but five ports are present instead of three. One of these ports leads to shopping, but the other four lead to games.

Upon inserting batteries into the device, the player must press a button to activate it. A splash screen will display before allowing the player to set the date and time. After setting the clock, the player can name their Neopet and determine their personality. Once setup is complete, a splash displays again and the player is left with the main menu. A random animation will play of the pet walking or doing some other activity. If left idle, the device will display the current time. Pressing cancel on this main screen will display a menu with options to adjust the time, the screen contrast, or to turn the sound on or off.

Some versions of the device feature a scrolling menu that can be accessed by pressing a directional button on the main screen, while others feature icons printed on the LCD screen. On devices where the icons are absent, they are replaced with printed banners that display the landscape the device is themed after. The order of the icons is slightly different between the two device versions, but their functionality is the same. On versions with printed icons, five icons are present on the top and bottom of the screen for a total of 10 icons. From left to right and top to bottom, these are:

• Neopet Face: The specific icon changes based on the device, but the functionality is the same. This icon takes the player to a menu where they can view their Neopet's bio that was chosen when the game was first started.
• Book: This icon allows the player to view their Neopet's health, happiness and intelligence levels.
• Trophy: This icon provides information about how a player's performance in games. On the standard Pocket Neopets device, three of the four games provide a trophy based on how many Neopoints the player earns over time. This icon allows the player to track their progress towards these trophies. Winning a first place trophy in each of the games unlocks a virtual prize code that could be redeemed at the Grundo Warehouse. Formerly, this code would award the player a Pocket Neopet item which matched the Pocket Neopet that generated the code. However, these codes are no longer redeemable on the site due to support for the codes being removed for obsolescence.
• Ice Cream: This icon can also be accessed using the matching port on the bottom half of the device. After purchasing a food item from the Food Shop, this menu will display a list of food items that have been purchased. Neopets need to be fed three times a day, at certain times. The specific times differ depending on the model—for the standard devices, breakfast is at 7:30 AM, lunch is at 12:00 PM and dinner is at 7:00 PM. On the Deluxe devices, the times are 7:30 AM, 12:30 PM, and 6:30 PM. If pet is not fed at the specified time, the device will beep and, on applicable devices, an arrow will point to the food icon on the LCD screen. If the pet is fed before prompting then it will gain health and happiness, but if the pet is fed after prompting it will lose health and happiness. If the player fails to feed the pet for 14 days, the pet will pack its belongings and and leave.
• Burlap Sack: This icon allows the player to view their stored items. Any toys, Petpets, or food items are stored in the burlap sack and interacting with them will cause a pet's intelligence and happiness to increase. Toys can be played with three times before disappearing, and a number will appear telling the player how many times a toy has been used after it is played with. Petpets remain for much longer, lasting for anywhere up to two weeks. Additionally, only ten items can be held at a time.
• Medical Box: This icon can also be accessed using the matching port on the bottom half of the device. If the player's Neopet is sick, interacting with this icon will take them to the doctor where their illness is diagnosed. After diagnosis, the player can go to the pharmacy where they must purchase the cure for their pet's disease. If the player does not cure their pet, they will lose NP until the disease is cured. Accessing the doctor while the player's pet is not sick plays an animation that says their pet is healthy.
• Shop: This icon allows access to the three shops: the Food Shop, the Petpet Shop, and the Toy Shop. Each shop's stock rotates daily, with three items being available to choose. Upon buying an item, it can be found in the burlap sack menu.
• Bank: This icon displays a player's Neopoints (NP). Different messages are displayed according to how much NP a player has:
  • 0 - 50 NP: Oh dear
  • 51 - 100 NP: Not bad
  • 101 - 200 NP: OK
  • 201 - 400 NP: Getting better
  • 401 - 1000 NP: Nice!
  • 1001 - 2000 NP: Wow!
  • 2001 - 5000 NP: Amazing!
  • 5001+ NP: SO RICH
• Dice: This icon can also be accessed using the matching port on the bottom half of the device. Accessing it takes the player to a menu where they can select which game they would like to play, as described below. Different versions of the device have different names for the games (e.g. some devices call the minigame Techo Says, but others call it Copy-Cat) but the gameplay is unchanged. Most of the standard Pocket Neopets devices share the same games with the exception of the Bruce and Lupe devices, while the Deluxe versions have unique games. After completing a game, the player is given the option to choose whether or not to collect the NP they earned. This can be useful if the player did not earn the maximum amount of NP from a game, as each game only provides NP three times per day.
• Bed: This icon allows the player to tell their Neopet to go to sleep. Neopets must be put to bed around 9:00 PM, or their happiness will decrease. Selecting the bed icon again allows the player to wake their Neopet in the morning. A Neopet should be woken after 7:00 AM, as their happiness and intelligence will decrease if they wake earlier.

Games

Standard

Techo Says / Copy-Cat

This is basically Simon, or mimicking the pattern shown. The game will start by flashing two arrows, corresponding to the directional pad, which the player must copy; e.g., left, down. If the player is successful, the pattern will repeat but add another arrow to the end of the pattern; e.g., left, down, left. This continues until the player either fails to copy the pattern or successfully copies a pattern of eleven arrows.

NP awards are paid a maximum of three times per day, based on the length of the pattern successfully copied, for a maximum of 100 NP for an eleven-arrow sequence. A cumulative score of 900 points in a level is required to advance to the next level. Completing Level 3 awards a 1st place trophy.

Negg Drop

The player controls a basket to catch falling burlap sacks containing Neggs. At the start of the game, sacks fall at different rates: slow or fast. Catching an empty sack is worth one point. Catching a full (textured) sack is also worth one point but makes all of the sacks fall fast. Avoid the solid black sacks, because that summons the Pant Devil to steal all of your points.

NP awards are paid a maximum of three times per day, based on the number of sacks caught in the time limit, for a maximum of 100 NP for 16 items caught. Level 1 lasts 60 seconds. Level 2 lasts 50 seconds. Level 3 lasts 40 seconds. A cumulative score of 900 points in a level is required to advance to the next level. Completing Level 3 awards a 1st place trophy.

Poogle Race / Racing

The player controls a Poogle racing a car to the finish line. The car will move as fast as the player can hit the left and right buttons alternatingly.

NP awards are paid a maximum of three times per day, based on rank, for a maximum of 20 NP for finishing in 1st place. A cumulative score of 180 points in a level is required to advance to the next level. Completing Level 3 awards a 1st place trophy.

Scorchy Slots / Luck

This is a simple slot game to earn NP when the other three games have stopped awarding NP. There is no trophy awarded for playing.

All three icons awards nothing.

Matching two squares awards 10 NP. Matching three awards 30 NP.

Matching two circles awards 15 NP. Matching three awards 40 NP.

Matching two dots (four small squares arranged 2x2) awards 20 NP. Matching three awards 80 NP.

Bruce and Lupe

As these devices were the last to be produced, their instruction manuals are not available and information about them is much more scarce. As a result, only three games from each device are known. On the Bruce device, these games are Sled Race, Ice Storm, and a third game has a name that starts with Grundo (though the full name is unknown). On the Lupe device, the three known games are Meriball, Escape from... (potentially similar to Escape from Meridell Castle) and Double or... (presumably Double or Nothing).

Trivia

• A sneak preview of the Pocket Neopet was given in the January 27th, 2003 New Features, featuring an image of the yellow Aisha device and its packaging.
• An advertisement featuring the Pocket Neopet appears in Neopets Magazine #1, featuring images of the Krawk, red Tonu and yellow Aisha devices. The advertisement also names the Grundo, Tonu and Krawk devices (though the Grundo is not pictured).
• The Rare Item Codes given for obtaining all the first place trophies could not be redeemed if the player's pet was not named after a pet on their account.
• The Pocket Neopet items given by the Rare Item Codes have since been changed to "Play Sets"; e.g., the Pocket Neopet Kougra became the Red Kougra Play Set, and the Pocket Meridell became the Red Draik Play Set.

External links

• Game Link: Pocket Neopet Sliding Puzzle (retired)
• Pocket Neopet Instruction Manuals
• Secrets Revealed #1, #2, #3
• Scans of the cards included with the Faerieland Deluxe Pocket Neopet
• Press Releases:
  • Feb 11, 2003 Hasbro media release mentioning Pocket Neopets (archived)
  • Feb 16, 2003 Hasbro media release centered around Pocket Neopets (archived)