[4] In 2017, a 20th anniversary edition was released in Japan which allows the owner to choose from any of the eggs from the first five versions of the original toy, as well as several new ones unlocked through various methods.
[6] Key figures involved in the development of the Digital Monster include Makoto Kitagawara and Kenji Watanabe of WiZ and Ayumu Horimura of Bandai.
The name for this new device started off as "Otokotchi" (おとこっち), but then it became "Capsule Zaurus" (カプセルザウルス) as it went through development.
When the product brought to the US, elements such as the "Megalithic Mainframe" were added to soften the concept of death (thus Digimon cannot die, but instead return to a fictional world).
In 1998, Bandai released a follow-up virtual pet series known as Pendulums which features higher evolution levels and is the first to introduce the Jogress function which enable combination between certain type of digimons.
Unlike its predecessors, the Pendulum X line was accompanied by a story titled Digimon Chronicle (デジモンクロニクル, Dejimon Kuronikuru), which was told mostly through prose text interspersed with short, non-sequitur six-page manga comics printed in the booklets.
Digimon have multiplied so much that Yggdrasil is unable to handle the load and the Digital Hazard occurs.
This leads to the creation of the "New Digital World", which consists of three layers known as Urd (past), Versandi (present), and Skuld (future).
Yggdrasil then lets loose the Project Ark as well as the X Program to eliminate any Digimon it no longer wants.
After that, two human boys, Kouta and Yuuji find their way into the Digital World and meet their respective partner Digimon, Dorumon and Ryudamon.
15 years later, in 2019, the Manga received a sequel titled "Digimon Chronicle X", which followed the story of the Royal Knights and Seven Great Demon Lords fighting against each other in their X forms.
On 26 June 2017, the 20th anniversary edition of the original Digimon virtual pet was released in Japan.
This evolved version has several new functions including Web Link and allowing you to simultaneously train two Digimon.
[10] Special Digi-Eggs have also been added that can be obtained by meeting certain conditions (Digi-Eggs are the first step in the bringing-up of your Digimon), as well as the ability to obtain Omnimon by fusing the Original Brown-exclusive Agumon and Original Grey-exclusive Gabumon.
This new version features RPG-like gameplay that allows Digimon to earn experience points and level up through battles.
In 2023, Bandai America launched four new color variations of the Digimon X virtual pet devices.
The updated devices feature the Dice Roll Attack, Quest Mode, and various evolution paths, allowing users to train and battle their digital companions.