is a roughly cubic hand-held

electronic game An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other commo ...

created by

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

in 2008. The game comprises five mini-games (called "Stages"), and a resettable alarm clock. While the minigames are rather simplistic, ''Tuttuki Bako'' has received international acclaim for its unique means of controlDaimaou, Gonzague-Alexandre.
Tuttuki Bako Hands-On
''. Akihabara''News''. 19 December 2008. and the game has been put forward as an archetypal example of

Akiba-kei or is a Japanese slang term for Akihabara style. Akihabara is a district in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is a prominent gathering place for dedicated fans of anime, video games and idols. Definition ''Akiba-kei'' is a Japanese slang term meaning " ...

and Japanese gadgetry in general.Fincher, Jonathan.
Bandai's Tuttuki Bako is the Finger-Poking Game We've All Been Waiting For
'.

1UP.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conte ...

. 31 October 2008.Ogg, Erica.
Gizmine.com enables your Japanese gadget addiction
'. CNET News. 3 December 2008.

Gameplay

The game features one input button, a pixelated

liquid crystal display A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other Electro-optic modulator, electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liq ...

(LCD) screen, and a hole in its right-hand side.''ツッツキバコ Tuttuki Bako'' (instruction manual). Bandai. 2008. Into this hole the player is intended to insert an

index finger The index finger (also referred to as forefinger, first finger, second finger, pointer finger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, digitus II, and many other terms) is the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the thumb and the m ...

to a depth of up to . Inside the box, a matrix of small motion sensors detects the finger and render it on the screen.Melanson, Donald.
Tuttuki Bako "poking box" lets you torment low-res creatures
'.

Engadget Engadget ( ) is a technology news, reviews and analysis website offering daily coverage of gadgets, consumer electronics, video games, gaming hardware, apps, social media, streaming, AI, space, robotics, electric vehicles and other potentially ...

. 20 November 2008. In this way the player's moving finger is used as the device's primary input.Toto, Serkan.
Augmented Reality? The Tuttuki Bako box needs your finger to play with virtual characters
''.

CrunchGear TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high-tech and startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. In 2010, AOL acquired th ...

. 8 October 2008. There are five minigames that a player can select from.Lada, Jenni.
Important Importables: 2011 imported goodies gift guide
'. Technology Tell. 18 November 2011. The single input button brings up the selection menu and then the virtual finger is used to select the game to be played from the screen. Available games include: *Ameba Stage - Players poke at an

amoeba An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; : amoebas (less commonly, amebas) or amoebae (amebae) ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of Cell (biology), cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by ...

-like blob. If the blob becomes attached to the finger then the minigame enters its second phase by announcing "GAME START". Here the player must bounce the blob as if it were a ball. The player earns points for each completed bounce and the score is tallied at the bottom. *Face Stage - Players poke at a girl's face Carless, Simon.
GameSetLinkDump: The Politically Correct Space Giraffe
'.

GameSetWatch ''Game Developer'' (known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021) is a website created in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa TechTarget and acted as the online sister publication to the print maga ...

. 12 November 2008. to try to get her to sneeze. *Panda Stage - Players poke at a small panda riding a

tire swing A swing is a seat or platform, suspended from chains, ropes, or bars, on which one or more people can swing back and forth for enjoyment or relaxation. Swings are a common piece of equipment at children's playgrounds and may also be found in yard ...

to try to spin the tire without swinging it. If the tire is swung, however, the minigame enters its second phase in which the player must swing the panda in order to increase points tallied at the bottom. *Sea Stage - Players prod an undersea vase to try to flush out an ink-spraying octopus that dwells within. *Figure Stage - Players poke a small

stick figure Stick Figure is an American reggae and dub band founded in 2005. The group has released eight full-length albums and one instrumental album (Prince Fatty Presents), all of which were written and produced by frontman and self-taught multi-instr ...

. If sufficiently riled, the figure will enter "KARATE" mode and will set to work attacking the finger with "PUNCH!" and "KICK!" moves. The minigame features a second phase in which the figure and the player's finger use a

seesaw A seesaw (also sometimes known as a teeter-totter in North America) is a long, narrow board supported by a single pivot point, most commonly located at the midpoint between both ends; as one end goes up, the other goes down. These are most comm ...

with points awarded and tallied at the bottom for each completed switch. ''Tuttuki Bako'' also features a resettable alarm clock option that allows the player to interact with and set a virtual alarm clock that will then go off at the selected hour. Further selection options include time, sound volume, and

contrast Contrast may refer to: Science * Contrast (vision), the contradiction in form, colour and light between parts of an image * Contrast (statistics), a combination of averages whose coefficients add up to zero, or the difference between two means * ...

. On the back-side of the device there is an embedded "Reset" button that can only be pushed with a pin. This button restores the original conditions bringing the clock and alarm to 00:00AM and resetting any highscores to 0.

Development

''Tuttuki Bako'' was developed by Bandai in 2008. It was released only in Japan at a retail value of $30, and it is manufactured in China. It comes in three colors - red, black, and lime green. In the months prior to its release, Japanese advertisements for the ''Tuttuki Bako'' playfully emphasized risqué

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

s relating to the insertion of the player's finger into the box. This

innuendo An innuendo is a wikt:hint, hint, wikt:insinuation, insinuation or wikt:intimation, intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called in ...

did not go unnoticed in the international community and some English-language reviews reflect similar humor.Kotaku Staff.
Kotaku's 2008 Gift Guide of Obscene Nicety and Sublime Naughtiness
'.

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

. 9 December 2008.

Reception

The game was generally well-received internationally where it was described as "delightfully inexplicable" and "wonderfully weird." The game was also compared favorably with Bandai's earlier ''

Tamagotchi is a brand of handheld digital pets that was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was released by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan and in the United States on May 1, 1997, quickly becoming one of the bigge ...

'' line. Although some reviews described the ''Tuttuki Bako'' as "a bad idea" or "useless and barely entertaining," the same reviewers were often quick to point out exonerating aspects such the device's inherent interestingness and the

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture. Definition The term ...

-feel of the system. One negative aspect of the game that reviewers noted was its relatively steep import cost in the range of $50–$70

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

.Hruschak, PJ.
ThinkGeek's December 2008 catalog features a few groovy gifts for gamers
'. Technology Tell. 11 December 2008. Because the game was released only in Japan, international players had to go through importers and ''Tuttuki Bakos sales price tended to reflect increased shipping/handling as well as third party markup.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Tuttuki Bako product page
2008 video games Augmented reality Bandai Electronic toys Handheld electronic games Japan-exclusive video games Video games developed in Japan 2000s toys

Gameplay

Development

Reception

See also

References

External links