Tamagotchi

Released in the late 90's, Tamagotchis were little digital pets on a keychain that needed your undivided attention. You could care for them by the touch of a button. Many schools banned them because they were distracting. Some children would get too into the toy and cry if their Tamagotchi died. Almost immediately after Tamagotchi's were released,imitations were all over the market. Tamgotchi Little computer pets that tried to teach kids the responsibility that goes into caring for a real pet. My niece had one and it used to annoy the heck out of me. Everytime it beeped, you had to guess what the thing wanted, so you ended up going through the whole menu of options until you found the right thing that made it shut up. Also known by a variety of other names, like Gigapet.

Tamagotchi on wikipedia.org