Bandai’s everlasting Tamagotchis, which recently got upgraded to color, face some serious competition from another Japanese toy maker. Takara Tomy has developed the Yuruppy, which is as least as cute but requires no care at all.

The Yuruppy is basically a virtual pet that lives inside a small touchscreen. Users can choose between a puppy, a kitten and a chicken. All users need to do is to pet them by rubbing their fingers on the screen. Takara Tomy also threw in a total of 14 mini games.

Japan is the first country to get the Yuruppy in June, with other countries likely to follow later. The standard version will retail for $21, while the Yuruppy deluxe costs $38 and has a larger screen (Takara Tomy’s official Japanese website offers no information on the virtual pet at this point).

Via IT Media [JP]