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Josiah Chua holds his collection of Tamagotchis
乔赛亚·蔡把他收集的“拓麻歌子”拿在手中
Back when he was at school in the 1990s, Josiah Chua says "everyone" had a Tamagotchi. The 31-year-old remembers how the playground buzzed with kids addicted to their digital pets.
乔赛亚·蔡说，90年代是他的学生时代，在那时“每个人”都有一个“拓麻歌子”。如今，31岁的他仍记得当时的情景，学校操场上孩子们的讨论声不绝于耳，他们都沉迷于数码宠物。
"I don't think we were allowed to take it to school. We tried to sneak them in our school bags," the Singapore-based fashion stylist says.
“学校不允许我们携带拓麻歌子，所以我们试图把它们藏在书包里，”这位新加坡的时尚设计师说。
Mr Chua's is probably a fairly typical millennial memory.
乔赛亚·蔡的回忆可能是典型千禧一代的共同记忆。
The toy - an egg-shaped, plastic pet that its owner had to keep "alive" with constant care and attention - was the must-have item not long after its launch in 1996.
拓麻歌子是一个鸡蛋形状的，塑料制的玩具宠物，为了保持它的“生命”，主人需要持续照顾和关注它。在1996年推出后的不久，拓麻歌子就成了人们的必备品。
It's about to make a comeback. Japanese manufacturer Bandai will release an all-colour, new and improved version of the classic toy in North America in July.
现在，它即将回归大众视线。日本制造商Bandai将于7月在北美发布这款经典玩具的崭新版本，新款有各种不同的颜色、经过了许多改良。
This time round, it can do more than eat, sleep, beep and die.
It's evolved from a pet into more of a character, Bandai says, that can inhabit different lands, as well as get married and breed.
这一次，拓麻歌子不仅仅能吃饭、睡觉、发出“嘟嘟声”和死亡。Bandai公司表示，它从宠物进化成了一个更具个性的角色，可以居住在不同的地方，也可以结婚和繁殖。
"Our fanbase is already very excited and has done pre-orders," Bandai America's Director of Marketing Tara Badie says about the Tamagotchi On.
塔拉·巴迪是Bandai美国分部的市场总监，关于新款拓麻歌子（Tamagotchi On），她说：“我们的粉丝群已经非常激动了，很多人都已经预定了新款。”
It turns out the gadget never really went away - Bandai frequently releases new Tamagotchis in Japan and other markets - but the latest model is part of a wave of 1980s and 1990s symbols reinvented for new generations.
事实证明，这款产品从未真正销声匿迹——Bandai公司经常在日本和其他市场发布新款拓麻歌子——但最新的型号还是为新一代重新设计的一波80和90年代象征的一部分。
Take Sonic the Hedgehog: the Sega character will hit movie screens next year.The Spice Girls are touring and The Face is back. You can buy scrunchies on luxury fashion site Net-a-Porter.
以世嘉公司1991年发行的“刺猬索尼克“游戏系列为例：它将在明年上映。诞生于90年代的”辣妹组合“如今正在巡演，真人秀《T台新面孔》已经回归。如今，你可以在2000年创办的奢侈品时尚品牌”颇特女士“的网站上购买内衣。
Retro revival
复古风回潮
Mr Di Marco says there's also plenty of appetite for the "fabulous decade of Disney movies" starting from 1989's The Little Mermaid, to Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King amongst others. "The children of the 1990s have grown up and are increasingly nostalgic for the toys of their childhood," he says.
迪马尔科说，从1989年的《小美人鱼》、《美女与野兽》、《阿拉丁》和《狮子王》等影片开始的“精彩的迪士尼电影年代”，也受到了无数人的喜爱。他说：“90年代的孩子们已经长大了，他们越来越怀念童年时的玩具。”
Those adults can now afford to buy things they want. But the nostalgia opportunity for brands runs deeper than that. A recent Mintel survey found 57% of toy buyers in the UK said they like to purchase toys for their child that they also played with.
那些成年人现在可以买得起他们想要的东西了。但品牌怀旧潮背后的原因比这更为深刻。英敏特公司最近的一项调查发现，57%的英国玩具买家表示他们喜欢为自己的孩子购买自己小时候玩过的玩具。
"Everyone thinks of their childhood as great and thinks 'Oh, things weren't as bad then'," Mintel's Ms Baram says.
英敏特公司的巴拉姆女士说：“每个人都认为自己的童年是美好的，他们认为‘哦，那时候事情还没有那么糟糕’。”
Why nostalgia works
为什么怀旧风能奏效
A shot of Nintendo games consoles taken in 1992
1992年拍摄的任天堂游戏机照片
He says nostalgia may be "something that's more salient" right now, in part driven by a questioning attitude adopted by many millennials and those in generation Z. "There isn't necessarily one belief system about how we move forward from here."
他说，现在怀旧可能成为了“更为人所知的显著趋势”，部分是因为许多千禧一代和95后Z世代的质疑态度。 “关于我们如何继续向前发展，有不止一种信念体系。”
That uncertainty can help create an environment for nostalgic themes to resonate, as it is a particularly effective strategy when people feel uncertain and need reassurance. "There's definitely a correlation between the popularity of nostalgia marketing versus how confident, optimistic and secure a particular population feels," Mr Wiesser adds.
这种不确定性有助于为怀旧主题创造能与之产生共鸣的环境，因为当人们感到不确定并需要安慰时，这是一种特别有效的策略。“怀旧营销的流行与特定人群的自信、乐观和安全感之间存在一定的相关性，”威斯补充道。
New fans
新粉丝
Still, brands can't just stay still. Mr Wiesser says companies have to keep reinventing themselves with fresh products as trading on past glories won't be enough.
不过，品牌不能只是停留在原地。威斯表示，公司必须不断地用新产品重塑自身形象，因为靠过去的辉煌来经营是不够的。
The original Tamagotchi (L) was released in Japan in 1996; the Tamagotchi On (R) will be released in July
1996年，日本发行了原《拓麻歌子》（L）；今年7月将发行新《拓麻歌子》（R）。
Bandai is hoping its Tamagotchi On, which is aimed at girls aged 6 to 12 years, is stacked with enough new features to hook a group of tech-savvy young fans.
Bandai公司希望，以6至12岁女孩为目标受众的新款拓麻歌子已经具备了足够的新特点来吸引一群技术娴熟的年轻粉丝。
Tamagotchi loyalist Mr Chua is also excited to find out what feelings the new gadget - decades on from the original - can draw out. "Having the new version could help you remember the child in you."
拓麻歌子的忠实粉丝乔赛亚·蔡还很兴奋地发现，在原版出现的几十年后，这种新玩意儿能给人带来独特感受。“当你拥有新款拓麻歌子时，它会帮你发现内心深处还存有的孩子气。”
