| Developer: | Bandai |
| Publisher: | Bandai |
| Genre: | Mini-game / Party |
| Modes: | Single-player |
is a roughly cubic hand-held electronic game created by Bandai 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 control[1] and the game has been put forward as an archetypal example of Akiba-kei and Japanese gadgetry in general.[2] [3]
The game features one input button, a pixelated liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, and a 24mm hole in its right-hand side.[4] Into this hole the player is intended to insert an index finger to a depth of up to 6cm (02inches).[4] Inside the box, a matrix of small motion sensors detects the finger and render it on the screen.[5] In this way the player's moving finger is used as the device's primary input.[6] There are five minigames that a player can select from.[7] 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:
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,[6] sound volume, and contrast. 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.[8]
Tuttuki Bako was developed by Bandai in 2008. It was released only in Japan at a retail value of $30,[6] and it is manufactured in China.[4] It comes in three colors - red, black, and lime green.[5] In the months prior to its release, Japanese advertisements for the Tuttuki Bako playfully emphasized risqué double entendres relating to the insertion of the player's finger into the box.[12] This innuendo did not go unnoticed in the international community and some English-language reviews reflect similar humor.[13] [14]
The game was generally well-received internationally where it was described as "delightfully inexplicable" and "wonderfully weird."[3] The game was also compared favorably with Bandai's earlier Tamagotchi line.[1] Although some reviews described the Tuttuki Bako as "a bad idea"[15] or "useless and barely entertaining,"[2] the same reviewers were often quick to point out exonerating aspects such the device's inherent interestingness[5] and the retro-feel of the system.[2] One negative aspect of the game that reviewers noted was its relatively steep import cost in the range of $50–$70 USD.[3] [13] [16] Because the game was released only in Japan, international players had to go through importers[9] and Tuttuki Bakos sales price tended to reflect increased shipping/handling as well as third party markup.[3]