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Monday 30 November 2020

The Monday Piece - Original Gadgets

This week's Monday Piece is on original gadgets! As the nation gets ready to snap up new technology this Christmas, research from money.co.uk* has revealed the retro gadgets we miss the most, and how much cash we were ready to splash on them in times gone by – with some surprising results.

According to the survey, the piece of retro tech that young adults (those aged 16-24) feel most nostalgic towards is the 1997 Tamagotchi. The egg-shaped Japanese digital pets remained hugely popular throughout the late 90s and 2000s and were owned by more than 1 in 3 adults who are now aged between 16-24 (38%).

The UK’s first Tamagotchis retailed for approximately £14, which with inflation applied equates to £25.65 in today’s economy.

For 25-34 year olds, the most nostalgia-inducing piece of tech was the original Gameboy (27%), which launched in 1989 and was owned by more than half of this age group (51%). 

This iconic device had a display capable of featuring just four shades of grey ando originally retailed for £67.40, which with inflation applied equals approximately £168.80 by today’s standards. The original handheld gaming devices, now collectors’ items, have since surpassed their original value and can now be found retailing at an average of £192 on eBay today. 

The device that captured the heart of most 35-44 year olds was the humble Etch a Sketch, which 1 in 5 feel nostalgic towards. As many as 49% of this age group claim to have owned one of the innovative mechanical drawing toys when they were younger.  

The first Etch a Sketch launched in 1960 when it retailed for as little as £2.31 - but taking inflation over the past 60 years into account, the value of this device was actually 23 times what it seems, equating to £53.55 by today’s standards. The popular toys are still in production today but original 1960s Etch a Sketch models average £20 on eBay.

Across all age groups, cassette tapes came out on top for the nation’s most nostalgia-inducing piece of technology, with 1 in 5 (19%) of all adults listing this as a piece of retro tech they felt nostalgic towards, this definitely brings back memories :).

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1 comment

  1. I love the nostalgia factor of some of these! I still have a lot of cassettes from when I was growing up.
    the creation of beauty is art.

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