Piggy bank with a Tamagotchi twist

(Credit: Spluch)

Leave it to the Japanese, makers of the Tamagotchi and offshoots like the "Otoizm," to bring the piggy bank to virtual life. The programmable "The Bank of Life," from Takara-Tomy, bears an LCD screen with information that reflects life in modern Japan. Spluch's description says it best: "A little Japanese man living in the screen starts off by living in a shoebox home and gradually upgrades to a luxury apartment reflecting on the amount of money in it." Call us old-fashioned, but we'll stick with the porcine variety.