Virtual pets eat up fab capacity

11/01/1997

Virtual pets eat up fab capacity. Virtual pets, such as Bandai Co.`s Tamagotchi toy, are consuming huge quantities of the basic chips used in many consumer electronics devices. As other companies copy the toy`s design, the increased demand has clogged the production lines of Taiwan`s chip foundries, some of which are turning away business from their traditional buyers to accommodate the toy makers. Taiwan`s foundry companies are making 20,000-30,000, 200-mm wafers/month just for virtual pet toys, according to a United Microelectronics Corp. spokesperson.