So do you remember the toy Furby from the late 1990’s, well it is making a come back for the digital age. As part of its makeover it is kicking back in neon blue with all new tricks and an app to play. Just like the old furbies they don’t shut up because they don’t have an off switch.
The only way to turn them off is by removing one of their batteries or having them in total isolation, if that happens then they just fall asleep and will wake up when you interact with them. Furby always reminded of the movie Gremlins and if I get a Furby his name will be Gizmo, that is a must.
So there little guys have been updated with new sensors so they know when you are petting them or jostling them around. The first thing to come across is Furby’s glowing eyes which are really LCD’s. The design choices has given Hasbro more options to convey what the Furby is feeling.
The armless little fuzz ball has several distinct personalities that can be changed and will annoy a new generation of parents, especially those who did the same to their own parents in the late 90’s, you knew it was coming, time for some cosmic, skynet like payback.
So the new Furby will listen and dance to music, its eyes help you to know Furby’s mood. The little neon blue guy can understand different voices and if you talk to it enough it will begin to incorporate human works into its speech. Furbys can talk to each other as well and there is an app released this month for the iOS that will translate Furbish into English.
I wonder if in the future Furby’s software will be able to be updated to add new personalities and such. I can see that happening in a future version of this. Personally if I had an office I would want one my desk. Yeah it will have no battery in it most of the time but every once in a while I would leave the batteries in to see how people react, that would be awesome.
They are going to launch in 6 colours this September with 10 in total by the holidays and will be approximately $60 a piece. Welcome back Furby, annoying a new generation with some new tricks for the digital age.
Here is Engadget’s look at the neon blue version of Furby:
Note Furby has an evil aka skynet mode, beware:
Check for more on the return of Furby at Engadget here. I loved one of the comments I found on YouTube about the eyes “Furby has discovered the Avatar State” and just remember Furby loves the taste of human flesh.