Furby
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Furby (plural Furbys or Furbies, according to Tiger. Co.) is an electronic toy, more specifically, a robot, made by Tiger Electronics which went through a period of being a "must-have" toy following its launch in the holiday season of 1998, with continual sales until 2000. Furby sold 1.8 million units in 1998, and 14 million units in 1999. Altogether in its three years of original production, over 40 million units were sold, and its speaking capabilities were translated into 24 languages. Furbys were the first successful attempt to produce and sell a domestically-aimed robot. A newly purchased Furby initially starts out speaking Furbish, a unique language that all Furbys are programmed to use, but their Furbish usage declines as they gradually start using English. English is learned automatically, no matter what culture they are nurtured in.[1] In 2005, new Furbys were released, with voice-recognition and more complex facial movements, among many other changes and improvements. The Emoto-Tronic Furbies (Furby, Furby Baby, and Funky Furby) continued to be sold until late 2007, when these toys became extremely rare.
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History
Birth of the Furby
Dave Hampton and Caleb Chung spent nine months creating the Furby (in addition to nine months spent designing the toy). Early on Tiger Electronics showed an interest in their interactive creatures, and Roger Schiffman bought the rights to it. Furby's first public appearance was at the American International Toy Fair in 1998.
Furbys originally retailed for about US$35,[2] and upon release Furbys flew off the shelves in toyshops. Catapulting demand for these toys during the 1998 holiday season drove the resale price over US$100 and sometimes as high as several hundred dollars. Furbys sold for over US$300 in newspapers and in auctions. Nicknames were given to them, and sellers assigned rarity values to them. Some people continue to call their Furbys by the terms 'wedding Furby', 'tuxedo Furby', 'snowball Furby', 'biker Furby', among others. All, of course, were dubbed rare by sellers, because they were so hard to find at the time. In a sure display of the demand for the toy, some sellers at the time scammed people out of a great sum of money, without even having first given them a Furby. Parental battles, arguments, and fights increased rapidly as supplies dwindled, and when retail supplies ran out, parents turned to the Internet, where Furbys could be purchased for two, three, or more multiples of their retail price. During one 12-month period, a total of 27 million Furby toys were sold.[citation needed]
Recent Revival
2005 saw the reintroduction of Furby with the release of the new Emoto-Tronic Furby. The increasing emotional realism of the Emoto-Tronic Furby has given birth to a number of Furby-oriented special interest groups. These communities seek to integrate aspects of the Furby experience into human society. The most visible of these groups include Furbish-to-English translators and Furby adoption agencies. In addition, there is a flourishing subculture of Furby Furries (see furry fandom).
Furby types
Classic Furby
The main reason for their popularity was because of apparent "intelligence", reflected in their ability to develop language skills.
Furbys can communicate with one another via an infrared port located between their eyes. Furbys start out speaking entirely Furbish, a language with short words, simple syllables, and various other sounds, but are programmed to speak less and less Furbish and more and more English as they "grow".
There was a common misconception that they repeated words that were said around them. This belief most likely stemmed from the fact that it is possible to have the Furby say certain pre-programmed words or phrases more often by petting it whenever it said these words. As a result of this myth, several intelligence agencies banned them from their offices.[3]
A simple electric motor and a system of cams and gears close the Furby's eyes and mouth, raise its ears, and lift it off the ground in a faux display of mobility.
The originals are still popular with many hackers as they can be dissected and made to do interesting things. In particular, their advanced audio capabilities and various sensory interfaces make them popular with the circuit bending community.[4][5]
Other Furbys
Furby Babies
In 1999, the Furby Babies line was introduced. Furby Babies are smaller than the original, have higher voices, and cannot dance, but switch to speaking English more quickly. They also have an extended vocabulary, and different "Easter Eggs" and "games" built into them. Baby furbies come in 24 different colors. All with white eye lashes, six different eyecolors.
Furby Friends
Novel Furbys were also released, including an interactive Furby-like Gizmo, from the movie Gremlins, a Furby-like Interactive Yoda based on the Star Wars character, and a Furby-like Interactive E.T. from the movie of the same name. Another 'friend of furby', called Shelby, is similar to Furby, but looks like a clam, has vast improvements in memory, and has a different personality; it was released in 2001 and can communicate with the original Furbys and Furby Babies. They also have sensors that can sense loud sounds, they can sense being upside down (they say things like "Shiver me timbers" and "Walk the plank", in the style of a pirate ship captain, when you leave them upside-down for an extended period of time), and they laugh when you "tickle" them (their antennae - or "tennies", as they like to call them). They also purr when you "pet" them. You can feed them by sticking your finger in their mouth. Similarly, Shelbys do not have their own names, unlike the classic Furbies. Shelbys are also capable of knowing if it is talking to a Furby or another Shelby, saying phrases such as "Where's Furby?" - though they can't differentiate between a Furby and a Furby Baby - they just assume it's a Furby. In addition to English, Shelbys also know some Furbish words and also have their own unique language called "Shelbish."
Emoto-Tronic Furby
The latest species of Furby was released in August 2005. Larger than the previous version, the new Furbys have been upgraded with a more emotional face and a voice recognition system, enabling them to communicate with humans. Unlike the Furbys originally released, just one order is necessary to make them 'sleep', and they have an on/off switch. They can communicate with other Emoto-tronic Furbys, though to a lesser extent than the communication between original Furbys, and they cannot themselves communicate with the original Furbys neither Funky Furbys. They also lack light sensors and basic motion sensors and do not respond to loud sounds as the originals do. These Furbys, according to the story they come packed with, are from Furby Island.
Emoto-Tronic Furby Babies
In 2006, a new version of Furby baby was released, with most notable features being the new look and a more "Baby-ish" appearance in contrast to the Emoto-Tronic Furby adult. They also have considerably fewer features than the "adult" Furby, with a very limited vocabulary and a lower level of interactivity. Another notable feature of the 2006 Emoto-Tronic Baby Furby is the movable "legs", which unfurl when Furby baby is awake.
Emoto-Tronic Funky Furby
The Funky Furby was released in August 2006 outside the US. They are limited to two color combinations (pink & yellow and purple & green) so far, and can sing three new songs and dance. They can be taught dance routines and remember them.
References
- ^ Encounters with Kismet and Cog: Children Respond to Relational Artifacts, MIT, 2004-09-30, http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/www/encounterswithkismet.pdf, retrieved 2009-04-20
- ^ "New toy an interactive fur ball". CNN. 1998-10-05. http://www.cnn.com/US/9810/05/furby/index.html. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
- ^ "Furby a threat to national security?". CNN. 1999-01-13. http://www.cnn.com/US/9901/13/nsa.furby.ban.01. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
- ^ Circuit-bent Furby at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash)
- ^ Kevin Rees. "Furby Bending Tutorial". Circuit-Bent.Net. http://www.circuit-bent.net/furby-bending-tutorial.html. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
