Furby Fanatics: It’s Almost Time

By Digital Trends Staff June 8, 2005

Yes boys and girls, Furby is back. Hasbro first broke the news that they were bringing back the Gizmo gremlin look-alike in February. Today they announced more details on the pending release, including a pre-sales event for dire hard Furby fans.

This pre-sales event, according to Hasbro, will involve 1,000 of the â€œevolved creaturesâ€. Those eager to get their hands on the small furry monsters which terrorized so many in the late 90s will get their chance on the toy company’s sales website Monday June 13 at 10 a.m. EDT. The lucky 1,000 will receive their Furbys shortly after July 15, which is approximately two weeks before the rest of us will probably not line up to buy one. Also accompanying the 1,000 fur balls will be a certificate of authenticity.

In regards to what makes Furby 2.0 more advanced then its predecessor, Hasbro said that the new one features â€œEmoto-Tronicsâ€. This â€œultimate combination of advanced robotic technology, puppetry and realistic lifelike reactions and movementsâ€ will allow the Furby to react based upon how a child (or childlike adult) interacts with it. As an example, Hasbro said that voice recognition would allow the little pseudo robot to â€œlistenâ€ to his owner and respond based on the toy’s mood.

Furbys can speak, dance, sing, tell jokes, play games and express their moods in a variety of ways. A fully flexible beak, expressive eyes, and movable ears and eyebrows make it possible for the creature to smile, laugh, frown and even produce an awe-filled gasp.

The new Furby, according to Hasbro, retains the bi-lingual speaking element that made it so popular seven years ago. It has also enlarged its vocabulary, speaking hundreds of programmed words and dozens of phrases in English and “Furbish”, which is the toy’s native language. Worldwide, it will be available in English, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.

The toy is larger than the original to accommodate a multi-motor system that doubles the toy’s animation features. It will initially be available in white, black and white, gray and pink, and brown and pink, with additional colors to follow later in the year.

For more Furby facts, check out Hasbro’s website.

Digital Trends Staff

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