Furby Returns With New Look & Smarts For 25th Anniversary
Image via Hasbro / Businesswire
Remember the bizarre, mildly creepy days of Teletubbies and Furby? Well, they’re back. Not only did Netflix reboot the colorful humanoids, but Hasbro is also reviving its popular furkid from the 90s/2000s.
With its bulbous eyes, heavy eyelids, and large ears, the Furby had a face only its human caregiver would love. Now, as the toy companion turns 25 years old, it’s greeting a new generation with a more endearing appearance, and is presenting itself as a tuft of purple or coral fur.
How could you say no to those eyes? They literally have hearts and sparkles in them.
The new Furby is more intelligent than its predecessors, being able to answer with 600 responses. It also has five voice commands that prompt it to dance, repeat after you, create a light show, and more.
Also, this is a new-age Furby, so its other two modes include fortune-telling and meditation (in which it begins breathing exercises).
Caretakers can give Furby a hug, pat it, tickle its belly, shake it, or feed it with its toy pizza charm. Each move triggers a different reaction.
You can also dress it up with the accompanying clip-on beads and accessories.
Hasbro says it hopes to introduce the “furb-nomenon” that enchanted millennials and Gen Zs to a new wave of human friends.
“Following its craze-inducing launch in 1998, Furby has taken the world by storm, impacting every corner of the culture zeitgeist, from music to television and film,” recounts Kristin McKay, vice president and general manager of fashion and preschool at Hasbro.
“For the brand’s 25th anniversary, we wanted to ignite the same excitement for this new generation by harnessing Furby’s power of nostalgia while giving Gen Alpha everything they crave.”
Fans can first pick up their pet toys from Amazon for US$69.99, ahead of the Furby’s re-release to other major retailers on July 15.
[via Polygon and USA Today, images via Furby / Businesswire]
