The animatronic Furby toy.

Overview


In the early 2000s, Hasbro made a popular toy called Furby. A couple years ago they started making a revamped Furby line.

A Furby (plural Furbys or Furbies, according to Hasbro and 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, 14 million units in 1999, and altogether in its three years of original production, Furby sold over 40 million units, 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 starts out speaking entirely Furbish, the unique language that all Furbys use, but are programmed to speak less Furbish as they gradually start using English. English is learned automatically, and no matter what culture they are nurtured in, they learn English. 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.

History


In the early 2000s, Hasbro made a popular toy called Furby. A couple years ago they started making a revamped Furby line.

Dave Hampton and Caleb Chung created the Furby in merely nine months (in addition to an additional nine months spent designing the toy). That was the amount of time between Tiger Electronics showing an interest in their interactive creatures, during which Roger Schiffman bought the rights to it, and the time they hit store shelves. Furby's first public appearance was at the International Toy Fair in 1998.

Furbys originally retailed for about US$35, and upon release Furbys flew off the shelves in toy shops. 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 even one Furby, some sellers at the time scammed people out of a lot 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. Price gouging became common place in 1998 and 1999.

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

McDonalds ran a plastic Furby toy range in in Central Europe in 2014.

There's always something new with Furby Connect & Furby Boom! Furby can interact with you & the Furby App simultaneously!

Technology, engineering and programming


The original Furby was written in assembly language for the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. The engineering is very complex, but has got smaller and more efficient over the years.

Marketing hype
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Educational value
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User HopelessNightOwl's experiences
Now I never owned a Furby, but I did get Shelby, Hasbro’s spin-off, for my birthday. I made the mistake of playing with it in a sandbox during that same birthday party, and it broke. So my mom bought me another one, and got one for my sister as well. They both broke within a couple weeks, so we got another and agreed to share it. That one broke, so by that time our mom didn’t even have to explain to us why she wouldn’t get us another one, since even at our young age we had realized what pieces of junk they were. So we didn’t even complain at all.

Classic Furbies
The main reason for their popularity was because of apparent "intelligence", reflected in their ability to develop language skills.

Furbies can communicate with one another via an infrared light port located between their eyes. Furbies start out speaking entirely "Furbish", a language with short words, simple syllables, and various other sounds. They are programmed, however, to speak less and less Furbish and more and more English words 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.

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 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.

The recommended retail price is almost double what the original furby cost. Many sellers on shopping websites such as Amazon.com may charge up to double the recommended retail price. The MSRP of Furby in the USA is $59.99, In Canada it's $69.95, and in the UK it's 54 Pounds. When furby was first sold in the USA it's retail value at Walmart and Target was $54.00. Due to the popularity of Furby, many American fans have experienced shortages of Furby at stores Such as Walmart, Target and Kmart. However, Canadian, British, Japanese, etc. Fans have not experienced as many shortages as the US.

Furby Babies
In 1999, the Furby Babies line was introduced. Furby Babies are smaller than the original, have higher voices, and cannot dance, but they switch to speaking English more quickly. They also have an extended vocabulary and different "Easter eggs" and "games" built into them. Furby babies come in 24 different colors. All have white eyelashes and one of six different eye colors.

Furby Friends
Novel Furbies were also released, including an interactive Furby-like "Gizmo", from the film Gremlins, a Furby-like "Interactive Yoda" based on the Star Wars character, and a Furby-like "Interactive E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" 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 Furbies and Furby Babies. They also have sensors that can sense loud sounds, can sense being upside down (they say things like "Shiver me timbers" and "Walk the plank" when left them upside-down for an extended period of time), and they laugh when "tickled" (their antennae– or "tennies", as they like to call them). They also purr when "petted". They can be fed by sticking a finger in their mouth. Similarly, Shelbies do not have their own names, unlike the classic Furbies. Shelbies are also capable of knowing if it is talking to a Furby or another Shelby, saying phrases such as "Where's Furby?"—though they cannot differentiate between a Furby and a Furby Baby—they just assume it is a Furby. In addition to English, Shelbies also know some Furbish words and also have their own unique language called "Shelbish".

Emoto-Tronic Furbies


This Furby was released in August 2005. Larger than the previous version, the new Furbies have been upgraded with a more emotional face and a voice recognition system, enabling them to communicate with humans. Unlike the Furbies 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 Furbies, though to a lesser extent than the communication between original Furbies, and they cannot themselves communicate with the original Furbies nor Funky Furbies. They also lack light sensors and basic motion sensors and do not respond to loud sounds as the originals do. These Furbies, 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. Although they were a European exclusive, they were sold in the US via the Hasbro Toy Shop website.

Emoto-Tronic Funky Furbies
The Funky Furbies were released in August 2006 outside the United States. They are limited to two color combinations (pink and yellow; purple and green), and they can sing three new songs and dance. They can be taught dance routines and remember them.

2012 Furbies
A new Furby was released in the fall of 2012. It has more expressive LCD eyes, a wider range of motions, its own iOS and Android app, and the ability to adapt its personality in reaction to user behavior. The on-off switch is replaced with a reset button; the Furby turns itself off after one minute of inactivity.

Furby Party Rockers
A series of toys called Furby Party Rockers was released in addition to the 2012 Furbies

Those feature pre-programmed personalities that differ between the various models.

Instead of the screens that the full-size Furbies feature, their eyes are made out of transparent plastic with a backing that has a static pattern printed.

The eyes have LED backlight and the printed image is stereoscopic so that it changes depending on the viewing angle. The Party Rockers don't have any moving parts.

Furby Boom
In summer of 2013, about a year after the Furby 2012 came out, a new Furby was released with new different colors and new Personalities. It has a brand new iOS and Android] app, called Furby BOOM, with many new features.

Furblings (toy version)
In June 2014, a toy version of the Furblings from the Furby Boom app was released along with a Golden limited time one. It can communicate with Furby Booms, and can be used with the app too.

Furby Boom Crystal
The release for Christmas 2014 is called the Furby Boom Crystal series, with a redesign of the ears, face and feet and a new bright neon fur. The iOS and Android operating system apps have also been redesigned.

McDonalds and Burger King toys


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fMcDonalds in Central Europe in 2014.

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Furby Boom Crystal Furblings
In early 2015, it announced toy version of the Furby Boom Crystal Furblings from the app were released. Like the other Furblings, it can communicate with Furby Boom Crystals, and be used with the app.

Furbacca
In June 2015, a Furby that resembles Chewbacca from Star Wars was released. It is similar to the Furby Boom because it can hatch Furblings with the same app and more. It is known as the Wookie Furby and the new Furby Friend.

Furby Connect
In 2016 another new Furby with more expressive eyes and movements was released, along with an app containing a whole world of Furblings for it to interact with. The Furby Connect has a translucent plastic joystick on its head which lights up different colors when toggled and is used to control games played with Furblings in the app. Unlike the 2012 Furby and Furby Boom, the Furby Connect does not change personalities. However it can sing songs that it "learns" from the app.

Scandal ans achievements
Now, this isn’t a “creepypasta”. This isn’t a story about a Furby that suddenly starts saying strange things it isn’t programed to and teleports around the house while the owner is away or asleep. This isn’t even really a “theory” pasta. This is merely a list of things that anyone who has owned an old-school Furby (or Shelby) can attest to (with the exception of the last two):


 * 1) The original Furby was one of the first toys that could “talk” to each other.
 * 2) The Furby laugh is one of the creepiest things you will ever hear from a toy.
 * 3) The Furby itself looks kind of creepy, and the original first-generation Furbies look even creepier.
 * 4) It often either will not shut up when you want them to or will start talking at seemingly random times.
 * 5) A Furby will sometimes talk even when you thought you turned it off, reset it, or even took the batteries out.
 * 6) It will wake up in the middle of the night and say something with no more stimulus than you walking past the closed door of the closet you keep it in to go to the bathroom.
 * 7) If you keep it in a closet, it seems to be staring at you with its half-closed eyes, menacingly, when you open it. This is especially creepy if it is a Shelby, because the shell is lowered, covering part of the eyes.
 * 8) When Furby first came out, they were banned on military bases for security reasons, even though everyone knows that they are pre-programmed with what to say over time, and that they don’t really “learn” to talk and thus were capable of recording sensitive information. In 1999, Furby's were also banned by The Pentagon, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and the NSA for these reasons to.
 * 9) Their are ~1,000 variant models and ~300 sound\eye\body movement positions.
 * 10) As if all these things about old-school Furbys weren’t creepy enough, now they have a new version with glowing eyes. If you abuse this Furby (throw it against the wall, shake it up, etc.) it will take on a new “evil” persona with slanted, menacing eyes.
 * 11) There are many Furby “possession” stories online. While many of them are probably just creepypastas that aren’t labeled as such, given my own experience with Shelby, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them are true.
 * 12) On September 13 and September 15 2016, over 720 fake 'Parrot Furbys' were crushed in a warehouse in Kruevac, Southern Serbia.
 * 13) Decause of the toy's complexity, furby connect is prone to glitches.

Security concerns


On January 13, 1999, it was reported the National Security Agency of the United States banned Furbies from entering NSA's property due to concerns that they may be used to record and repeat classified information, advising those that see any on NSA property to "contact their Staff Security Officer for guidance."

Roger Shiffman, the owner of Tiger Electronics, stated that "Furby has absolutely no ability to do any recording whatsoever," and that he would have gladly told the NSA this if he was asked by anyone from the spy agency. Additionally, Dave Hampton demonstrated that Furby's microphone can't record any sound at all, and can only hear a single monotonous beep if a loud sound is produced around Furby, and no words or waveforms can be made out at all. He too was never questioned by the NSA. The ban was eventually withdrawn.

Security researchers discovered that the microphone on a Furby Connect can be remotely activated and used to record voice through a Bluetooth connection.

1998-1999 type Furby trivia

 * 1) The Speech Synthesizer is very similar with most electronic devices produced in the 1980s like the Speak and Spell.
 * 2) The same exact speech synthesizer was used in Mr. Potato Head and Monopoly handhelds in 1997, the year before Furby's were first sold in stores.
 * 3) The speech codec is very similar to LPC-10, and CELP (At 2 kbps)
 * 4) In 1998, Tiger and Nabisco partnered up to put Furby images on boxes of Oreos and Nutter Butters.
 * 5) Furby's official release was October 2nd, 1998.
 * 6) Between fur colors, voice pitches, and eye colors, there are over 1000 unique Furby combinations that exist.
 * 7) The Tattletails in the game Tattletail received some inspiration from the 1998 Furby's.
 * 8) Many Furby fakes were made to easily make cash quickly and the response was to put on the purple plastic tags saying ”Furby Original“ with a picture of a Furby on the tag.
 * 9) According to a media director at MIT in 1999, the processing power in a Furby was more than that of the first lunar module to land on the moon.
 * 10) In 1999, Furby's were banned by The Pentagon, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and the NSA. This was because people were concerned that Furby might be capable of recording sensitive information.
 * 11) In Sweden Swedish-speaking Furby's were packaged under the name "Furbee" instead of "Furby".
 * 12) From 1998-1999, Furby remained the top toy for two years, and over twelve million Furbys were sold internationally from October 1998 to December 1999.
 * 13) If you could lay 12 million Furby's from head to toe, they would wrap around Earth 783 times.
 * 14) Between fur colors, eye colors and the sound of its voice, there are over 1000 different combinations of Furby toys available.
 * 15) Furby is capable of using more than 300 different unique combinations of ear, mouth and eye movements.
 * 16) A YouTube named Simply Nailogical starred in two Furby commercials including an unaired Furby commercial which had prototype Furbys in it and another Furby commercial that had aired on TV.

The growing war on Furbys


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Historic value
Second hand 1998 and 1999 ones are selling as of 2019 for between $60 and $250. Limited editions like the Millenium one are collectors items and command higher prices.

Also see

 * 1) Sheeple
 * 2) Spin