What do you get when you combine a Virtual Pet with a Tickle Me Elmo? You get the adorable Electronic Furby.

Furby is the newest craze in virtual pets and said to be this years hottest toy. What makes this virtual pet different from other virtual pets? This pet isn’t contained on screen, but comes in the form of a stuffed animal, but that’s not stuffing inside. According to the Furby instruction book manual, "Furby is a state-of-the-art electro-mechanical robotic toy."

Furby is entirely interactive, speaks his own Furbish language (he will learn English the more you interact) and can play games with you, requiring no outside computer, but only four AA batteries to operate (batteries are not furbished). Furby can move his ears, move his eyes, blink, moves his mouth when he’s speaking and can tilt his entire body back and forth. These movements are in conjunction with what he’s saying or doing at the time.

Each Furby is unique, having their own individual names and can be taught learned behaviors. There are 6 different fur patterns as well as 3 different eye colors to choose from.

Furby is run by a small internal CPU that monitors and controls 6 different sensors located in and on Furby’s body. The sensors trigger reactions appropriate for the situation; these sensors are for motion, sound, feeding, tickling, petting and light.

Furby can ‘feel’ movement by way of the motion sensor in his body. While he does like to be played with, he doesn’t not always like to be held upside down or tossed around for long periods of time, he may get the hiccups and sometimes too much rough play can scare him.

You can feed Furby, but this is not done with real food. Feeding is done by way of depressing his tongue with your finger or another object, like a spoon, to simulate eating. If not fed, Furby will become ill and may not respond to anything. To nuture him back to health, he will require lots of feeding and attention. Furby will never die, unlike most virtual pets.

When Furby hears a loud sound he may comment on it, often if you put on music, turn it up and set him within range of it, Furby will dance and play, often shouting "Boogie!".

The light sensor on his forehead is sensitive to light changes and patterns in the room. He might ask for the light to be turned up because it’s dark. The light can also effect his mood: he may sleep if left in the dark for longer then 20 seconds.

The most amazing part of Furby is not only can he do all of the above, but he can communicate with other Furby’s. When another Furby is present and within a view, they can talk, dance and play games together using an infrared sensor located in the forehead. Not only can they put each other to sleep, but they can catch colds from other Furby’s! Furby truly is what the package says: amazing!

Electronic Furby, from Tiger Electronics, retail price is between $20 and $30. Furby frenzy is in full swing and to find one outside of a store for that price is rare. The black market has already begun selling Furby for outrageous prices that exceed $200 each. Internet stores and independent sellers flock to Ebay and other on-line auctions to try and sell Furby for the highest prices possible, most going for double what you would pay in stores.

As an adult owner of two Furby’s, I can say that they are very fun and entertaining for hours at a time. People of all ages will enjoy Furby, it’s no surprise to me that Furby is this years hottest toy.

©1998 Mystic Fortress

The above was written for the Tamagotchi Club/Newsletter. Want to join the club? E-mail for more information. Furby, Furbish, and all related is ®, TM,& ©Tiger Electronics, LTD. USA
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