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[Mimitchi]

well... i guess we will all have to see when this finally comes out to public release.

right now I'm thinking.. waste of money.

[Lord Monkey]

Okay, you guys are going to have to decide for yourselves what you believe, but when you read the rest of the comments on that YouTube page, there's a comment left allegedly by a UGOBE PR person named Julie Crabill. She says that the videos were for a demonstration at a particular conference, and that the Pleo was in "demo" mode. The second video was a "back-up" video for the conference in case something went wrong with the demonstration (which had to be exactly six minutes long), and Pleo was in demo mode for that video too, hence the identical motions. (I assume "demo" mode is a pre-set program of motions designed to give people a taste of what it can do, like the Robo Sapien dance.) The company maintains that when Pleo is released to the public, it will have all the features they described and be totally interactive. They even claim that it develops a unique personality as it learns, which can take up to three years.

The whole controversy is summarized in the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleo

So, you decide what you want to believe!

I almost think that that concerns me more about the quality of the product. I mean, let's say that demo mode means exactly what you've surmised (and I think you're spot on in your assumption), that would mean that it can hardly walk, has no facial expressions to emote any kind of personality, and has very little response to physical interaction. I can understand if the product wasn't fully functional in terms of being able to actively respond to outside stimulus, the problem is that even when it was scripted to perform in demo mode, what it did was just boring.

The wiki article says that they anticipate that the Pleo will be able to interface with SD cards and USB devices. The only robotic pet I'm aware of that has done something similar is the Aibo, but there's some significant differences. An Aibo just does more that can take advantage of reading a memory stick. It has a much wider range of motion, allowing for those dance mods that were available for a while. It has a wireless network card in its head so that it could transmit audio and video to your home network, and you could transmit email to it in case you wanted it to read it to you for some reason. The apps to do these things were placed on a mem stick and uploaded into the Aibo. I'm just curious as to what you could feed into a Pleo via mem stick that would be of any value; strictly entertainment or otherwise.

I'm sure more information will come before its release, but since almost no information exists in terms of technical specifications even on its own website, Ugobe has a lot to make up for if it plans to compete with similar toys that have existed for years.

[CaffeineChick05]

I saw that video when I was first looking up info on Pleo, and at first I was pretty dissapointed but then I read what the makers said about it, how it was in demo mode. I guess I kind of compared it to the new Furbies. When you see those in the store they are on a demo mode, that doesnt showcase anything that they can actually do, so Im still holding out hope that Pleo might be the 'poor person's solution to an AIBO" though realistically, I know it wont be nearly as advanced. Still, it will be interesting to see how it shapes up as it comes closer to being released...

[Priestess of Syrinx]

Well, seeing the videos and everything said and linked to here, I must say, I find myself unsure of what to think.

Preprogramming everything for an example model to do is common (even the ones with the most user-friendly interfaces, where simply telling it what to do on the spot would work just as well). I can't help but believe that those were on demo modes and not the finished product, or what you can expect to play with should you buy one. Everything has a certain amount of scripting, but I don't think it would just cycle through actions with no interaction whatsoever.

There have been 'poor mans AIBO's before, like the I-Cybie. For now, I can see Pleo being a dinosaur-type RoboSapien, possibly without the controller.

Still doesn't explain the 350$ price tag...
Maybe we'll see a reason for it, closer to release. Ugobe has said they'll be encouraging user modifications, though, so maybe someone will find a way to make it better.

[Chi]

Yeah...I can see both sides of the issue.  Personally, I think Pleo is a cute idea, since we all have those nostalgic moments about "Oh, poor dinos!  I wonder what it'd be like to meet one?" as children.  (Or at least I did.)  But from the standpoint of someone who's no longer a child, I don't really see myself getting one, for example.  I think it'd scare the heck outta my dog, though...   

[Madcow]

Aww the Pleo is cute..As far as the scripted thing, I'm sure that it was just in demo mode (similar to the "Try Me" mode on the new furbies).  I doubt that I'll spend 350 dollars on it though..and I don't know who else would pay that much...but let's see I guess.

[acidiica]

Aww the Pleo is cute..As far as the scripted thing, I'm sure that it was just in demo mode (similar to the "Try Me" mode on the new furbies).  I doubt that I'll spend 350 dollars on it though..and I don't know who else would pay that much...but let's see I guess.

Probably people who either
A: are really interested in it and like the idea of it or
B: have run out of places to spend their money.

I don't have anywhere near that kind of money, so i can't even think about it, hehe

[Madcow]

Yeah I was thinking the other day, and I was like..Why would you spend 350 dollars on a robotic "life form" when you can just buy a real animal for way cheaper? I mean I know people are allergic and stuff..LOL but idk. It seems silly to me. Unless it's AIBO, because those things are awesome.