Furby
Furby is an American electronic robotic toy created by Tiger Electronics - a subsidiary of Hasbro. Originally released in October 1998, it resembles a sugar glider-like creature and went through a period of being a "must-have" toy following its holiday season launch. More than 40 million Furbies were sold during the three years of its original production, with 1.8 million sold in 1998 and 14 million in 1999. Overall, its speaking capabilities were translated into 17 various languages.
Furbies were the first successful attempt to produce and sell a domestically aimed robot. A newly purchased Furby, or a Furby that has been reset, starts out speaking entirely "Furbish" - the unique language that all Furbies speak - but is programmed to start speaking English words and phrases in place of Furbish over time. This process is intended to resemble the process of learning English.
Four years after the toy's end of production, Hasbro introduced an updated Furby in 2005 called the Emoto-Tronic Furby. This updated Furby has voice recognition and more complex facial movements and was sold until 2007. Furby with black and white LCD eyes and a mobile app was released for the holiday season in 2012. Another updated Furby with color LCD eyes, known as Furby Connect was released in 2016. The last new generation was released in 2023.
History
Initial creation
Dave Hampton and Caleb Chung spent nine months creating the Furby. After two attempts at licensing the concept, they invited fellow toy and game inventor Richard C. Levy to join their efforts to sell Furby. Levy brought Furby to Tiger Electronics and Tiger's Roger Shiffman bought the rights to it. Furby's first public appearance was at the 1998 American International Toy Fair held in New York City.The product officially launched on October 2, 1998. Furbies originally retailed for about US$35, and upon release, they sold very well. Catapulting demand during the 1998 Christmas period drove the resale price over $100, and sometimes as high as several hundred dollars. Furbies were sold for over $300 in newspapers and in auctions. Nicknames were given to the different aesthetic varieties, and sellers assigned rarity values to them.
The significant aftermarket demand for the toy resulted in cases of fraud in which customers paid for Furbies that were never delivered. As supplies dwindled, and when retail supplies ran out, buyers turned to the Internet, where Furbies 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.
Revivals
2005 saw the reintroduction of Furby with the release of the new Emoto-Tronic Furby.On April 12, 2012, it was announced that Hasbro would be making a new line of Furbies. The new line was released in September 2012. As of December 2012 there were sixteen colors: teal, white, black, purple, tangerine-tango, yellow, aqua, navy blue, plum, pink, pink/teal, orange/blue, black/pink, blue/yellow, teal/purple, and gray/teal.
Furbies were one of the eleven toys named the top toys for Christmas 2013 by the Toy Retailers Association at the DreamToys Convention where they unveil their predictions for the most popular holiday toys annually.
In 2025, Furby was named a finalist for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play.
Types
First generation (1998–2002)
The main reason for their popularity was because of apparent "intelligence", as reflected in their ability to develop language skills.Furbies can communicate with one another via an infrared 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 as they "grow". According to the variant, it knew 9 languages.
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.
McDonald's Happy Meal toy Furby-Shelby was released in 2000 in the United Kingdom, there are 8 to collect in total. These toys can sing to each other via a sensor in their feet.
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 eyecolors.Furby Friends
Novel Furbies were also released, including an interactive Furby-style "Gizmo", from the film Gremlins, a Furby-style "Interactive Yoda" based on the Star Wars character, and a Furby-style "Interactive E.T." 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, and they laugh when "tickled". 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".Second generation (2005–2007)
Emoto-Tronic Furbies were released in August 2005. Larger than the previous version, the new Furbies were 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. It knew only seven languages.Emoto-Tronic Furby Babies
In 2006, a new version of Furby Baby was released, with the most notable features being the new look and a more "babyish" 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 a 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 have three color combinations, they can sing three new songs and dance. They can be taught dance routines and remember them.Third generation (2012–2015)
A new Furby was released in the fall of 2012. It has new monochromatic LCD eyes, a wider range of motions and the ability to adapt its personality in reaction to user behavior. Compared to the first generation, variants with Russian, Chinese, Mandarin, Korean and Polish were also produced, increasing the number of languages to 14. The on-off switch is replaced with a reset button; the Furby turns itself off after one minute of inactivity. It had its own iOS and Android app Furby, it communicated with one's Furby via high pitched sound. The application was however later removed from mobile app stores.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 an LED backlight and the printed image is stereoscopic so that it changes depending on the viewing angle. The Party Rockers do not have any moving parts.