There aren’t many children in the early 90s and 2000s who won’t remember the familiar bleating noises of a Furby. After all Hasbro did sell 40 million of them globally between 1998 and 2000.
But just as quickly as they rose to fame and fortune they disappeared back into obscurity, seemingly never to be heard from again.
Until the makers of Furby decided to concoct a brand new style of fluffy toy with tech upgrades suitable for Generation Alpha.
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The latest Furby, which has hit Australian shelves in Toymate, Kmart and Big W, features five voice activated modes and over 600 responses, including lights, sounds, and 10 unique songs.
You can choose between two colours for the moment – purple and coral – and they retail for $99.99.
“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,” said Marketing Manager, Fashion & Preschool at Hasbro Australia Lisa Van Ross.
“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.”
Furby responds to five simple commands in various ways so children only need to tell it “Dance Party,” “Copycat,” “Tell My Fortune,” “Let’s Chill,” or “Lightshow” for an un-fur-gettable time.
“Over the past few years, we’ve done a lot of research to understand what kids would want to see in a new Furby,” said Lisa.
“Through this research, kids told us that it was important for Furby to be their ultimate best friend – a furry companion to do all the things a BFF would do, like dance to music, share fortunes, meditate, mimic each other in silly voices, and even put on a light show, and that’s exactly what we created.”
Furby also responds to hugs, pats, belly tickles, shaking and feeding of its pretend Pizza Charm.
Kids can care for Furby by feeding them, combing their hair, and dressing them up with the included clip-on beads and fashion accessories.
The Furby craze of the early noughties drove auction prices above retail prices and even saw the innocent toy banned from the National Security Agency (NSA) premises in Maryland.
If you want to shop the latest Furby, head over to Big W here.