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A Furby (plural Furbys or Furbies, according to 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 and 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 learn more English. The more English they learn, the more they "grow", thus placing them under the autonomous robot category.

In 2005, new Furbys were released, with voice-recognition and more complex facial movements, among many other changes and improvements.

Contents 1 Birth of the Furby 2 Furby types 2.1 Classic Furby 2.2 Other Furbys 2.2.1 Furby Babies 2.2.2 Furby Friends 2.2.3 Emoto-Tronic Furby 2.2.4 Emoto-Tronic Furby Babies 2.2.5 Emoto-Tronic Funky Furby 3 Furbish-English Phrases 4 External links 5 References

The name Furby apparently comes from the prototype which one of its creators David Hampton nicknamed 'Fur-ball'. In appearance, the Furby resembles a furry owl with large ears. 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 his 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,^[1], and upon release Furbys flew off the shelves in toyshops. Catapulting demand for these toys during the 1998 holiday season drove the resale price over one hundred dollars and sometimes as high as several hundred dollars. Furbys sold for over 300 dollars 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. And in a sure display of the demand for even one Furby, there were some sellers at the time that scammed people out of a lot of money, some didn't even give them a Furby. Parents battled and there were arguments and fights as supplies dwindled, and when retail supplies ran out, parents turned to the Internet, where Furbys could be purchased for twice, three times or even more of their market price. This action led to many parents ending up on eBay; due to this and the density of parents searching for at least one Furby, some cite the Furby as the major spark that started ebay's success. There were 27 million Furby toys sold for a 12-month period.^{[citation needed]}

The original Furbys were 6 inches tall. The main reason that many people liked them was their apparent "intelligence" and learning ability as they developed their language skills. They were reported to come from Fimbleland (also noted for the origin of The Fimbles)

They can communicate with one another via a heart-shaped infrared port. Furbys start out speaking entirely Furbish, a language with short words, simple syllables, and various other sounds, but are programmed to speak less and less Furbish and more and more English 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.^[2]

Simple electric motors and a system of 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 still 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.

In 1999 the Furby Babies line was introduced. Furby Babies are smaller than the original, have higher voices, and can't dance, but switch to speaking English more quickly.

Novel Furbys were also released, including an interactive Furby-like Gizmo, from the movie Gremlins, (which is ironic, because Warner Bros. was, at one time, enamored with a lawsuit against Hasbro for the similarities between Furby and Gizmo^{[citation needed]}) a Furby-like Interactive Yoda based on the Star Wars character, and a Furby-like Interactive E.T. from the movie of the same name. Another 'friend of furby' called Shelby, who is similar to Furby, but looks like a clam, has vast improvements in memory, and has a different personality, was released in 2001 and can communicate with the original Furbys and Furby Babies. They also have sensors that can sense loud sounds, they can sense being upside down, and they laugh when you "tickle" them. They also purr when you "pet" them. You can feed them by sticking your finger in their mouth. Similarly, Shelbys do not have their own names, unlike the classic Furbies.

The new species of Furby was released in August 2005. They're larger than the previous version, and have been upgraded with a more emotional face and a voice recognition system, enabling them to communicate with humans. Unlike the Furbys originally released, just one order is necessary to make them 'sleep', and they have an off switch. They can communicate with other Emoto-tronic Furbys and new Furby Babies, but they cannot communicate with the original Furbys. They also lack light sensors and basic motion sensors.

In 2005 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.

The Funky Furby was released in August 2006 outside the US. They're limited to four color/colour combinations so far, and can sing three new songs and dance. They can be taught dance routines and remember them.

Although they are able to respond to other phrases and words, the Emoto-tronic Furby will answer the following without problem:

• wee-tah-kah-loo-loo: Tell me a joke
• wee-tah-kah-wee-loo: Tell me a story
• wee-tee-kah-wah-tee: Sing me a song
• u-nye-loo-lay-doo?: Do you want to play?
• u-nye-ay-tay-doo?: Are you hungry?
• u-nye-boh-doo?: How are you?
• u-nye-way-loh-nee-way: Go to sleep now
• u-nye-noh-lah: Show me a dance

Furbys may say these Furbish words:

• doo?: What? (Furbys say this when they're called)
• doo-dah: Yes (Furbys say this in response to a command before doing it)
• boo: No (Furbys say this when they don't want to carry out a command)
• yoo?: Why will you not play with me today? (This usually means he/she is upset or peeved)

• Official site
• BBC H2G2: Furbys

1. ^ "New toy an interactive fur ball", CNN, 1998-10-05. Retrieved on 2007-07-13. 
2. ^ "Furby a threat to national security?", CNN, 1999-01-13. Retrieved on 2006-12-18.