Furby

Two sets of hands hold up five furry owl-like toys in blue, red, yellow, white and pink.
Furby is back! Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/GettyImages

Furby is a furry toy robot resembling an owl—or is it a hamster? It can make different facial expressions, speak hundreds of words (in its own language, Furbish), and shriek incessantly.

Creators

Tiger Electronics and Hasbro

Year
1998
Country
United States 🇺🇸
Categories
Features
Furby commercial from 2005. Video: Hasbro

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Overall Rating

Average Rating: 3.1 stars (11,513 ratings)

Current Ranking: #222 top rated

Would you want this robot?

45% said yes (12,487 ratings)

Current Ranking: #215 most wanted

Appearance

Neutral

Most rated "Neutral" (28,003 ratings)

Current Ranking: #21 creepiest

Did you know?

The U.S. National Security Agency banned Furbies for fear that they might be used to record classified information.

A blue furry toy that resembles an owl, with large eyes, a yellow beak and pointy ears faces the camera, as does a tablet with an image of a cheeseburger.
The new Furby can eat iPad food. Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/GettyImages

History

Furby was originally released by Tiger Electronics in the fall of 1998 and quickly became the must-have toy of the holiday season. According to historian Allison Marsh, the Furby's inventors, David Hampton and Caleb Chung, recognized the durability required for a children's toy as well as the need for it to be interactive and engaging: "The patent describes at length the reversible motor that drove all of the moving body parts, including the ears, eyes, and wings. It also repeatedly mentions the lifelike interactions the inventors hoped children would have with the toy. They wanted the Furby to seem intelligent and capable of learning, which they programmed into the 6502." She notes that the Furby's source code was written by David Hampton and Wayne Schulz "to run on a variation of the 6502 microprocessor, the 8-bit chip that powered the Apple II, Commodore 64, and BBC Micro." The Furby first generation was available from 1998 to 2002. A second generation was sold by toy maker Hasbro from 2005 to 2007. A third and fourth generation, with more expressive LCD eyes and smartphone app connectivity, were in the market from 2012 to 2017, after which they were discontinued. According to some estimates, more than 40 million Furbies have been sold worldwide.

A fluffy white owl-like toy with large purple eyes, a yellow beak, pointy ears and a white fluff on top of its head.
The original Furby. Photo: Hasbro
Almost 40 colorful Furby robots are seen on 5 shelves.
Furbys at New York sanitation worker Nelson Molina's "Treasure in the Trash" exhibition. Photo: Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images

Specs

Overview

Capable of interacting with other Furbies nearby. Designed to develop a distinct personality based on how users treat them.

Status

Discontinued

Year

1998

Website
Height
20.3 cm
Sensors

Light sensor (in the forehead), tilt sensor (inside body), touch sensors (belly and back), microphone.

Power

Four 1.5-V AA batteries

Cost
$35 Original Furby, 1998 price | $60 New Furby