Witness Furby Boom shower, lay an egg, go to the bathroom (video)
Last year, Hasbro reinvented 1998's hottest stuffed holiday sensation for the early 21st century. Furby got a full-on reboot, bringing improved locomotion, wireless communication, a tablet app and some vaguely creepy glowing eyes to the robotic pet. The toy company opted not to wait another decade and a half for an update, offering up Furby Boom for the world to see today. On the surface, the update looks a fair amount like last year's model -- same moving beak, glowing eyes (with more emotional options) and twitching pointy ears. This time out, however, the company's offering "six fashion forward patterns" on its fur, including waves and zigzags, with more coming later in the year. Things have been souped up a bit inside, including more on-board storage.
The real upgrades, however, are mostly on the software side of things. The new Furby Boom app, which is coming to iOS and Android, ups the ante for Furby activities. Owners can use it to name their Furby -- a name the toy its Furby friends will learn. It also requires some standard pet maintenance, featuring meters for health, hunger, cleanliness and, yes, bathroom breaks. If your Furby gets low on any of the above, you'll have to help it out. We'll save the graphic description for the video after the break, because really, why read about a Furby taking a dump, when you can watch it in glorious 720p?%Gallery-194298%
The new app is only compatible with the Furby Boom, though both generations will still be able to communicate with one another. It'll be hitting stores this fall, for $65 a pop -- $5 more than its predecessor. The app is free and features some content that can be enjoyed without a Furby, though obviously you're gonna have to shell out the $65 if you want the full experience.
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FURBY BOOM
A global sensation following its 1998 debut and one of Holiday 2012's hottest playthings, the FURBY brand has solidified its place in pop culture history. In fall 2013, the creature with a 'MIND OF ITS OWN' will once again revolutionize digitally-integrated play and surprise and delight fans of all ages with the introduction of the state-of-the-art FURBY BOOM creature. Featuring all the 'magic' and personality of its predecessor plus twice the content, the new FURBY BOOM creature combines physical and digital play for a fun type of entertainment experience including the ability to hatch digital FURBLING friends. The FURBY BOOM creature takes kids on a digital adventure via their mobile device as they raise, care for and play games with their playmate.
As owners play with and care for their FURBY BOOM friend they will earn colorful virtual eggs that in time will each hatch and become a FURBLING virtual friend. Both owners and FURBY BOOM can feed, play, and interact with the virtual FURBLING creatures who speak both English and FURBISH. Most game play incorporates both physical and digital activity such as "Furball," a soccer style game where the FURBY BOOM creature and the FURBLING virtual friend 'kick' a soccer ball back and forth on an onscreen 'field.' Fans will be able to collect over 50 eggs within the FURBY BOOM app by and eventually build a FURBY BOOM city. Eggs can be earned through game play within the app, exchanges among other FURBY BOOM owners, and a few surprises to be announced later in the year that will utilize QR codes. Through game play, FURBY BOOM owners can also earn FURBUCKS virtual currency which can be used to enhance their FURBY BOOM city.
Using the new, free FURBY BOOM app owners can personalize, interact with, and care for their new furry friend. An interactive dashboard feature monitors the well being of your FURBY BOOM creature including its happiness, hunger, and cleanliness levels. Each app can monitor wellness levels for multiple creatures at one time! As owners engage with the app, their FURBY BOOM friend will react. If the dashboard indicates that it's time for a cleaning, users can access the app's shower feature and watch as FURBY BOOM physically reacts to the 'temperature' of the water! The FURBY BOOM creature also features an enhanced memory function that will allow it to remember the other FURBY BOOM friends it encounters. The personality of each FURBY BOOM is shaped by how you play with it, with the possibility of five brand new personalities to evolve. Owners can 'get to know' their new friend through all new LCD eye animations that express the 'emotions' of one of the new personalities of the FURBY BOOM creature.
At launch FURBY BOOM will be available in six fashion forward pattern combinations including waves, stripes and zigzag designs. Four additional patterns will be available later in the year. The free FURBY BOOM app will be available for download at the App Store and Google Play. The FURBY BOOM app is not required for FURBY BOOM play. FURBY BOOM requires four "AA" batteries, not included. FURBY BOOM is available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.
