PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- June 8, 2005 -- While the new species of FURBY - the interactive toy from Hasbro, Inc's Tiger Electronics that sparked a 'must-have' phenomenon during the 1998 holiday season - won't arrive in toy stores until August - 1,000 of the evolved creatures will debut online June 13 for an exclusive pre-sale event.
Fans eager to own the new FURBY, which will now communicate with both words and emotions, can purchase the toy at www.hasbrotoyshop.com beginning Monday, June 13, 2005 at 10 a.m. EDT. Pre-orders will only be accepted on the site while supplies last (one per customer, see Web site for further details.) The toy will ship on approximately July 15, 2005 (approximately two weeks before FURBY hits toy store shelves) and will include a certificate of authenticity stating it is one of the first 1,000 evolved FURBY creatures to be sold at retail. The pre-sale price will be $39.99 (plus shipping and handling) , which is also the approximate retail price for customers who purchase the toy in store later this summer.
"The pre-sale of FURBY on HasbroToyShop.com gives FURBY fans a great opportunity to be one of the first to own this amazingly realistic creature," said Brian Goldner, Hasbro's Toy Group president. "Ever since we announced in February that FURBY was returning, we have received tons of e-mails from fans who are excited to play and interact with the new, evolved FURBY species."
The new FURBY features EMOTO-TRONICS, the ultimate combination of advanced robotic technology, puppetry, and realistic lifelike reactions and movements. EMOTO-TRONICS allows the FURBY creature to react based on how a child interacts with it. For example, advanced voice recognition allows FURBY to 'listen' to his owner and respond based on the toy's 'mood'.
FURBY creatures can speak, dance, sing, tell jokes, play games and express their moods in a variety of ways. A fully flexible beak, expressive eyes, and movable ears and eyebrows make it possible for the creature to smile, laugh, frown and even produce an awe-filled gasp.
The new FURBY retains the bi-lingual speaking element that made it so popular seven years ago. In 2005, FURBY has greatly enlarged its vocabulary, speaking hundreds of programmed words and dozens of phrases in English and "Furbish", which is the toy's native language. Worldwide, FURBY creatures will be available in English, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. (Note: only English FURBY creatures will be available during the online pre-sale event.)
The toy is larger than the original to accommodate a multi-motor system that doubles the toy's animation features. FURBY will initially be available in white, black and white, gray and pink, and brown and pink, with additional colors to follow later in the year.
Sales on HasbroToyShop.com are limited to U.S. residents only and are subject to the terms and conditions of use of the Web site.
FURBY is one of the best-selling toys ever with 40 million pieces sold globally. It quickly became a historic best seller and a cultural phenomenon when it hit the market in 1998.
Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.
