The 70s meets the 90s meets the 21st century with this latest electronic pet.
Hasbro’s infamous Furby is the first piece of crossover merchandise for the upcoming “Star Wars: The Force Awakens“, combining the traditional design of the electronic Furby with the personality and aesthetics of Chewbacca the Wookiee, bandolier and all. This new creature’s name: Furbacca.
The original Furby line-up was released in 1998 by Tiger Electronics and sold over 40 million units during its initial three-year production. They were revived in 2005 with voice recognition by Hasbro, and again in 2012, where they were upgraded with LCD eyes and a mobile app that allowed users to virtually feed and groom their Furbies.
The original Furby had a retail cost of $35, the 2012 version $65.
Furbacca will be retailed at $79.99. Its new functions include the ability to roar like Chewie, hum the Star Wars theme, increased sensor interactivity, and the ability to display images of X-Wing Fighters and Star Destroyers in its LCD eyes, in addition to the regular Furby functions.
Fans of Furby may remember that the toy has only ever been themed for one other film character, Gizmo from “Gremlins”, though the technology has been utilized for a talking Yoda toy, as well as a talking E.T. From mogwai to Wookiee, Furby continues to be one of the hottest-selling toys of all time and this crossover will help to promote both Hasbro and Lucasfilm, leading up to the release of the new Star Wars film. Perhaps Furbacca will make a cameo?
Furbacca has a planned release date of Fall 2015.
