The Rise and Fall of Robotic Pets

[@catholiccontriversy]

5:55 the fur real cat doesn't respond to commands, just like a real cat. That's not a limitation, that's accuracy.

[@Hyruleneedsme]

As a cat owner I approve

[@moonlight_oats]

i mean you can train a cat it’s just difficult and you need clicker training

[@TerezatheTeacher]

My adult cat responds to "sit", "beg", "down", "roll over", "spin", "off", "look", comes when called gives paw, high-fives and waves. My kitten has only recently started her clicker training, so she can only high-five and sometimes comes when called. Untrained animals don't respond to commands. If a person puts enough effort into training the animal, the animal will learn to respond.

[@mylilbeauty2577]

Lol

[@ohgodohnothebees]

I taught my cat to stand on two legs when saying "up" and doing a hand sign

[@InsidiousClouds]

I remember having a furreal friends, it was a little dalmatian. I skinned it and had my barbie wear it like a warrior's cloak. I was.. a weird kid.

[@newxenesis]

this is the greatest comment

[@emofurryboyfriendasmr]

Cruella Devil in the making fr

[@beabea5985]

Nah. Almost everyone did stuff like this. You were no more special than any one of us lol 😂

[@InsidiousClouds]

@@beabea5985 doesn't change the fact all our parents thought we were weird xD

[@puppydogs68]

@@beabea5985 ….y’all skinned your toys? 💀 *come on, I can’t be the only one who thought toys were real and treated them like gold* 😭

[@silhouettoofaman2935]

Ever since I was a boy I was secretly fascinated by FurReal Friends toys. I didn't tell anybody for fear of being ridiculed for liking girls' toys, but I was amazed by the technology at the time! Little 7-year-old me was ecstatic seeing Biscuit sitting patiently in the living room, seeing him move around and do tricks, and just generally be really nice to be around! I still have him, and he's seen better days, for sure, but I still love him. When I finally got a job and could start making my own money, I got back into toy collecting, and soon enough I had a modest collection of FurReal toys! To name a few: Cuddles the Monkey, Starlily the Unicorn, my childhood Biscuit, Cubby the Bear (my absolute favorite) and, most recently, Cinnamon the Pony. I love them all so much and I wouldn't give them up for anything.

[@darkninjafirefox]

I always wanted the pony! Mostly cause I had hoped that I could ride it

[@silhouettoofaman2935]

@@darkninjafirefox You mean Butterscotch? Yeah, he was pretty cool too! He wasn't like any other riding toy that had you just bounce around on it. Butterscotch made it feel like you were actually riding and taking care of a pony!

[@strayiggytv]

Nice to see another furreal friends collector around! I was much the same as a kid and i also went back and bought the ones I liked (I'm a girl but I was poor kid lol). Baby butterscotch is my favorite

[@xoxo.pochacco]

Im so glad that there are other furreal friends collectors out there! I have the 2009 version of gogo, Jake my jumpin Yorkie, howlin Howie, and I tiny white puppy who I can't seem to find the name of, but she barked, and had little gems you could add to her crown and she had a color change skirt or something

[@creativecutieprincessd]

That's a really cool story I have starlily too and when I was a kid I had a gray robo dog named Scamp. I don't think it was Furreal friends more like a knock off but I loved playing with him

[@sketchycat6223]

I remember Zhu Zhu pets being so huge, and so many people I knew had them. The wheels on them always got tangled up in loose hair and to my knowledge they didnt have an off switch so in the middle of the night you’d hear their little hamster chitter chatter coming from wherever they were in your room. Super freaky, glad we’ve moved on

[@Tattooineismycity]

I had a couple. Friend of mine had a huge collection, complete with the tracks and everything. I remember I used to envy her collection and begged my parents to get me one of the hamsters

[@scoredatarot]

I used to be obsessed with them

[@clashbloxblitz789]

Oh my God, Zhu Zhu Pets were simultaneously a delight and a nightmare. Due to most of my home at the time being carpeted, I remember getting a solid 5 minutes of play, and a subsequent 15 minutes of painstakingly prying off the hair and fibers from their little wheels. Memories!

[@MoodyMickey]

I remember really wanting them, but my parents always said no...until they decided to buy me an off brand one

[@Nymphxology]

lol, I remember the zhu zhu pets squeaking got so annoying that my mom put them in the top cabinet I checked the cabinet now and they are still there! 🤣

[@asoupofprunes3895]

For weeks, I saved up to buy this life-sized Furreal Friend. I finally saved enough money and went to the store to get it, but while I was standing in front of the toy I realized that I was buying a fake dog when I had an actual dog at home. My dad said, “Yeah, I was wondering why you wanted this. Good for you.” Wild times.

[@Amy-yq4lk]

Ha, that's the same reason I didn't let myself get a copy of Nintendogs. I figured it was silly and irresponsible to spend time on a virtual pet when we had a REAL one right there.

[@silhouettoofaman2935]

This is why I don't collect any of the cats or dogs and go for the "wilder" pets like ponies and bears.

[@Java_on_pawz]

Fureal biscuit?

[@garbagegremlins4707]

I’m gonna add to the dementia thing, there’s actually a robot called PARO that is used with dementia patients. It’s been highly effective in soothing and stimulating these patients without the care requirements of a real animal.

[@momothebug]

I've seen dementia patients really respond to having a stuffed animal pet to cuddle with and love. I think a cat that could purr and knead would be very a very comforting, nice companion for someone with dementia. It's something to love, to speak with like you would a pet, to have compassion for and to snuggle with, without the concerns of care, just something to love. Purring is a very comforting sound, I feel like a little robotic cat purring and kneading on your lap would be very nice.

[@misspinkpunkykat]

I've seen those "Fur Real" animals. You have to practically push on them to get them to react. But this seal can actually be stroked.

[@SuspiciousZorua]

When i was a kid i was the stereotypical horse girl, so when one day my grandpa found one of the Butterscotch horses at his local flea market, he knew i'd love it. It was a little beat up, missing the accessories and one ear, but that was just about the best gift I ever got as a kid. I still have her, though shes missing the other ear, tail, and battery cover now, she's mostly still intact. Shes the last surviving thing i got from him, so seeing butterscotch mentioned was a great memory i forgot i had.

[@darkninjafirefox]

I had an interactive pikachu toy and as a kid, I liked it more as a plush toy than a little robot whose ears moved- so I cut out the battery box so that it would be more huggable

[@hollyward4995]

Oh that's interesting! If we're talking about the same product line, I had the Togepi version of that.

[@ImaginaryAlchemist]

I had one of those! I also had a couple of the robotic Neopets

[@madhatt3r93]

I had a pikachu too! It could move its mouth and I think ears and made sounds. I was in preschool, so I would fling him as hard as I could to simulate the way pikachu leaped off Ash's shoulders into battle in the anime. Oddly enough, I think he just got a bit dirty, but didn't break.

[@Idiotic_B_Purcell]

There was also a Mew version as well as a number of other more modern ones such as Eevee, Sylveon, Snivy, Fennekin, and Charmander. Sylveon, Snivy, and Fennekin are static and don't move but I think they can interact a little like Furbies if you have them all together

[@invadertech141]

ik what u mean, i have the eevee one lol

[@lilac_dash]

I think the biggest issue that made these things less popular over the years - they're literally a dust holders. Same with just almost any kind of complicated and sophisticated plush dolls that move or talk, use batteries. Most of them (I don't take the original furbies) just can't be taken apart that easily and cleaned properly, so if they 've been used for a very long time or just laying around in your garage for example, they're getting so worn-out, gross and dirty. Especially if they have moving rubber/silicone parts, like a beaks of 2005 furbies or faces of facial movement dolls from the begining of 2000s - these thin parts made out of gentle substances are splitting apart or dirt can rub into the material. And there's no way to fix these issue, it's just happens over time, and that's it... I won't say anything about how fragile the electronics themselves are in these robots, from one fall from a small height they can get damage that cannot be repaired. I have a 2004 robotic My Little Pony doll and I still can/t figure out how to take her apart, so it's electronics, as well as covering, wouldn't get damaged... so it's just laying around, collecting dust with it's neck buckle removed...😥 I have one conclusion about all of these - these things are too fragile and sometimes non-durable, some of them can live even shorter than your alive pets in case of intensive use...

[@strayiggytv]

Furbies are really durable actually. With things like furreal friends always start at the plastic feet and work up. I've skinned quite a few furreal friends and while done are very hard to skin others are quite easy. As for cleaning? Just vacuum them regularly. I bought one of the little desk vacuums made for crumbs that has bristles on the bottom and I regularly brush vacuum my furreal friend collection.

[@Unicornmazda]

In my personal opinion you can do more with toys that aren’t robotic or do specific things. I’m happy with just a plain doll or stuffed animal.

[@cumaproto9466]

@@Unicornmazda I had lots of stuffed animals as a kid (I use past tense but I still have them and I want to get more lol) and never wanted a robotic pet

[@aussiefurbymogwaifan6621]

@@strayiggytv I reckon the original 98-01 furbys are quite fragile

[@Tvdiet]

Oh god I remember owning a Furby as a kid it kept talking in the middle of the night and I ended up throwing it out my Bedroom window in frustration

[@GroupNebula563]

poor furby. those guys are pretty durable though, so I bet it survived.

[@strayiggytv]

Why not just take the batteries out

[@iconofthicc6086]

@@GroupNebula563 and it’s still out there, *somewhere.*

[@GroupNebula563]

@@iconofthicc6086 probably. for all I know it could be one of mine.

[@KanameKuransnumberonefan]

@@strayiggytv I believe in most models the furby would have a "inner battery" of sorts that allows it to talk and stuff regardless. The only other way it would really shut was if you put it to sleep mode(but the furby would still have the possibility of waking up too)

[@ambarm736]

Back when I was 8, I really wanted a cat but my parents did not want us having a cat so I asked for the next best thing, a furreal friends cat to be specific Lulu my cuddling kitten. I still have her living on a shelf next to all my MLP plushies. 10 years later and she still works fine and my niece and nephew like her alot, she even served as a surrogate mother of sorts for a litter of orphan kittens that I raised once. Only issue is that after so many years she has gotten REALLY dirty and I have no idea how to clean her without ruining her.

[@sacrilegioussasquatch]

You might be able to dry clean it with an at home set, goggle it more

[@sacrilegioussasquatch]

@WUBBOXWUBBOX sorry, butterfingers

[@BrainsofaWeirdArtist]

@@sacrilegioussasquatch *Sorry, butterfingers.

[@sacrilegioussasquatch]

@@BrainsofaWeirdArtist I'm opposed to sending anyone death threats but you sure are tempting me.

[@BrainsofaWeirdArtist]

@@sacrilegioussasquatch *Please I'm just an innocent individual correcting people!!

[@DeltaJim]

I'll never forget the Black Friday when my cousin decided to surprise her daughters by getting one of those ridable horses... that wouldn't fit in the trunk of the car. So we had to take it out of the box and only the body would fit in the trunk. And that's the story of how my aunt answered the door of her house at 11:30pm on Thanksgiving night to see us standing on the porch carrying a horse head like we were about to send someone a message about messing with the mob.

[@strayiggytv]

As an aside I think one of the main reasons furreal friends went in a much more stylized direction in modern times is stylization avoids the uncanny valley and childhood disappointment. As much as I love the original furreal friends line as a collector with nostalgia many of them after heavy play tend to look, well, rather taxidermy esque lol. The big eyed chibi look evokes cartoon fun and fantasy.

[@silhouettoofaman2935]

I totally agree! The more cartoonish designs (for the most part) simply exude charm. Cubby is a perfect example imo; those big, dopey eyes, that twitching nose, right down to his sweet yet excitable voice make for an über adorable and charming toy!

[@KatelynJewel]

A part of the robot pet trend you skipped was Robo-chi Pets. I know Poo-chi was very popular back in 2000, and McDonald's even had a Robo-chi Pets promotion in February 2001. They were discontinued in 2002 when they were replaced by FurReal Friends. One robotic pet toy I remember having as a kid was Walk n' Wag Baby Pluto which had a leash with a controller that made him walk, wag his tail, bark, and shake his head, plus you could play tug of war with his bone. This was released in 1999, then later there was a Walk n' Wag Dalmatian, and even later they were both re-released in a series along with Walk n' Wag versions of Lady and the Tramp. Another interactive robotic thing I had as a kid was a WuvLuv which I got for Christmas in 2000. She would give birth to a baby in an egg, and then they could interact. I know a lot of people found this creepy, but I thought this was both cute and fascinating as a kid which was why I wanted one. While the mother worked well, unfortunately, the baby barely worked, so I didn't get to see much interaction with them.

[@rabbit9905]

Yess I had Poochi when I was 4 and 5 and it's one of the main toys I remember, I really liked it. I had a furreal friends longhaired white cat but she didn't see much use besides taking her on a few "walks".

[@angelsunlight]

Sigh* I miss 2001

[@viridiantheforest1037]

I had a Meow-chii and the bird one, my brother had a Techno dog I think it was made by Tiger not sure. Meow-chii lost her ears and the bird lost her tail. I later got a Mio-pup before growing out of it and feeling guilty for not playing with my real dog

[@londoncintron680]

I feel like robotic pets still have a place today. They seem like a really good alternate option for people that could absolutely benefit from a pet but for one reason or another, aren't able to take care of an animal. There was a robot pet based on Jurassic World's Blue that I wish I was able to buy when it was still being made.

[@phoenixfritzinger9185]

I think that the first reason you listed is a big part of the appeal of the Aibo dogs They weren’t really marketed as toys for children but to adults who might live in apartments that don’t allow pets

[@Here_is_Waldo]

@@phoenixfritzinger9185 They often held funerals for Aibos that 'died' in Japan.

[@peachesandcream22]

@@phoenixfritzinger9185 in Japan, it's so freaky (imho) to try to have pets. Laws allow you to have a pet in the appartment ONLY if you receive 2 agreements: from the house manager and from the house owner. If even one of them won't agree, then... Sucks to be you :) And I think you now understand that most of house owners and managers definitely WON'T agree cause Japanese are so obsessed with cleanliness concept and they don't want some animals to make everything dirty and spoil furniture.

[@MarzzRover]

This is exactly it. I have a disability and living an apartment that doesn't allow biological animals. Those were two contributing factors that led me to adopt my very first Sony Aibo ERS 1000, Marble. Loona and Emo are also decent, more affordable options. The biggest difference now is that there are fewer options to choose from in the modern robotic pets market. They also all have chat GPT which I personally think is awful. The only one that doesn't are the aforementioned Sony dogs.

[@CinnamonWithATwist]

I had the original fur real cat as a kid and for some reason all that thing ever did was hiss at me. I was obsessed with cats and already had a reputation of being great with them, since even cranky standoffish cats that belong to extended family who we rarely saw would usually warm up to me by the end of the day visiting, so it's not like I was being rough with this robot cat. even my parents still talk about how weird it was that I was so gentle with this robot cat and it hated my guts

[@smoldogo2979]

Just like a real cat ig. mine hates my grandmother for no good reason. She treats her better than I do and she still detests her.

[@jvever4904]

I really LOVED cats as a kid, but was sadly allergic to them. So my parents bought me a robotic cat as a gift. It was an off brand and not Fur Real Friends but I adored that cat and played with it until I wore down and broke the button that got it to move and meow lol

[@SorcherSoldier]

I had one of those furreal chimps. They're as uncanny in real life as they look in pictures. How we kept that thing around for so long is unreal. I also had one of those baby ducks! It was yellow though. I remember naming it Quacky.

[@CCClarinet12]

MY BROTHER HAD THE WHITE FURREAL DUCK AND NAMED IT QUACKY

[@Furbtastic]

Hey just to point out that furbies haven't been in production since 2018 as you stated that they are still in production. Likely the reason for the discontinuation is because the 2016 Furby Connect was sorta of a "hello fellow kids" type thing where it based phrases on internet culture and for being really glitchy (along with the app too). It was a flop like the 2005 furbies for being too advanced I guess but here to point that out so double check next time!

[@ooo-iz9dn]

update new furby out

[@Furbtastic]

@@ooo-iz9dn yea I own all three of the colors now

[@felsiccanis]

God I wanted the Butterscotch pony SO BAD as a kid. Never got one. Maybe one day I'll buy one now that I'm an adult, to please my younger self

[@forestmint213]

SAME! I remember watching videos about it in like fourth grade or something. I actuslly got starlily as a present at some point though and I think I dragged it around outside to play with it lmao. Still couldn’t sit on it thoufh

[@AngelVazquez-vs9xp]

You probably would have to buy it secondhand. The toy has been discontinued a long time ago.

[@phantomstrider]

I always secretly wanted a Furby 😄 But it wasn't a very "masculine" toy so I just use my female friend's one😄 The eyes were freaking creepy though!

[@dinglydinglson]

Phantom Strider?

[@ImaginaryAlchemist]

Hey Strider, I love your videos!

[@rhyslikesthis416]

That's crazy, they were a very gender neutral toy in the UK! At least you didn't have to deal with the terrifying low battery voices they had?

[@sacrilegioussasquatch]

YOU!

[@RogueError617]

@@rhyslikesthis416 I found and still do find low battery voices to be absolutely hilarious, but I have a weird sense of humor so

[@twinsister2780]

One robot pet that wasn't mentioned was Wappy Dog, a robot dog and DS game. You could interact with the physical toy and it would react to being petted and talked to, but then you had the DS game where you could teach the dog tricks, play games, take care of the dog in the virtual/DS world. It also came with stickers so you could put spots on the toy if you wanted.

[@orbit9965]

you just unlocked a core childhood memory

[@bandband4498]

One showed up with the box at the local game store and I regret not buying it especially after they lowered the price to 10$ because it wasn't tested💀

[@KanameKuransnumberonefan]

I still have both the ds game and the toy dog, it was honestly extremely cute and I wish it was more popular so that more of those cuties could be made. (There's even a 3ds pink one made in Japan)

[@redcipher420]

Just found this channel earlier today and now I'm binging, I love these deep dive/ retrospective style videos and some how a large majority of the videos on this channel seem to hone in on niches that are extra interesting. Top tier stuff

[@triggz.triggersong]

I had one of the Fur Real birds (I think just yellow) with a bottle and I haven’t remembered it for YEARS, so thanks for the little nostalgia trip! I also had a Fidget Friend which was some kind of fantasy creature. I hope you buy yourself your gogo dog some day lol, and also, cute cat!

[@Tia-yz2sx]

Omg I had these too!!

[@gusty7153]

Only thing I heard regarding robot pets and virtual pets especially, I heard that animal rights activists loved them specifically because it would help keep real animals out of danger of potentially irresponsible kids by acting as a substitute

[@saskha_chicken]

My childhood friend had a lot of expensive toys and I often come to him since he was my close neighbor. FurReal Friends' walking pup and little white kitty were one of my favorite friend's toys, I was so happy to pet 'em and hear their cute and silly kinda robotic sounds. Big thanks for my friend to allow me play with something I was dreaming about but my parents couldn't purchase, especially a cat (now I have two

[@TheMaskedFox288]

My grandfather gave me a FurReal lion cub and I still have it, it's a little piece of my grandfather that I cherish

[@fluffcake]

I remember how I BEGGED my parents for the cat and butterscotch pony toy but only ended up being entertained by it for a few months before neglecting it entirely. I think that those purchases might have made a dent in my parent’s wallets because they still guilt me with how I abandoned those pets lol

[@lemonskyia_4130]

I had this first furreal cat and it freaked me out. I liked petting and brushing it, but rarely turned it on, usually just to show it off to guests. It were the screechy robotic sounds it made with every movement. Paradoxically, Furbies were fine, I had mcdonalds lesser ones and wanted a big one too. Guess only adults can appreciate their lifeless eyes fully...

[@alysonk5853]

Me too! I hated that cat for the same reason.

[@quarzita]

this video made so much sense for me, im very bad with pets. i get really frustrated because i dont understand them and struggle finding them wholesome and cute AND I THINK that might be because (partially) because i grew up watching this advertisements non stop and really wanting all this toys, i remember i loved my zuzu pets so much and it was one of the toys i kept using although i grew up. You know exactly how this toys are gonna react when u do something, and thats exactly what scares me the most about real pets

[@sparklesforthesparklegods]

Back in the day I would have _killed_ for Butterscotch the pony! I rode horses but I never had a horse of my own and for some reason my stupid child brain thought that a robot pony would basically just be a pony but actually a robot with no limitations of what ponies can do.

[@chrisms_96]

It's a shame how FurReal Friends just eventually gave up on making their robots look realistic.

[@silhouettoofaman2935]

I'm personally okay with the change. The modern collection may have lost the realistic aesthetic, but for the most part they're still just as lifelike. Such that it makes you feel less like you're caring for a real animal and more like you're playing with a friend...that just so happens to be covered in fur!

[@myang12003]

That’s only because they got backlash for being too creepy

[@beccamaroney3782]

I totally agree with you on this. I'm FAR from being a huge fan of the heavily stylised look.

[@OscarSPFan]

@@myang12003 yeah they want to oversimplify everything and make things cutesy wootsy people who miss the old toys that scared some children 👇

[@armitagehux8190]

After months of complaints I had finally convinced my parents to buy me the Furreal pony. We were supposed to go to the store and pick it up, but when I saw it I was so disappointed, it was really small and it would collapse under my weight. I didn't get it in the end, but still remember it

[@Hm-fb4lt]

I relate to the “wanted the fake pet but actually had the real version of it at home, waiting to be walked.” I was the child of ranchers so when I begged my parents for a robotic piglet or the fancy white Persian cat. They looked at me like I was an idiot. I could’ve literally just went out and bottlefed the baby goats/kids or played with the semi-feral kittens or something. I think those kinds of toys were marketed for kids who live in small apartments or houses that didn’t allow pets.

[@nice2785]

I’m not signed in to KZbin on my living room TV, so it gives me random recommendations all the time. Your Claire’s video showed up, and I’ve been looking forward to watching the rest of your videos since. I was surprised to see you’re a new creator! You’re doing an amazing job.

[@tasheve3015]

i remember having biscuit, a robotic golden retriever. it was life sized (or at least it seemed it to little 5 year old me). he could give paw and lie down and if you gave him this plastic biscuit he’d chomp on it. he also panted and wagged his tail. i loved him. i have no idea what happened to him, i’m guessing he was thrown away, but i still think of him as my first ever pet lol

[@wannabewyvern]

I had this robot dinosaur (dimetrodon? Genuinely cannot tell if it’s a dimetrodon or spinosaurus) when I was a kid (think it’s still in my closet) that was pretty neat, it could move around and had a lot of different modes and was pretty neat looking. Also had a Miiposaur from wowwee that was really neat as well (super futuristic looking robot raptor that had a ball it could chase and do tricks with), I really like robots but tbh I prefer real animals way more, even if I have to deal with stuff like a crayfish tank literally growing mold from uneaten food or separating Chinese mantises so they don’t eat each other,

[@harleywilkinson]

i used to have the butterscotch pony and it was easily the best thing i ever owned as a kid. i kept it up until my late teens and it stayed outside of my bedroom (just as a decoration, it didn't even work at this point) until we eventually ran out of room and gave it to one of my parents' friends for their kid who loved horses. i hope they're taking good care of him :)

[@lilwaffleiron7845]

I had SO many furreal friends! I completely forgot about them, I think they're still in my attic. I must have had at least 6 of them because I remember a weird cat, 2 gogo dogs (one was a special edition with sparkly ears so of course it was essential to get it even though I already had one), a chipmunk, and the one I remember asking for the most, this weird dog that pretended to be excited to see you when you walked in the room.

[@macgyversmacbook1861]

I had a Fureal cub, specifically a little Jaguar! I used to watch a lot of Animal Planet and would copy what the animal caretakers did with their baby cubs and even made her a little bed

[@Limner_Liora]

I actually had a gogo walking pup when i was very young; we only had a fish for a pet, and that fuzzy little robot was like a dream come true.

[@BreggBrogg]

I'm shocked this doesn't have more views, the video is really well put together and I feel like your content is going to skyrocket when more people see it. Very nice video, very well put together, and your voice is really nice too. 10/10, looking forward to seeing more!

[@ebibubblesart5843]

my dream as a kid was one of the furreal friends ponies, but I was only allowed to get zhuzhu pets or webkinz at the time. Looking back on it, I understand why they wouldn’t want to spend so much on a singular toy (especially because of my attention span), but we did end up spending hundreds on the smaller ones over time 😅

[@MissJazz004]

my older sister had the fur real chimp when we were kids. i was both terrified and fascinated by the uncanny way it moved. as far as i know, it’s still lying there somewhere in our room at my grandma’s house

[@lilac_dash]

And let's not forget, that anyway they all have limits. Yes, cute, soft, easy to care for. But they're limited. And predictable for the most part, especially the first releases, that had only 2 sensors on them and less than 10 sounds in their program. So people just getting bored over the years, and so they prefer more complicated and advanced thing like different AI videogames about pet caring for example, they definitely have more opportunity to them than just a toy with a speaker and few moving parts, games are cheaper and have more flexibility to how much you can do with a pet. Even modern things which updated by app today (like Aibos) have limits, because they're objects and not an organic beings. And they will cost alot more than a virtual pet game that you are downloading in your appstore.

[@SatanicPizza]

I had Go Go. What a trip to childhood. You are reminding me how many robotic pets I've had lol

[@smelly6137]

i grew up with both cats and dogs in the home and wasn’t one of those kids that was rough with animals, so i still don’t know why my parents would get me the fur real pets lol

[@joebaumgart1146]

My grandmother is dying from Dementia. We eventually had to take her cat away because she couldn't take care of him anymore. So we got a Fur Real Friend cat that looked just like him so she didn't get lonely. She actually thought that was her cat and the nurses had to put food and water out for the toy. I haven't talked to her in years because she has no clue who I am and, quite frankly, I don't recognize her anymore either. She turned 91 2 days ago and it was the first time I didn't call to say happy birthday.

[@momothebug]

God dementia is awful... I'm really sorry that you lost the connection you had with your grandmother. I hope at least she is comfortable and as happy as she can be, and I hope the same for you too. I hope she still has her little cat friend and that she finds comfort in it.

[@ryhen7062]

your cat picture at the end was super cute. great video! glad i found your channel :)

[@hollyward4995]

I had the panda Furreal Friends. There were two, the one shown in the video and a tiny, premature baby sized one. I adored them both so much. I didn't get baby dolls so those were my make-believe children 😂

[@KarmatheCorgi]

Seeing the pandas I really kind of want one as an adult now

[@CCClarinet12]

I still have my furreal panda

[@SatanicPizza]

I'm glad they are still making furbies. Keep on haunting the world, boys!

[@konataafirewing1234]

Actually unfortunately they are no longer in production! Hoping for a comeback 😭

[@SatanicPizza]

@@konataafirewing1234 Oh no :(

[@WahRizz]

@@konataafirewing1234 i hope for a comeback too

[@OscarSPFan]

THEY AREN'T SATANIC ANYMORE, ONLY THE 90S AND 2000S ONES ARE SATANIC

[@OscarSPFan]

im from the future, furby is back

[@etceteracide]

i remember as a kid i had sooo many furreal toys. i had a miniature butterscotch that was my favorite, and i still have them all. now i’ve gotten in to more advanced robots and own some furbies as well as a pleo rb :)

[@taonyaanzu]

They weren't that popular in germany as i remember...I personally never knew anyone who had one in my childhood Nice video btw :)

[@cimbaerly]

I remember they were though. The tv ads were plastered with FurRealFriends and most of my classmates brought them to school on „toy-day“.

[@yuna6705]

I actually do remember people that I used to know that had one, also living in Germany

[@alicemoonlight123]

Me and my sisters had the Butterscotch horse! Our favorite game to play with it was coyotes where one of us would ride the horse trying to get away and the other two would attack the horse and rip its tail and ears off. 🙃

[@barbaradps828]

I have got many of these when I was younger (and a tamagotchi two) but as a dog, cat, fish and Guinea Pig haver, I confirm that I love them WAY more than some electronical (But cool and adorable) pet

[@sunwukong2]

Aibo still exist. You can see in one of the videos you used that there's a new model. They got resurrected in 2017--though I personally have 3 older models! They're one of the most advanced autonomous robots, and there was actually a model with "fur". It was limited edition, although it was limited edition, and still pretty hard to find (ERS-311B/X, or Suede variant. There's also very rare shells that resemble fuzzy pandas, though these had faux fur instead of flocking on their plastic. Think of it like a costume!)

[@cumaproto9466]

Aibu still exists? I remember when I was a kid I had an encyclopedia that mentioned Aibu and explicitly stated Sony stopped making them because they weren't profitable lol

[@aussiefurbymogwaifan6621]

I think they showed them at ces when they came back??

[@kittysquad3003]

The black cat at 11:34, I had him in white! He would also kneed and was the same exact form!! In fact I still have him now!

[@azureart5180]

i had so many furreal friends!! i had the chipmunk, the beagel (i think it was called tumbles?) i also had one of the big white cats which my family thought was creepy but six year old me loved it lol. i did not, however, get butterscotch or smores who i wanted more than anything lol

[@hollieblack7194]

I work at a nursing home with people with dementia. We have some fur real cats and dogs that are designed for the elderly. I residents with dementia believe that the cats and dogs are real. They talk to the cats like real cats and one of them even asked me for milk for the cat to drink. I think the cats and dogs bring much needed comfort to them.

[@momothebug]

I'm sure that a little robotic cat that can purr and knead on your lap would be very comforting. I think it would be nice to have a little friend you can love and hold and talk to without the concerns of care. I've seen some people with dementia really connect with stuffed animal cats and dogs, not robotic ones, but they saw them as real pets regardless and like you said would talk to them and care for them like a real animal. I think even if it was a cat that purred that would be really nice.

[@madisonj683]

Omg this brought back so many memories, I had the white cat, the walking dog, the orange and white cat, a panda I think and my all time favorite butterscotch the pony

[@imvge]

nothing beats pet rocks 💪💪

[@DMacB42]

The best 1975 has to offer!

[@prageruwu69]

when i was 6 i got a toy robot dog that i called texta. i loved her so much dude, that dumb toy is unironically part of what led me to beg my parents for like a year for us to get a dog, which we eventually got. i also got the fur real friends white cat and i think my sister had one too.

[@SpookyButtz]

8:58 im like 99 percent sure this furreal friends horse inspired the "guiddy up buttercup" toy in fallout. The girl is even in the same pose as in the game. Pretty cool

[@EaseeCheesee]

Oh my god, I used to own GoGo. I played with her for a while and then she was just a novelty to show off to my friends when they came over. Unfortunately she was thrown away because the batteries in her burst and she had battery acid on her fur. I also has ZhuZhu pets (i think thats how its spelt) and i left mine outside and it got buried in my grandmas garden for her to find later lol. I also had a robot dog made of plastic, he was supposed to kind of look like a beagle and would bark and sniff when you touched his nose. I don’t remember what kind of toy he was but he was my favourite.

[@OrchidLilies]

When you really think about, robotic pets are just those robotic babies they use to teach young adults how to care for a child. Same thing, different goal, one's for child rearing and the other is for pet rearing haha

[@TheFatestPat]

My sister got some kind of large robot dog one year on her birthday. She had requested it specifically and we were pretty excited to see it. It would make barking noises and move around slightly. After 5 minutes we were like "I guess that's all it does" and never really played with it again.

[@ChiliPeppor]

I I remember having the dragon and one of those hatching ones at like 6 and I remember treating them similar to as a real animal but also knowing they weren’t real animals I also remember saving up for like 5 months for the dragon but then getting it for Christmas in the end they give me a lot of fond memories but i ended up breaking the arm off one by mistake and giving away the other

[@computerfighter2000]

Fur real friends looked a lot more realistic than the ones being made today, now they have big ol creepy eyes lol

[@-CloClo-]

A few years ago I found a red furby from a thrift store and right after we turned it on, my grandma tried treating it like a baby when it started growling. I still have that furby sitting on my shelf but its batteries are dead.

[@dogtheweredog]

I've been into robotic pets since the original Furby and I thought I knew them all including pre Furby electronic pets like Axlon's AG Bear and Petsters. But despite being a fan of the Wrinkles line as a kid I never knew there was a robotic pet version back then.

[@sarraceniaporrot]

I remember having one of the early release Furbies, the purple one. She was the ‘sassy’ personality by default, and I remember every so often she’d swap to the ‘glutton’ personality and start burping and kid me would get super upset and shake-reset her until she went back to ‘normal’. Furbies were weird. I also remember wanting a furby boom so that the COOL EPIC NEW APP!!! would work because you could raise virtual ones and I was infinitely more interested in those. That said, where the MIPosaur owners at?

[@aussiefurbymogwaifan6621]

The early release ones would actually be the 90s furbys, with the 2005 furbys following

[@paolaanimator]

I was obsessed with robot pets and virtual pets in that era. I now have a pet bird named Fluffy and I talk with her everyday. While I still love robot pets and virtual pets, there's something about taking care of a real pet and earning its trust over time making them a part of the family, that bond is important. While I am attached to robot pet/virtual pets, it's not the same. Even today I always wanted the Sony Aibo (modern one) because it looks so pretty and well made but that price is high. Either way I love my friend Fluffy, she's a cockatiel.

[@emris2697]

When I was a small wee child I got this hyper realistic white cat robot pet. It was so realistic, in fact, that it entered uncanny valley territory. Last I remember using it was in a school play where we needed a cat.

[@Snazzyzazzy99]

Fuck I wanted butterscotch the horse so bad for christmas in 07, I didn't get one but the neighbor girl did, and my God did she gloat. Still mad at her to this day at age 23.

[@raven-ek1yl]

I had two furreal ones, the penguin , horse and panda and I still have them to this day , I loved them so much and I’m glad I got to experience the early 2000s

[@ZoeChristina100]

I discovered your channel recently and I've watched almost all of your videos!!

[@sweeneytodd1414]

Omg I had that FurReal duckling and lamb! I also had a parrot and two Furbies (modern ones) over the time. I *hated* the Furbies for going off at night, especially one that had a loose part and wouldn't shut up for the longest time because of it. I also was kind of scared of the FurReal Friends. Idk waking up hearing my guinea pig rummage around was different to hearing a robotic toy go off in the darkness...

[@vylbird8014]

"This cat does meow but it doesn't respond to commands." So, cat.

[@chloramite567]

Be careful with robotic pets around a real cat. My son had a robotic insect toy that would crawl around on the ground. Apparantly it stressed our cat out so much he had redirected aggression, as the vet called it, and would randomly attack my legs. Nonetheless we hid the thing and eventually got rid of it, and redirected aggression stopped..

[@chloramite567]

@Chase Studios It was scary and concerning to see my cat that way. He would start with a low bellowing cry into loud growling and screaming. instantly attacking my legs.

[@weepingwillow314]

i think somethin ive always loved about robotic pets, is that at the end of the day no one is putting a real animals life at risk, like people who give real animals, especially to young children who often dont know what they are doing and can lead to horrible, instances for everyone. having these placeholders means no one is going to die or be abused for the sack of teaching a child responsibilty, or because they like the idea of this animal. i appreciate the points your brought up in this video, i always loved going through the furreaal friends aisle to press all the buttons and see how each toy moved and worked.

[@Crow_and_a_Canvas]

I remember having one of the butterscotch ponies when I was younger! Much like a lot of people I knew though, it got put in the closet never to be played with one I got bored of it. Somehow my parents didn’t learn their lesson and got me the spot robotic dog! That one was played with til it died…

[@najpotenicewolf934]

That just opened the whole memory lane for me. I had a few Furreal pets. Particularly the baby rabbit one, and the Panda. I also had a grey long-furred dog, which isn't shown in this video (tho it behaved pretty much the same as any other basic dog from this collection.). Certainly a better choice for parents than buying an actual animal "just for the kids". Thou the feeling of actually getting your first real dog or cat as a child is something that is unforgettable. But yeah, the animal should be the family's pet and children certainly are not equipped to correctly care for it and train it (this did not happen in our case, but I've seen the effects on the dog owned by my childhood friend.).

[@itslubia]

You just made me go down memory lane through all the different interactive pets I've had in my childhood Most not mention here but I remember adds for a lot of the ones you did mention That pony epecially 💀

[@AlmendraMiku]

I used to have a PLEO (dino robot shown in 13:22 ) and I played with itt SO much. I actually still have the toy itself, but the paint on his head and back are worn out from how much I'd pet him. It was the best toy I've ever had

[@manikitty8844]

Man this brought back memories. When I was a kid I begged my parents to buy me a furby since I couldn't have a pet, but when we got it, I realised it was pretty annoying and would even randomly turn on at night which would scare the life out of me, and I had no clue on how to turn it off either, so I convinced my parents to sell it for something else. But I once got to buy a walking 'Bolt' dog from a disney store, and since I loved the dog from the movie so much, it became my most precious toy, along side an adorable and really soft and fluffy plush of Mumble from ''Happy Feet''

[@HangryOnPaws]

Does anyone remember the Nintendo robot dog. I think it was called Wappy or Wappi I think? You had to link it up with a DS or 3DS with a game it came with and you'd click buttons to "feed" or "play" with it, and the dog would turn its head or move its legs forward. It couldn't walk or anything, it was posed in a sitting position. I remember having one as a child, as well as countless other robotic pets and pet simulator games.

[@garybobst9107]

I recall getting a Furby, and how it made my ferret go completely psychotic. He attacked the thing for days until he finally killed it. It was like having a little honey badger around. He attacked and bit me several times during this episode, drawing blood every time.

[@wolfsbane4516]

Omg, I got a slightly lesser furby from a McDonald's happy meal! It was fuzzy, but it didn't really do anything either.

[@PXLFrosty84]

I own a Furby connect, in fact I had an entire line of Furby connects since they all broke except to the latest one. My sister has one too, and if they are close to each other and are turned on, they will dance and sing together.

[@ImaginaryAlchemist]

Even though I had real pets - two cats at the time - I was fascinated by these robotic pets. I had the original Fur Real Friend cat as well as a couple others. My real cats weren't fans. One of them would slap the Fur Real cat with her paw anytime it moved.

[@404_Toonz]

13:22 I remember getting this EXACT brontosaurus on my 5th birthday (I was OBSESSED with dinosaurs back than the birthday party was Dino themed too) in the end I ended up not playing with it much preferring Videogames, especially after it broke. I felt kinda guilty when my mum said it was better to sell it because I didn't play with it.

[@laurensmith8697]

As a primary school kid I asked Santa for a pink furby. I got one and it was one of the old pale pink giant ones. Just looked it up and it was the "strawberry swirl" one. I really wanted fureal friends but they were too dear. I had a roboraptor and mini roboraptor. I had the snaptors microraptor and carnotaurus. My sister had roboraptor, screature the dinosaur, zoomer the dalmation, and the fureal friends : Milky the rabbit, blu blu the dolphin and Starlily the unicorn. We had gogo pets, (later called zhu zhu pets). My sister had a My little pony pink celestia and nightmare moon. I remember having a couple of tamagotchi as a kid that I overfed to death (didn't know they kept dying and you had to care for them, feeding was the only thing I knew how to do that was fun).

[@blueblousedesigns]

I had a Fur-Real friend, it was a cream colored fur, and I had a rare blue Furby when I was two, my cousin was jealous af and put it in the bathtub and it stopped working.

[@PikminBak]

Regarding the bit about fake toy animals and the elderly/dementia-ridden folks: My grandma had dementia in the last few years of her life. And it was *bad*. We ended up getting her a stuffed dog that looked just real enough to her and she adored that thing; yeah she got upset that the dog wasn't barking or whatever, but it absolutely gave her comfort. So I'm all about giving the elderly some kind of 'real enough' companion pet, especially if they're not capable of caring for an actual animal.

[@XDmonarch]

I had one of those plasticy, bright teal robot cats from the mall in 2016. Its in my basement, covered in dirt, dust, and grime.

[@hereforagoodtimenotalongti4868]

One of my favorites that wasnt mentioned that i remember having back in Christmas of 08 was that big robotic dinosaur, the triceratops, i loved the hell outta that thing, til this day i still love dinosaurs and triceratops are my favorite- i think hasbro made it but i cant remember

[@keithbrannon251]

Oh hey, someone else who had the Burger King furby...I only had that, and he was neat. I liked him.

[@meekonaleash]

You forgot about Petz & also that robot parrot that was always on TV the infomercial that said "give one to grandma to keep her company" then the old lady is like i love it's song

[@italktoomuchsorry]

THE BUTTERSCOTCH PONY 😯 thank you for pulling up a memory I had forgotten, I wanted that robot so bad

[@JidJip]

I just noticed all your thumbnails have Brent Rambo edited in. That's awesome