- Hasbro is releasing a new Furby for the 25th anniversary of the toy's original release.
- Furbys were popular in the late '90s, selling 40 million toys in the first three years.
- Addressing the fears of those that remember, the Amazon listing confirms: Furby will have an off switch.
An iconic — or irritating, depending on who you ask — toy of the 1990s is making a return this year.
Hasbro recently announced the 25-year anniversary redesign and return of the Furby, everyone's favorite (or least favorite) nonsense-spouting, fuzzy, chatterbox hamster-owl-creature-thing.
The toy is now available on Amazon and will hit the shelves July 15, Hasbro said in a press release. Addressing a key fear of many who may remember the Furby from childhood, the Amazon listing makes sure to point out that the new Furbys can indeed turn off.
"Even better, Furby can power down when the fun is done for the day," one bullet point reads.
The original Furby, which first came out in 1998, sold at least 40 million units in the first three years of the toy's existence.
As many parents quickly learned, however, their child's new favorite toy had no off button. That meant that unless you took the batteries out, Furbys were liable to unexpectedly "wake up" and just start chatting away in the middle of the night.
It was a little too reminiscent of Chucky, the murderous doll villain of the horror film "Child's Play."
The NSA even banned the toys from its building in 1999, citing concerns that recording devices placed into the toy could capture sensitive information. An executive with Tiger Electronics told the Wall Street Journal in 1999 that making the toys incapable of shutting off was meant to mimic a real pet, as "you just can't turn your cat or dog off and on."
Some later generations produced in the mid-2000s and early 2010s had versions of sleep modes and off switches, giving some relief to those who didn't want to constantly interact with the toy.
The toys have remained relevant throughout the 25 years since the original release with occasional updates and customizations, memes, nostalgia purchases, an appearance in Adam Sandler's 2019 hit "Uncut Gems," and even a recent ChatGPT infusion. The #Furby hashtag has more than 500 million views on TikTok, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Hasbro said it's hoping people who owned a Furby as a child will remember them fondly enough to want to buy one for their own children.
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