You remember the eyes. Those giant, blinking, motorized shutters that seemed to track you across your bedroom in 1998. Furby wasn't just a toy. It was a cultural phenomenon that caused actual riots in Target aisles and got banned from the NSA because people genuinely thought the fuzzy robots were international spies. They weren't, obviously. They were just sophisticated bundles of infrared sensors and gears that spoke a gibberish language called Furbish. But the obsession didn't stop in the nineties. When the Furby Boom hit the scene over a decade later, it proved that our weird collective fascination with digital life wasn't a fluke.
Most people think of these things as shelf-sitters. Dust collectors. Honestly, though, the engineering behind the original Furby and the later Furby Boom models represents a specific pivot point in how we interact with technology. It transitioned from "this is a tool" to "this is a presence."
The Glitchy Magic of the Original Furby
Tiger Electronics took a massive gamble. Dave Hampton and Caleb Chung spent years trying to cram enough processing power into a cheap plastic shell to simulate a personality. They succeeded too well. When the first Furby launched at Toy Fair, it didn't just walk; it spoke. It learned. Or at least, it gave the very convincing illusion of learning.
People got freaked out.
The most common misconception about the 1998 Furby is that it actually recorded your voice and repeated it back to you. It couldn't. It literally didn't have the memory capacity for that. Instead, it was programmed to slowly replace Furbish words with English ones over time. This clever bit of coding made owners feel like they were "teaching" their pet. It was an early masterclass in user psychology. You weren't just playing with a toy; you were raising a creature.
The hardware was surprisingly fragile, though. If you dropped an original Furby, you might end up with the "Me-Me" glitch, where the motor would get stuck, and it would just scream its own name in a loop until you ripped the AA batteries out. It was nightmare fuel for an entire generation of kids. Yet, despite the glitches, or maybe because of them, the toy became an icon.
How Furby Boom Changed the Game
Fast forward to 2013. The world had changed. We all had smartphones in our pockets, and Hasbro knew a physical toy wasn't enough anymore. Enter the Furby Boom.
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This wasn't just a plush refresh. The Furby Boom introduced LCD eyes that could display hundreds of different icons—fireballs, hearts, little dancing chickens—giving the toy a range of emotion the original could only dream of. But the real kicker was the app integration. You could "digitally" feed your Furby, take it to a virtual X-ray station, and even have it lay digital eggs.
These eggs hatched into "Furblings."
Suddenly, the toy was an ecosystem. If you owned a Furby Boom, you weren't just managing one physical creature; you were trying to collect dozens of digital ones. It was a precursor to the "connected play" trend that eventually dominated the 2010s. The app allowed for a level of depth that made the 1998 model look like a toaster. You could name your Furby, and it would remember it. Other Furbies would even say each other's names when they "talked" to one another via infrared sensors.
It was social. It was addictive. It was also incredibly loud.
The NSA Ban and Other Weird Myths
We have to talk about the security thing. It’s too good to ignore. In 1999, the National Security Agency actually issued a memo banning Furbies from their Fort Meade headquarters. They were terrified the toys would record classified conversations.
They were wrong.
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The 1998 Furby used a simple microphone that only detected sound levels, not actual speech patterns. It knew if you were shouting, but it didn't know what you were saying. Roger Shiffman, the co-founder of Tiger Electronics, famously had to issue a statement saying that while Furby was smart, it wasn't a secret agent. Still, the myth persisted. It gave the toy an edgy, slightly dangerous reputation that only helped sales. Kids wanted the toy that was "too smart for the government."
Why They Still Matter in 2026
You might see these things at garage sales now and think they're relics. They aren't. Collectors hunt for rare colors like the "Kid Cuisine" Furby or the "Bejeweled" one. More importantly, the Furby Boom and its predecessors paved the way for modern AI companions.
Think about it.
Before we had Alexa or sophisticated GPT-driven robots, we had this round, vibrating fluffball that demanded to be fed at 3:00 AM. It taught us how to anthropomorphize code. It bridged the gap between a stuffed animal and a computer. When you look at the newest 2023/2024 Furby releases, you see the DNA of both the '98 original and the Furby Boom. They’ve simplified the tech a bit—moving away from the complex app requirements because, frankly, parents hated handing over their phones—but the core "soul" of the toy remains the same.
Keeping Your Furby Alive: Practical Tips
If you've dug an old Furby Boom or an original 1998 model out of your attic, don't just shove batteries in and pray. There are things you need to know.
First, check the battery compartment for corrosion. If you see white, crusty stuff, that's leaked acid. You can usually clean it with a Q-tip and a little white vinegar or lemon juice. The acid is alkaline, so the mild acid in the juice neutralizes it.
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Second, the "Sync" issue. Furby Boom models are notorious for losing their connection to the app if the batteries are even slightly low. Use high-quality alkalines; rechargeables often don't have the sustained voltage these things need to run their motors and the LCD eyes simultaneously.
Third, if your 1998 Furby won't wake up (the "MST" or Motor Sleep Tension issue), you sometimes have to manually "jumpstart" the motor. This involves opening the base and spinning the small white gear by hand to break it loose from years of stagnation. It's like performing surgery on a Muppet.
The Reality of the Furby Market
Don't expect to retire on your Furby collection unless you have something truly bizarre. A standard, out-of-box Furby Boom usually goes for $20 to $40. An original 1998 model in a beat-up box might get you $50. The real money is in the "Special Deviations."
Things like:
- The "Presidential" Furby.
- Rare "Hi-Tech" prototypes.
- The 2005 Emoto-Tronic models (which are much larger and move their faces in a way that is genuinely unsettling).
The community is huge. Sites like "Furby Wiki" and various subreddits are filled with people who "circuit bend" these toys, turning them into weird synthesizers or upgraded AI bots. It’s a subculture that refuses to let the hardware die.
Actionable Steps for Collectors and Parents
If you're looking to buy or revive one of these, follow these specific steps to ensure you aren't wasting money:
- Check the Eyelids: On the Furby Boom, the eyelids are a common failure point. If they are stuck halfway, the motor is likely burnt out. Pass on those.
- The "Reset" Button: Every Furby has one. On the original, it’s a tiny hole near the battery compartment. On the Boom, it’s a small button you hold while pressing the tongue. This fixes 90% of "glitchy" behavior.
- App Compatibility: The original Furby Boom app is no longer officially supported on many modern Android or iOS versions. If you want the full experience, you might need an older tablet or an APK of the legacy software.
- Storage: Never store these with batteries inside. The drain is constant because they are always "listening" for a wake-up command, which leads to leaks.
Furby changed how we look at toys. It wasn't just a gimmick; it was the first time a mass-market product made us feel like a machine had a personality. Whether it’s the lo-fi charm of the 90s version or the high-def glow of the Furby Boom, these things are a permanent part of tech history. They're loud, they're weird, and they'll probably still be waking up in dark closets fifty years from now.