Posted in Business, Design, History, Keychain Pets, Live pets on Aug 3rd, 2007
Bowlingual, a small handheld device for interpreting the barks of your “real” dog was announced by a Takara press release on 10 June 2002. The Japan Acoustic Laboratory’s “Animal Emotion Analysis System” formed the basis for the invention. A database of voiceprints was developed for comparisons. Takara handled the planning and marketing. Dreams Come True, […]
Posted in Business, People, Virtual Communities on Aug 2nd, 2007
The opportunity to save real souls by saving their virtual souls first is being recognized by an academic with ties to the Catholic Church. A 27 July 2007 Reuters report in Red Herring titled, Spreading the Gospel in Second Life. La Civilta Cattolica, a Jesuit journal published from Rome recently carried a message from Antonio […]
Posted in Business, History, Keychain Pets on Jul 29th, 2007
Hasbro (Tiger) has relaunched the famous Giga Pets from the early days of keychain pets. The new pets are available in several animals to suit both boys and girls (scorpion and bunny shown here). They are much more rounded in appearance than the early pets. We include a photo here of the original Digital Doggie […]
Posted in Business, Keychain Pets on Jul 28th, 2007
Hasbro is currently selling a series of keychain virtual pets called Littlest Pet Shop Digital Pets. Each one has a nice snap at the top for attaching it to you backpack or belt loop, a charm indicating which pet it is, and two tools to care for the pet. The tools are typically a brush […]
We find these pets extremely interesting. Although somewhat basic, they reopen an old category (Sea Monkeys) and open a new one (direct Internet to virtual pet interaction via flashing lights) that may provide many opportunities for future virtual pet designers. The brief instructions below come from their online instruction manual. You can also watch a […]
Posted in Business, Plush Pets, Virtual Communities on Jul 26th, 2007
Back in the early days we thought caring for a virtual pet could be a training ground for caring for a “real” pet. Now we see things have gone one step further down the ladder. A bookstore in Fairhope Alabama is now offering a workshop on how to care for a virtual pet, more specifically, […]
The QR Code at left says “Greetings from the Virtual Pets Blog. Help us encourage greater utilization of QR Codes in Virtual Pets.” QR Codes are basically two dimensional bar codes invented in Japan by Denso Wave. They can store several dozen to a few hundred times more information than ordinary bar codes. QR code […]
Posted in Business, Dolls, Virtual Communities on Jul 24th, 2007
A 23 July 2007 article in the Wall Street Journal titled, Online Popularity Contest Next in Barbie-Bratz Brawl, reports MGA will be releasing their own online social networking site, Be-Bratz, on August 1st. MGA’s Bratz has been gaining ground on Mattel’s Barbie the last several years, but Mattel’s new online world, Barbie Girls, has been […]
Posted in Business, Dolls, People, Virtual Communities on Jul 17th, 2007
Launched with a press release back on 26 April 2007, Mattel’s Barbie Girls is taking the world by storm. Girls can create their own character, design a room, shop, play games, listen to music and communicate with other girls. Although Barbie is facing tough competition from Bratz in the stores, she’s winning strong online. In […]
Posted in Business, Plush Pets, Robotic Pets on Jul 10th, 2007
A 27 June 2007 Sega Toys press release announces realistic plush cat, owl and parrot editions to their robotic Dream Pet (Yume-Petto) lineup. These are very high quality plush pets and present their owners with life like experiences. Other current or recent Sega Dream Pets include: Yume-Neko, Smile the Robotic Cat as shown in a […]
