Virtual Pets Blog

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 YouTube video.

Yume-Inu Chiwawa (Dream Dog Chiwawa) – The Dream Pet name got passed around a bit as Sega manufactured , Yume Inu Chiwawa which was introduced by Takara Co. in August 2003. Yuma-Inu was a big hit at the 2003 Tokyo Toy Fair.

Dream Pony (Yume-Kouma) a 1.2 meter (about four feet) tall pony who was announced in September 2006. Dream Pony looks like a stable mate to Butterscotch who was introduced in early 2006 by Hasbro.

Dream Chick (Yume-Hiyoko) the small recently hatched chick (chicken) is another plush robotic Dream Pet that attracted major attention.

Dream Pets had their origins back in 1957 when R. Dakin & Company imported some battery powered toy trains from Japan and found them packed in a box with and unusual filler to keep the trains from getting damaged in shipment. The exporter used six little stuffed animals as packing. They were made from velveteen scraps and filled with sawdust (think prehistoric Beannie Babies) to protect products being shipped. When Dakin asked the Japanese company making them what the small stuffed animals were called. They told Dakin they were called Dream Pets because the people making them could dream they were whatever pet they wanted.

Dakin, then perhaps best known for manufacturing guns in the 1950’s, decided to manufacture the pets, even keeping the names the factory workers had given them. Dream pets rapidly caught on and became their own toy line. By the late 1970’s there were over 2000 different Dream Pets. They were “the beginning of a new era for plush and stuffed animals.” per a quote by Bob Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Applause Inc in early 2004.

Due to the prominent influence of Dream Pets on today’s virtual pets, we decided to trace their history and try to fill in the blanks. It reads like a movie script with several highs and lows, an earthquake, a tragic plane crash, bankruptcies, acquisitions, and a suicide. Through much of it, one man, Robert Solomon, plaid the leading role.

Picking up after Dakin began manufacturing Dream Pets in 1957:

December 1967 – Most of the Dakin family was killed on a Christmas plane flight. Richard Dakin and his wife Suzanna, Roger Dakin and his wife Joan, plus four of Roger and Joan’s children. Only their 12 year old son who vacationing with family friends survived. After the crash, remaining family members, friends and employees stepped up to keep the company alive.

1975 – Robert Solomon, son of a man who started work as bank janitor, begins his career as a salesman for Wallace Berrie Company and eventually becomes a partner in the company. (Wallace Berrie is brother to Russ Berrie of Russ Berrie & Co.)

1983 – Wallace Berrie Company acquires Applause Inc., a struggling gift company. Robert Solomon is named President & CEO. He turns the company around and in 1983 Wallace Berrie Company is renamed as Applause, Inc.

1988 – Robert Solomon leads an investor group that buys out Applause, Inc.. He stays on as CEO for three more years.

1991 – Robert Solomon Chairman and CEO of Applause Inc. leaves the company.

6 January 1992 – Robert Solomon becomes Chairman and CEO of Dakin Inc.

Late 1993 – Ty Warner (son of Burt Warner, a rep for Dakin in the Chicago area for nearly 20 years) introduces the “Original Nine” Beanie Babies in New York City at the World Toy Fair. These plush pets were filled with “beans” or small plastic PVC pellets allowing them to easily be posed in positions.

1994 – The San Francisco earthquake damaged Dakin’s headquarters and destroyed many company records.

Very late 1994 to very early 1995 – Sega introduces Ferie, a virtual pet cat that runs on a small cyber notebook computer somewhat similar to a Gameboy but an infrared beam follows the operators hand movements. About the same time, Casio introduces a dog running on a similar device called Pet Telepathy and the electronic handheld virtual pet race begins.

1995 – Applause Inc. acquires Dakin Inc and begins operating it as a subsidiary. Robert Solomon leaves the plush toy business. Having signed a noncompete agreement, he forms The Rainmaker Group, a licensing company. Later he launches an auto leasing company.

1998 – Robert Solomon is divorced from his second wife.

1999 – Robert Solomon’s automobile leasing company fails.

mid March 2001 – Applause LLC purchases assets of Applause Inc which had shut down independent operations on March 9th. Applause LLC now owned by an investment group led by Robert Solomon who will also return as Chairman and CEO of Applause LLC. Prudential Life Insurance is a minority shareholder in Applause LLC. Applause’s famous “clapping hands” logo will continue to go forward once more.

December 2002 – Russ Berrie (brother of Wallace Berrie, first employer of Robert Solomon) of Russ Berrie & Co. dies. His widow, Angelica, takes the company over for 17 months.

Spring 2003 – A Japanese company approaches Robert Solomon about reissuing the original Dream Pets.

April 2004 – Applause LLC reissues 24 of the original plush Dream Pets as 21st Century Dream Pets under the Dakin label. They are authentic reproductions including hang tags with the pet’s original name, stock number and birth date. A toy collection site has a nice image of 24 of the original toys.

12 April 2004 – Cracker Barrel is the first retailer in the country to be shipped the new Dream Pets.

7 June 2004 – A press release reports Applause LLC (parent of R. Dakin & Company) signed a three year licensing agreement with Sega Toys.

June 2004 – Disney ends a major 22 year licensing deal with Applause.

The new plush (non robotic) Dream Pets fail to have the following of the original Dream Pets. In addition to losing Disney, Applause looses several licenses from Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers, Toy’s ‘R’ US. KB Toys, and FAO placing them in dire straights.

20 August 2004 – Applause LLC Chairman and CEO Bob Solomon, age 50, dies from a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He leaves behind three ex-wives and three children. Let us not we forget this business is toys on one end, it is a very serious business, full of major headaches and personal challenges on the other.

21 July 2004 – Andrew Gatto takes over as CEO of Russ Berrie and Co.

31 August 2004 – Applause LLC entered voluntary bankruptcy

23 September 2004 – Applause LLC converts to Chapter 11 and now plans to go forward as a company at the end of the process.

1 October 2004 – Applause LLC announces it plans to sell its trademark name to Russ Berrie and Co. for $4.2 million unless the bid is topped in a bankruptcy auction on 14 October. Applause owes creditors about $8 million.

14 October 2004 – Russ Berrie and Co. (RBC) purchased Applause and associated trademarks for $7.55 million at the auction. Russ Berrie & Co. says it hopes to use the trade name to sell low priced stuffed toys to mass market retailers like Wal-Mart and Target. The sale of the Applause trademarks will NOT include any of the licenses, allowing the old company to continue as Dakin & Co. to produce Snoopy, Raggedy Ann and Andy, and Dream Pets. David Socha, nephew of Robert Solomon will manage the new Dakin which was reorganized as Dreamworld LLC.

13 December 2005 – LA Daily News reports Big Lots, the retailer, bought the Dakin & Co. brand name for $835,000 and hopes to revive it. David Socha of Dreamworld LLC / Dakin, reports he is happy the family can now move on

At one time or another, Dakin, Wallace Berrie Company, or Applause made pets and other products in these licensed lines: Dream Pets, Pez Fuzzy Friends, Snoopy, Star Wars characters, Finding Nemo, Simpsons, Cat in the Hat, Curious George, Spiderman, Raggedy Ann & Andy, Winnie the Poo, Mickey Mouse, Rufus, Woody Woodpecker, and my own little buddy Chilly Willy, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Phantom of the Opera, The Mummy, Sylvester & Tweety Bird, Tasmanian Tar Devil, Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin Martain, Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, and countless more. This is a real “Who’s Who” list of licensed characters. A big thanks to Robert Solomon and the many other plush pet pioneers that laid the groundwork for many of the virtual pets of today.

We welcome any suggestions, corrections or additions to this history and hope to create a time line chart to better display the history & genealogy of Dream Pets when time permits.

References:

Russ Berrie & Co Inc. 10Q for 9/30/04 EX-10.105 the purchase agreement

“Plush Beginnings: Dakin Turns 45”. Meridith Schwartz. Gifts & Decorative Accessories. 1 December 2000. (a nice history of Dakin – available from High Beam).

“Robert Solomon Services Planned”. Los Angeles Daily News. 25 August 2004.

“Anatomy of a Meltdown”. David Whitford. Fortune. November 2004.

“Dream Pet Characters Debut at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store”. Business Wire. 12 April 2004.

“Big Lots Buys Rights to Dakin” Daily News (Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News). 12 December 2005.

“Comfort Toys in Tough Japanese Market- Report From the Tokyo Toy Fair 2003”. International Market News. TDCTrade.com.

Playthings (a toy industry trade publication)

TD Monthly (a toy industry trade publication)
“You’ll Never Have to Walk or Feed These Pets”. Al Fasoldt. Syracuse Herald American. 6 August 1995. (Sega Ferie and Casio Pet Telepathy – early computer virtual pets)

Back on 1 May 2007 Tokyomango blogged a virtual dog walking arcade game in Japan. You walk on a treadmill while holding the leash of a fake dog (looks a bit like one of the pony’s you used to ride a the supermarket). You walk in front of a video screen like those those sometimes used in front of exercise bikes in the gym where you see the countryside go by as you pedal. But in this case, you may encounter problems along the way with your dog, other dogs, cars, etc. Its an interesting twist on how far virtual life is taken at times.

Sega Toys quite recently added an iPenguin to their lineup along with iDog and others. Plug in your MP3 player and iPenguin will act as a speaker and respond with actions to your music. Penguins are really hot this year. We look for more to follow before it cools off.

I still think about my favorite penguin from my comic book days as a kid, little Chilly Willy. He was kind of runt penguin that was always cold from the Walter Lantz Studio (Woodie Woodpecker was their big hit). I see he still has his own fan club. Those were the good old days.

Nowdays, if things were not already hot enough, Happy Feet, from Warner Brothers really put penguins on the map. Club Penguin, a virtual community from New Horizons Interactive, has capitalized on the penguin buzz by stressing the kid friendliness of their site to become a major player in the virtual community business.

Even back in the early keychain pet days, Yuki Penguin, also known as Dinky Penguin was very popular.

Artificial Life announced a Virtual Penguins game for 3G phones from Hong Kong back on 17 November 2005. A more recent, 12 Sept 2006, Artificial Life press release reports they signed a partnership with Greystripe to distribute their games through GameJump.com. Among the ones listed is V-Penguins, an improved version of the earlier game.

I noticed Youngstown State University actually has a penguin as a mascot. Plus in computer land we can’t forget Linux.

In addition to the games listed above, there are dozens more trying to capitalize on the penguin movement. The penguin market is really hot now, but just like in real life, overcrowding results in dying off from predators and starvation. The trick is to guess which animal will be hot next.

Roboco will go on sale in August for about $10 per Amazon Japan. The new pet from Tomy Corporation is highlighted in a post on <3 Yen. its ears can flap, it can shake, and even sing a song.

Sega Toys is launching an advanced robotic dog called Mio Pup in Japan on October 6th. We came across it in a writeup on Tokyomango and followed it back to the Sega site.

Back on 15 May 2007, Lauren Moores wrote a nice piece, Kids Toy Crazes Go Virtual, on Compete using data from the 2 million plus users of their toolbar to estimate total U.S. traffic levels over the past year at Neopets, Webkinz, and Clubpenguin. They indicate about a tie of 2.75 million unique individuals visiting both Neopets and Webkins per month at the end of March 2007 (Neopets had long been the leader but Webkins has been closing fast) and Club Penguin coming on strong at about 2.25 million unique visitors per month. The charts also show Shining Star, another plush pet with an online community and the most recent entry, at less than 1 percent of the Virtual Pet Community U.S. traffic.

On 13 June 2007, a Sparter press release announced the public beta release of their Gamer to Gamer (G2G) site for trading virtual currencies. Several currencies were listed, but we noticed Linden was not on the list.

The site includes several features to create “a safe and efficient trading environment” per the press release.

The buzz surrounding selling virtual items for real dollars is getting hotter. On 20 June 2007 Neopets (purchased by Viacom for $160 million in June 2005) announced it will begin selling virtual items including ruby slippers for pets, wings of flame, and tiaras on June 28th in its NC Mall. They can be purchased using Neopets new currency called Neocash per an article at Red Herring.

Neocash will co-exist with Neopoint (currently accumulated by actions in the game), but Neopoints will NOT be exchangeable for Neocash. At the moment you can only buy Neocash with PayPal, but they say they will also be putting prepaid cards in retail stores.

Nexon of Korea is handling the virtual item sales. The article reports 85 percent of Nexon’s $230 million sales worldwide in 2005 was from the sale of virtual items.

Neopets Sr. VP and GM said the “move was designed to give users another option for customizing their characters.” Hmm, maybe to be another cash cow for Neopets too?

I just recalled, this Thanksgiving will be the 10th Anniversary of the release of Virtual Pet Secrets magazine back in 1997. I edited it for H&S Media. The first (and only) issue covered keychain virtual pets in depth with articles on collecting, displaying some of the larger collections, trends and developments, FAQ and tips, the evolution of virtual pets 1970-1996, and a couple hundred glossy images. The magazine sold very strongly from news stands and magazine racks across the country between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We still have some and may use them as prizes in surveys and contests here when we get the blog a little more established.

More info on the magazine is available on a page titled, Virtual Pet Secrets Magazine, over on the Virtual Pet Home Page.

Looking back through it, one thing I am going to do, is write a History of Virtual Pets following up and expanding on the nice history published in Virtual Pet Secrets written by Robert Worne. I have since collected several earlier items and documents, as well as hundreds on the development of virtual pets over the last decade.

With the industry abuzz about virtual communities, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) leaped in with a 7 March 2007 press release announcing a 3D online community for the Playstation 3 called “Home“. The new game was demonstrated at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on the same date.

PS3 users will be able to create custom avatars, interact, communicate, join in games, shop, share private content, display actual personal pictures and videos, as well as build and display their personal spaces in real time. Users will also be able to display 3D trophies for virtual achievements as well as for real time score rankings in PS3 games.

Home will be in a closed beta test this spring, with a full launch targeted for later this year. Home will then be available as a free download from the Playstation Store and launch directly from the XrossMediaBar (XMB) on PS3.

Sony is obviously seeing some of their PS3 minutes erode as users move some leisure time over to virtual communities. Creating their own virtual community and making it a free download is obviously an effort to win some of those minutes (and eyeballs for advertisements) back. We wish them well in this rapidly evolving field of competitors. Maybe they are swinging for a Home Run?