You thought Teddy Ruxpin was creepy? Get ready for a toy scarier than HAL.
Mattel's new line of interactive plush toys, with the working name of Chat Pals, uses radio technology to allow the toys to respond both to humans and one another.
Elaine Sagers, Mattel vice president of marketing, said a complex combination of voice sensors and radio receivers make it seem that the talking Pooh Bears and Tiggers are having a "real heart-to-heart conversation" with children. The unveiling occurred Tuesday at the 1999 American International Toy Fair in New York.
Microsoft Hardware, makers of a new line of ActiMates toys that interact with certain TV shows and PC programs, said Chat Pals have nothing on Microsoft's Interactive Teletubbies, also launched at the fair.
"Microsoft's innovations stem from within," said company spokesman Eric Slutsky. "Our line of interactive toys was not created to compete with or inspired by what other companies have done."
Microsoft Hardware product manager Christine Winkel said she hadn't even heard of the new Mattel line. "Our Teletubbies have color LED screens on their stomachs. Do these toys have them?" she asked.
Chat Pals do more than just talk to children, according to Sagers. "When the child talks, Pooh will sense where the speech is coming from and will turn in that direction. If the child has two Chat Pals toys they will send radio signals to each other and will talk to each other while turning back and forth from each other to the child."
For example, Pooh may start telling a story to the child and Tigger may break in to improve upon the tale at certain scripted points. The talking duo may tell a joke, or they may ask a child questions, responding with pre-scripted answers when the toy's microphones determine that the child has finished talking.
"This is being positioned as a little boy or girl's best friend," enthused Sagers, who admitted that a number of Toy Fair visitors have joked about how scary the talking toys are.
"The response has been tremendous. They are so lifelike, and they are so realistic that I can easily envision children wanting to share their secrets with the toys and feeling especially close to them."
The day may come when we'll see interactive Teddy Ruxpins, Barneys, Pooh Bears, and Tinky-Winkys all talking to each other, perhaps even plotting together when the humans can't hear. Until that time, a Pooh who seems to listen or a Barney who sings a song will just have to do.
