Jul 10, 2023 20:03:00

What is the talking purple monster toy 'Bernie' that Microsoft once released?

Although Microsoft has an overwhelming share in the PC OS, the hardware business is not necessarily smooth sailing, and it is decided that the production of the Microsoft brand mouse and keyboard will be

completed in the form of being integrated into the Surface brand. , In the past there are also mobile terminals that have disappeared in the form of being swept by Android and iOS devices. Furthermore, going back to the 1990s, the news site Neowin reported that Microsoft released a stuffed toy ' ActiMates Barney ' that can speak up to 14,000 words in cooperation with TVs and PCs. .

A quick look back at when Microsoft made an interactive Barney toy - CDJapan
https://www.neowin.net/news/a-quick-look-back-at-when-microsoft-made-an-interactive-barney-toy/

'ActiMates Barney' is a toy released in 1997 by a tie-up between Microsoft's toy brand ActiMates and the American children's program ' Bernie & Friends '.

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ActiMates | Barney Wiki | Fandom

You can understand what kind of atmosphere it was by watching TV commercials at the time.

Microsoft Actimates Interactive Barney Commercial-YouTube


Little children hold their breath when their teacher tells them, 'We have a special guest today.'

The teacher takes out the box and opens it.

When I took out the toy inside, the children all roared with 'Bernie!'

'ActiMates Barney' was able to speak with a vocabulary of 2000 words on its own, and also had the function of playing 12 kinds of games with children and singing 17 kinds of songs.

Movable hands and feet have built-in pressure sensors that react when grasped.

If you hide your eyes, you can play hide-and-seek.

Also, by using the 'TV pack', which connects to a video tape recorder with a dedicated transmitter, the vocabulary increases to 4,000 words, and the function of talking while watching TV programs with children is added.

In addition, the 'PC pack' that works with Windows 95 has a vocabulary of 14,000 words.

The PC pack also included exclusive games.

It looks like a high-performance toy released in 1997, but the price was also high. First of all, 'ActiMates Barney' alone is $ 109.95 (about 13,100 yen at the rate at that time). In addition, the 'TV pack' with a dedicated transmitter and one tape set and the 'PC pack' with one CD-ROM disc set are both $ 64.95 (about 7800 yen), additional Tapes and CD-ROMs were 34.95 (about 4200 yen) per one.

Even so, 'ActiMates Barney' achieved sufficient sales results, and a follow-up series of four characters, 'ActiMates Arthur', the main character of another TV program called ' Arthur ', his sister 'ActiMates DW', and ' Teletubbies ' A set of 'ActiMates Teletubbies' etc. were manufactured.

However, the popularity did not last long and the ActiMates series was discontinued in 2000. Regarding the end of the series, Neowin said, ``I couldn't find out the specific reason for the abrupt end of the lineup, but maybe parents at the time would have paid $100 (about 12,000 yen) even if they could talk about it. He must have been tired of buying stuffed animals for children.'