Poochi has been available in Japan and the USA for 2 years but now it has Nintendo 3DS capabilities. (via Nintendo)
Oh, Japanese robot toys... they are at it again and back with a vengeance, it seems. Coming to the market is an old idea recycled for the new age of smart-everything. While Poochi, the robot dog, has already been on the market in Japan and the USA for two years now, it has been updated with new tricks and is fully compatible with the Nintendo 3DS.
Sega Toys has given Poochi adorable characteristics, like the ability to translate barking into Japanese through the 3DS... I hope the 3DS then translates it into English though. Poochi can also sing and dance, which seems to be the most important functionality of any Japanese robot toy. Finally, another cool feature is Poochi's ability to play rock-paper-scissors and a variety of other mini-games via Nintendo's 3DS.
Poochi is just one of many robot toys featured at the 2014 Tokyo Toy Show. Another awesome, and very realistic, robot pet is also from Sega Toys but has yet to hit the market. It is called the Dream Cat Celeb, and there are also versions of a chick and a puppy that you can pet. These toys are meant to react like real pets. For instance, the Dream Cat gets angry if you touch its tail and has realistic facial expressions as you pet it and interact. Of course, it cannot be confused with a real cat, but it is a very impressive attempt. The Dream Cat is also made to feel like a real cat and weights about the same. It doesn't seem to sing and dance like Poochi, but I would be scared if a cat did that. Well, I would either be scared, or a rich, YouTube sensation.
This new line of realistic robot toys has yet to hit the market due to further development plans by Sega Toys. For now, you can play video games with your robot dog and dance to Japanese pop tunes to your heart's content for about $58.
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