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Post by lachlant1984 on Oct 2, 2016 4:04:27 GMT -7
I had a good long chat about this announcement and all the things you people have been saying to one of my friends who's also a Teddy Ruxpin fan, though not as big a fan as I am. Basically he is very excited about the new Teddy Ruxpin, and he believes that this is the refresh that Teddy Ruxpin needed for so long now, and this refresh may help him to be relevant once again. Everything changes and evolves over time, and if you want Teddy Ruxpin to remain current then he has to change too I'm afraid. I know some of you are very angry about the LCD eyes, but personally I think WCT could have done so much worse. What if they're replaced Teddy Ruxpin's whole face with an LCD screen that displayed animated facial features? What if they're designed him so that his eyes and mouth and nose didn't move at all? Don't you all think that would be worse? Also, look at it this way, the LCD eyes could, if done right, make Teddy Ruxpin seem even more magical to young children, that's how I see it anyway. Some of you have been saying that WCT couldn't go any lower, well, if Teddy's eyes and mouth weren't animated at all, that would be a whole new level of low, don't you think? If you really don't want the new Teddy Ruxpin if in the end it has LCD eyes, well, that's up to you. Another thing to be mindful of is that if everyone contacts WCT and constantly tells them that they're not happy with the new Teddy Ruxpin based on what they've seen of the prototype, WCT may decide that it's not worth continuing on with the project and they may decide to drop it and not continue on with it. Do you all want to see that happening? I'm quite sure that most of you on this forum have wanted to see a new Teddy Ruxpin be released, now one is being developed and lots of you are complaining. I personally think that WCT are taking Teddy Ruxpin in the right direction and I wish them every success with the product, I hope it sells well. If they think that LCD eyes will make Teddy more relevant, then so be it. I'm sorry if I'm coming across as being bossy, but I just don't really think the LCD eyes are such a big huge issue.
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Post by DollyPrince on Oct 2, 2016 4:54:30 GMT -7
I respect your opinions, but we all don't have to feel the same way. Not everyone has to like it. No one is fighting over this anymore, let's just agree to disagree.
Honestly, I don't care if the new Teddy is successful or not. I wasn't one of those people asking for a re-release for a long time, I only got my hopes (barely) up when I heard it was going to happen.
Anyways, about the LCD eyes seeming more magical to children, As a child, I would have wholeheartedly disagreed. The mechanical eyes are much more realistic, therefore help the child bond with the toy more. He seems alive. But just as our thoughts on this new Teddy differ, different children might think differently. I really cannot know how they will think of this. The new Furby was recieved quite well.
I encourage people to give feedback to Wicked Cool Toys. They asked for it, anyways. I doubt they will stop production now.
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Post by d.ruxpin on Oct 2, 2016 5:50:37 GMT -7
If only... This would be at least a LITTLE better. Still horrible, but a little better. It is surprising how such little changes can do such a big difference. He looks better. Those LCD eyes are still ugly though. I cannot really tell by the picture if you photoshopped this or not, but a moving plastic piece for the eyelids would improve the Teddy more. Believe me, I tried making the eyelids plastic... It's hard. I couldn't do that.
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Post by ouchimoo on Oct 6, 2016 21:42:02 GMT -7
Ugg, I know my friends have been posting this horrible rendition on my fb page as a 'Hey look who's back! Aren't you glad!!?' Ugg! No. I'm. Not! Also advanced technology? Are you serious, there is nothing new. LED displays are a dime a dozen cell phone, tablet, everything else under the sun and a motorized mouth is your only throwback to the original Ruxpin from the 1980s. All you have left is a push button in the paw...which is like every toy that makes noise in existence. I would think new technology would be an app with blue tooth that you can talk through him and he'd parrot..or learn and interact like some of the new AI toys that they're trying to come out with. Facial recognition, tries to talk back to you, things like that. I've seen Modded Ruxpin's with more advanced technology than this. And those LED eyes are just an eye sore. It wouldn't have been so bad if they weren't flashing all over the place, and that blue color is just horrible. I guess if it wasn't relabeled as "Teddy Ruxpin" I'd give it a pass as it's okay as a toy by it's self...but certainly not for the price point.
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Post by DollyPrince on Oct 6, 2016 22:49:11 GMT -7
Hello, welcome to the forum. I agree. Even though some people are okay with it (likely just because it's Teddy), the majority of Teddy fans are not very happy with this new version, as can be seen in this thread and on most comments on YouTube.
But honestly, the idea of talking through Teddy Ruxpin and having him repeat your voice would sink him to a new level of "cheap". Because this is a function used mostly in cheap knockoff toys.
Wicked Cool Toys initially planned to have a free conversation mode. I suppose they decided it was too expensive, since new audio must be recorded, which would mean paying Phil Baron (Teddy's voice) to record more lines. I don't mind that they did not include this feature. Perhaps it was best. But the design is terrible, and Teddy is barely even robotic. Honestly, WCT is cheap company. Not in price, but in quality. I have seen much less expensive toys with better animatronics.
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Post by late2theparty on Oct 7, 2016 6:50:08 GMT -7
There are basement techies out there implementing their hardware and programming into Teddies that far surpasses what we are reading about with the WCT plan (and not that I'm a fan of this stuff...as a Luddite I say don't mess with the originals that way!)
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Post by DollyPrince on Oct 8, 2016 14:21:46 GMT -7
LCD eyes were in the 1990s. Nothing 21st century about it. Just 21st century cheapness.
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Post by d.ruxpin on Oct 9, 2016 10:04:23 GMT -7
It's not 21st century eyes. It's plain ugly, and why did they make them blue? Do they have something against brown eyes? They're so selfish. They think keeping the book artwork the same is like, an amazing deal for the fans. "Ooh, same book artwork. We gave you such a great deal."
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Post by BeachBear on Oct 10, 2016 0:54:54 GMT -7
I do think that while the change is not the best, and personally, rather disappointing, I do strongly believe that there is nothing we can do to change the design so late in production. I do think that the criticism is valid, this is not what Ken worked so hard for, but if people treat the situation with hysterics and immature language, then I do doubt WCT will take it into account, if they even find this community. It is disappointing, but if we're civil and polite, there is every chance that this could turn in our favour.
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Post by DollyPrince on Oct 10, 2016 1:02:41 GMT -7
I hope no one is saying immature things to them. That would not be taken seriously.
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Post by BeachBear on Oct 10, 2016 1:16:28 GMT -7
I hope no one is saying immature things to them. That would not be taken seriously. I do genuinely hope so too. I think it's worth mentioning, in the first image I ever saw for the redesigned Teddy, (the image on the left) it does look like he has plastic eyelids. There is also the issue of when he's turned off, what will the eyes do. It's just speculation, but I think plastic eyelids are featured in the prototype.
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Post by BeachBear on Oct 10, 2016 1:19:05 GMT -7
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Post by DollyPrince on Oct 10, 2016 1:31:36 GMT -7
I don't think so, he looks like he has painted, non-working eyes. I do hope they use plastic eyelids.
Besides the lack of eyelids, the thing I dislike the most are the animations. Teddy really did not need the stupid symbols in his eyes.
Although honestly, of course I don't like the LCD eyes at all. But you are right, they probably will not change that now...
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Post by nataliabarkhatova on Oct 10, 2016 21:28:21 GMT -7
To me it's an advanced version of Baby Teddy Ruxpin that needs its own content (and voice). Dream: It would be great if Baby Teddy could work along with original Teddy!
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Post by DollyPrince on Oct 10, 2016 21:31:46 GMT -7
To me it's an advanced version of Baby Teddy Ruxpin that needs its own content (and voice). Dream: It would be great if Baby Teddy could work along with original Teddy! That would be cute. But it would not really make sense.
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