We’ve been through so many ups and downs with Pleo. We saw him crumble in the face of a battlebot. We cried over his extinction. We rejoiced when he survived! And now, we choose his colour.
After Ugobe shut its doors and auctioned off all its assets, most assumed that the Pleo, our Pleo, was doomed forever. Not quite!
You can blame it on the grim economy, or you can blame it on the fact that Ugobe’s entire business depended on plush robotic dinosaurs. Either way, the Pleo has antagonised its last Labrador.
We knew it was coming, but we just received official word that Pleo has launched in Australia.
The robotic dinosaur will set you back $449 from Harvey Norman or Domayne, or you can pick one up online from Nexttech. You can also pick up an additional battery pack for $49 if you want longer periods of playtime with your prehistoric pet.
Now, how long until we start being flooded with YouTube videos of wanton Pleo destruction by Australians? Not long enough…
If you’re after a pet without the need to feed it or clean up its little presents, then we have some good news for you: Pleo, the robotic dinosaur that can take on dogs, RC monster trucks and Battlebots, is making its way down to Australia, according to tipster (extraordinaire) Adam.
They’re due to land mid-September, will be distributed exclusively through Ingram Micro and it looks like they’ll cost $449. That may sound a little steep, but the little fella has outlasted the Aibo*, and it’s a dinosaur.
We’ll post more news as it comes to hand. In the meantime, take a trip down Pleo memory lane here.
[Pleo on Giz - Thanks Adam!]
* – I know it didn’t technically outlast Aibo.
newVideoPlayer("/david_car2.flv", 506, 423,""); Last night, David Letterman had some expensive toys at his disposal. He checked out the Pleo, then he got to test drive a crazy, US$1,000 remote control monster truck. Naturally, the docile, innocent Pleo wasn’t going to fare well in such an environment. Oh, Letterman, you cruel bastard!
Pleo, the robot dinosaur loved by everyone—except dogs and blogs—is celebrating its first birthday a little early by going on sale for US$235. Head over to Ugobe’s store from now til July 11 and use semi-creepy coupon code PLEOWORLDISONE, and the dino can be yours for a cool US$115 less than usual. Whether you teach Pleo the joy of Christmas or how to be robot food is up to you. [Pleo via Shiny Shiny]
At Maker Faire 2008, a group of carnage-loving individuals pitted the 2007 Holiday Toy Darling Pleo against the heavy duty battle bot, Vicious Verdict, in a no holds barred competition. Needless to say, the sniff-n-grunt capability of the Pleo was not match for the blade-equipped bot, which turned Pleo into fillet meat. But the funniest part of the video (below) might be the background shrieks little kids, who were forced to watch their Christmas present get shredded. Mean, perhaps, but undeniably funny. [DViCE via Tech Digest via Bot Junkie]
