Screenshot of the U.B.Funkeys virtual world, Terrapinia.
(Credit: Mattel)NEW YORK--U.B.Funkeys is a new line of vinyl figures from Mattel that double as avatars in a virtual world.
Instead of entering a code as with the Webkinz, you place your Funkey in a USB docking station. The character is then recognized in the virtual world of Terrapinia, a place filled with funk and other music.
The starter kit with USB docking station and two characters is available for $19.99, with additional Funkeys vinyl figures for $4.99 each. There are over 40 different Funkeys and each one has unique abilities in-world in addition to a bio and personality.
There are "normal," "rare" and "very rare" Funkeys. The more rare, it seems, the more power they have in-world.
Scratch, for example, is a character with a turntable for a face. He's marked "rare" and whenever Scratch plays music while in a room with other Funkeys, they are compelled to dance, according to his bio.
As with the Webkinz, owners can use their Funkeys for their corresponding vinyl figure to play casual games, earn points and buy virtual stuff for their virtual crib.
The funk music that plays in some areas of the world and the less cutesy non-pastel graphics, make the U.B.Funkeys a likely step-up as kids grow out of the Webkinz.
Adults will find them charming, too. The story and characters are written at a level of double-meaning that may go over kids heads, but will give parents a knowing chuckle.
Sprout
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Fallout
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Bones
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Tiki
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Vroom
(Credit: Mattel)In the '80s, it was the Cabbage Patch doll. In the 1990s, Beanie Babies.
What better toy to rule the millennium age than with a social-networking stuffed animal? A relatively Web-savvy concept by gift company Ganz, these plushies hope to usher in elementary-level children into the Web 2.0 realm.
Love Puppy: would you buy me for $100?
(Credit: Ganz)Webkinz--stuffed animals that also live virtually through avatars that interact with others in their own online world--have become increasingly popular since their introduction in 2005. Like Beanie Babies, certain they're available for a only limited time, then retired. On eBay, the retired Webkinz Cheeky Pet Dog and Cat are at a whopping starting bid of $3,000. On Amazon, the seasonal Love Puppy is selling for $99. But if you peruse a card shop in your area that carried Ganz toys, you may be able to score a non-seasonal or retired Webkinz for the relative bargain of just $12.
"Actually, a lady before you came in and purchased nearly 100 of the Webkinz," Jean Amirbagheri, manager of a Carlton Cards store in San Francisco, told us. "They've been really popular for events where a bunch of kids get together, like Easter, church functions and birthday parties."
An eBay search for Beanie Babies turned up an auction for 450-plus retired beanies, buddies and teenies for a starting bid of $2,500. An entire case of Cabbage Patch Dolls (six in all) are going for $150, while two "classic" cabbages selling for $2,000.
Will Webkinz retain their value-ad allure? The answer is as clear as the stock market.
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