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Sphero BB-8 toy from The Force Awakens

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Rootbeer

Banned
*edit2* official unveiling video is out. in stores now for 149.99!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1Y2WfcCb4M

*edit* New info?
Saw a box of these in the back at the Best Buy I work at.
... So I guess they're out soon? Or are they already out? I didn't see any street date info on said box.
Might this be available on Sept 4th "Force Friday?" Check your local Best Buy on that date to see!


Reportedly, this is a Best Buy exclusive (conflicting reports about this, it might not be an exclusive) and costs 149.99. It uses your smartphone or tablet to control.

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Sphero is partially responsible for developing the technology used inside the movie version of BB-8. You can see an example of it below. Is this what the toy might be like?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_K10fX9DSY

And here is a traditional Sphero toy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43tctP24Xmo

So... some combination of the two.

More will be shown at this link soon.
 

Rootbeer

Banned
Does it come with a camera?

"Hiiii BB-8 you so cute.....hey why are you looking up my skirt?"

I am hoping that it does. So you can see from its POV. If not, it's easy to imagine a future toy version that does. Since BB-8 is probably going to be in several future movies (I don't know that... just speculating), there will be many toy versions over time so...

It says you can create "holographic messages" Now that I got to see
 

Grym

Member
I was instantly sold...then realized how small it is. Being so small, I'm not sure I can talk myself into it for that price
 

New002

Member
I was instantly sold...then realized how small it is. Being so small, I'm not sure I can talk myself into it for that price

Yeah when I saw the price tag I just assumed it would be pretty large even though there's a box right there giving the measurement @_@
 

NekoFever

Member
If they do the sensible thing and make a full-size remote control one I'd bet on it being the must-have toy for Christmas.
 
This shit is amaaaaazing! Its going to look fantastic on the big screen have that robot roll around. CG just can't replicate something like that.
 

Dupy

"it is in giving that we receive"
I got the Sphero Ollie for Xmas last year. Really neat toy that we had a lot of fun with. If BB-8 is anything like that I'm in.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
I (sort of) know the guys who make this and from what I know they're so fucking excited to have been doing this. Its going to tear up the holiday season
 

Rootbeer

Banned

Downhome

Member
I have wanted this to become a reality ever since I first saw the droid in the trailer, and then especially when I realized what was in the trailer was actually "real" and not CGI. This is fantastic.
 

Rootbeer

Banned
I wonder if the top part that sits on the sphere will stay on top. It would look shitty if is rolls to the side and hits the ground as it moves??? You know what I mean?

I don't know how it works but I think you can remove the top part and use BB-8 in full-ball mode. We saw a T-Shirt that proves BB-8 can go into a full ball by moving its head inside its body.

So maybe it has two modes: one with the head, it probably moves slower in this mode to help the head not fall off

and a faster, full-ball mode without the head.
 
I wonder if the top part that sits on the sphere will stay on top. It would look shitty if is rolls to the side and hits the ground as it moves??? You know what I mean?

Someone explained this to me in one of the Star Wars threads. In theory the faster it rolls the more stable it should look.
 
Can we take a second to appreciate that the cool as fuck looking droid that lots of people were convinced was so cool it's CGI is going to be real and purchasable either before or immediately after the movie it debuts in releases?

It's 2015!
 

Rootbeer

Banned
Can we take a second to appreciate that the cool as fuck looking droid that lots of people were convinced was so cool it's CGI is going to be real and purchasable either before or immediately after the movie it debuts in releases?

It's 2015!

Yup... would be fun to dig through those early reactions and see all the people screaming "CGI! CGI!"
 

Rootbeer

Banned
$150 and requires another $400 device to operate it
cm-vi3.gif

Considering you can get a lot of smartphones for next to nothing now (notice it works with Android), and even kids from lesser-off families probably have hand-me-down phones that are good enough... it's not a very big issue these days.
 
Yup... would be fun to dig through those early reactions and see all the people screaming "CGI! CGI!"
Word. It is nice to be vindicated for joining tram #practical right off the bat, if only because BB-8 is so awesome. It happened a second time when I maintained he was probably still just a puppet in the film, despite them rolling BB-8 out on stage. They really had us all thinking he might have the real deal all along, but I'm glad they figured it out in the end so we can all go out and buy our own (even if it didn't happen until filming was basically done).
 
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