Sega Toys' Dream Pony is one freaky robot

Remember the Uncanny Valley? It's that place where robots look very much like the biological entities that they're meant to emulate, but just dissimilar enough to give them a very creepy appearance. Well we'd suggest that Sega Toys' upcoming Dream Pony falls squarely into the valley, as the 4-foot tall bot certainly resembles a real mini horse -- though as you can see in the pictures (both here and after the jump), it probably has the potential to really freak people out. Nonetheless, Sega is confident that this latest addition to its zoo of robotic pets will be popular enough among little girls (and immature men such as ourselves) that it can move 10,000 of these strange toys per year. Since you wouldn't pay $600 for a stuffed animal that just sat around looking weird, Dream Pony -- a virtual doppelgänger for Hasbro's Butterscotch -- responds to visual, audio, and tactile stimulation by jerking its head around or emitting a frightened whinny, among several other forms of exciting feedback. Although this robopony won't actually trot around the neighborhood like the real one your parents would buy you if they weren't so stingy, you can still sit on its back (assuming you're under 80 pounds) and "feed" it a plastic carrot over and over again. All-in-all, the Dream Pony doesn't really seem to provide the kind of long-term playability you'd get from an Xbox or a Robosapien, but once your little girl starts begging and whining for one, you'll have little choice but to welcome Dreamy into your home.

[Via Pink Tentacle]

[Juice @ Sep 15th 2006 1:11PM]

I for one welcome our petbots. I so bad want a robot. So bad.

[Adam A @ Sep 15th 2006 1:16PM]

Wow, I find that the "I, for one, welcome..." posts are unexpectedly hilarious after the 14,350th time.

[billedluh @ Oct 20th 2007 2:08PM]

I, for one, am dissapointed that there are not 14351 comments on this thread so that Adam A's comment, "Wow, I find that the "I, for one, welcome..." posts are unexpectedly hilarious after the 14,350th time." could become ironic.

[Andir2.0 @ Sep 15th 2006 1:18PM]

I, for one, think you may be overeacting to the first post.

[Jon @ Sep 15th 2006 1:20PM]

I,for One, would send this horse to the glue factory

[Mauricio @ Sep 15th 2006 1:31PM]

I, for one, welcome the somtimes witty, over-zealous, over-posting, over commenting, over-lords.

[chris @ Sep 15th 2006 1:36PM]

i, for one, want to see all the posts under here start with "i, for one"

[PN @ Sep 15th 2006 1:36PM]

I, for one, will pray that this horse has a humping capability so that I can be pleasured.

[Jon @ Sep 15th 2006 1:39PM]

I,for one , Second that , Tijauna donkey shows !!

[ele�tro @ Sep 15th 2006 1:42PM]

I, for one, am more freaked out by that creepy chimpanzee head than this thing.

[PN @ Sep 15th 2006 1:42PM]

I, for one, feel as if I need to explain my previous post, the title says he is a "freaky" horse.

[macona @ Sep 15th 2006 1:50PM]

I, for one, am waiting for the news headline "Dream Pony becomes Night-Mare, tramples family"

[Schmack @ Sep 15th 2006 1:53PM]

I, for one, love this bandwagon

[ele�tro @ Sep 15th 2006 1:55PM]

"I, for one, am waiting for the news headline "Dream Pony becomes Night-Mare, tramples family""

LOL!

Oops, I mean, "I, for one, LOL"

[TIMMY!!!! @ Sep 15th 2006 2:01PM]

I, for one, hope Adam is happy with the monster he created by being an overly serious douche.

[CharlieX @ Sep 15th 2006 2:02PM]

I, for one, thank you all for the 1st good laugh of the day.

[Brandon @ Sep 15th 2006 2:05PM]

I, for one, think that Electro should be slapped for form deviation. For shame!

[i41 @ Sep 15th 2006 2:10PM]

I, for one, welcome the aforementioned "I, for one" engadget posting overlords.

[Zozart @ Sep 15th 2006 2:18PM]

I, for one, would be more interested in this if it could walk around.

[blurry @ Sep 15th 2006 2:21PM]

I, for one, welcome our smartass-comment-posting overlords.

I, for one, also wonder what would happen if everyone on the usenet posted like this.

[MichaelLC @ Sep 15th 2006 2:27PM]

I, for two (yes, I'm bi-polar), wonder why there is no "output" function, as that seemes to be a big part of the horse-owning experience.

[Little Donny @ Sep 15th 2006 2:30PM]

A pony is not a baby horse.

[B from TX @ Sep 15th 2006 2:39PM]

I, for one, know that a pony is simply a smaller type of horse, not a baby horse.

[John B @ Sep 15th 2006 2:39PM]

I, for one, think Little Donny should be stuffed in a little pony suit for violating the I, for one, posting format.

[Francis Wu @ Sep 15th 2006 2:41PM]

I, for one, look forward to a day when cat ladies start collecting Dream Ponies.

[Nuggins @ Sep 15th 2006 2:48PM]

I, for one, wish the weight limit were higher so I could ride it naked.

[simon @ Sep 15th 2006 2:49PM]

I, for one, think we have to beginning of a new form of Jeaopardy without all that "in the form of a question" crap.

[CharlieX @ Sep 15th 2006 2:57PM]

I, for one, will strap my Dream Pony to a Segway so that it may chase children down on its Evil Hunt.

[Chuck @ Sep 15th 2006 3:01PM]

"Well, we could build a large wooden badger..."

[geekb @ Sep 15th 2006 3:03PM]

I for one love these excellent, illustrative photos of the iCat.

http://www.segatoys.co.jp/yumeneko/index.html

[Dave-o @ Sep 15th 2006 3:14PM]

I, for one, wonder how many young girls (and curious/more-money-than-sense Engadget editors/readers) will be institutionalized thanks to forgetting to shut their Dream Pony down before going to bed.

[oshean @ Sep 15th 2006 3:26PM]

I, for one, have decided to become a plastic carrot farmer so that the Dream Pony overlords around the world may become well fed.

[Seth @ Sep 15th 2006 3:26PM]

I, for one, must object to the suggestion that Robosapien offers "replayability". My first-gen RS has been sitting under my computer desk, un-played-with, for over 3 months. And I have a 9-year-old son! (Not that he doesn't try to play with it once in a while, but we can only take so much digital farting noises, "BOOP!", and the demo song/dance routine.)

Reminds me of my childhood -- my brother got a real pony once, believe it or not, and the result was pretty much the same as with my Robosapien -- play with it for a while, then, bleh. Mostly because the pony'd roll over whenever you try to ride her.

[kinshadow @ Sep 15th 2006 3:35PM]

I, for one, am very creeped out by this entire post (comments included).

[kinshadow @ Sep 15th 2006 3:39PM]

"Mostly because the pony'd roll over whenever you try to ride her."

I, for one, think that comment is entirely inappropriate when taken out of context.

[billy s. @ Sep 15th 2006 3:39PM]

i41 would like to see what havoc this "pony" doth wreak.......

[Nith @ Sep 15th 2006 3:39PM]

I, for one, welcome all of our robotic animal overlords so we may see the animal kingdom ruling over the Earth again, but in a strange unnatural twist

[Caleb @ Dec 4th 2007 12:55AM]

I, for one, believe that combining the comment, "Mostly because the pony'd roll over whenever you try to ride her" and Nith's comment regarding " a strange unnatural twist," both describe the unfortunate outcome and hopefully provide sufficient deterrent.

I, for two, think that comment is wholly inappropriate when taken out of context.

[Jonathan Cohen @ Sep 15th 2006 3:44PM]

I can't wait for Sega Toys Dream Catherine the Greatbot, up next!

[CharlieX @ Sep 15th 2006 3:49PM]

"Reminds me of my childhood -- my brother got a real pony once, believe it or not"

I, for one, do not believe you.

[jones @ Sep 15th 2006 3:51PM]

I, for one, ...really nothing to say here, just wanted to get in on the "I, for one..." action.

[Kevin @ Sep 15th 2006 3:59PM]

I for one love reading the comments.

[Baron Harkonnen @ Sep 15th 2006 4:19PM]

What will it do if you brand it?

[gregger @ Sep 15th 2006 4:26PM]

I, for one, think this thing looks an awful lot like the horsie in Viva Pinata after it jumps out of your XBox 360 and maims you for not feeding it:
http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/08/28/viva-pokemon-pinata-explored/

TTFN

[general Public @ Sep 15th 2006 4:32PM]

I, for one, will not be reading past the fifth comment on this page. Peace out.

[Derek @ Sep 15th 2006 4:38PM]

I, for one, think... OMG robotic ponies!

[Evan @ Sep 15th 2006 4:47PM]

I, for one, think little girls should be able to ride it. (No, not in the way you're thinking, pervert!) I mean, make it walk and allow the rider to steer it.

[Crystal Steel @ Sep 15th 2006 4:58PM]

I, for one, shudder to think of what the furries will make of this toy.

[senshi @ Sep 15th 2006 5:15PM]

I, for one, think that everyone who messed up and didn't include "i, for one," should be ashamed. and real ponies are wierd anyway. anybody rember that one movie with hourse hed in bed and the blood?
i, for one, see reenactments of it on a massive scale once this evil machine is created.
i, for one.

[B from TX @ Sep 15th 2006 5:39PM]

I, for one, can't believe you don't know the name of the that movie! It's the Godfather - the best movie in the free world!