Looks like Pleo couldn't dodge that meteor -- everyone's favorite lovable robot dinosaur company Ugobe has laid off all its employees and filed for bankruptcy. That confirms a
month of speculation that things were on the brink -- Ugobe's website has been up and down for a while, and a
major supplier filed suit a couple weeks ago for nonpayment. There's a chance that some other toymaker will swoop in and pick up the pieces during the liquidation, but we wouldn't hold our breath -- Pleo owners, feel free to commiserate in the comments.
Painful bonus: Link your pics of the Pleo going extinct on
our comment form here and we'll make a gallery. C'mon. You know you want to do it.
[Thanks, Andrew]
Chris Ziegler's entry
Sisyphus's entry 
posted Apr 20th 2009 at 9:33PM
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
MrFairladyz @ Apr 20th 2009 9:37PM
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Kamil @ Apr 20th 2009 9:38PM
you honestly cant be suprised....
Adoniteking @ Apr 20th 2009 9:54PM
I blame those damn amber coated mosquitoes!
sacapuntas @ Apr 20th 2009 10:14PM
dang it. And I thought the end was coming in 2012. I guess all those Nibiru theories were wrong... (man, I read way to many internet conspiracies)
Schweppes @ Apr 20th 2009 11:18PM
Tickle me Elmo FTW!
Interpol @ Apr 20th 2009 11:30PM
Don't worry, somebody (most likely in China) will clone this thing and it'll run amok in a theme park after a storm and the power goes out. Wow, this would make a great movie...
Robert @ Apr 21st 2009 12:17AM
DO NOT WANT!
Markarian @ Apr 21st 2009 5:36AM
Any company who's trying to push a $349 toy dinosaur in this economy is out of their mind (and apparently, now out of business too).
dan! @ Apr 20th 2009 9:40PM
monster cable sucks
Soulsaber @ Apr 20th 2009 10:00PM
No they don't, they are just overpriced.
comments4cheap @ Apr 20th 2009 10:01PM
You and monster cable suck. For everyone else stop posting other peoples comments
Greg @ Apr 20th 2009 10:26PM
I think he meant Monster Cable, the company itself, sucks, not the cables themselves.
Oleg Prosalov @ Apr 20th 2009 11:47PM
I foresee this becoming another "Can it run Crysis"
Razloga @ Apr 21st 2009 12:45AM
@greg
Dude, haven't you been paying any attention?... Both the company and the cables suck...
CleverEndeavor @ Apr 20th 2009 9:45PM
who cares?
CleverEndeavor @ Apr 20th 2009 9:47PM
well, quick, slap an apple sticker on that pleo! fanboys will hail it as the second coming of christ.
(sorry about the double post, there really needs to be a "edit" button.
rcarm @ Apr 20th 2009 9:49PM
Think about the laid off employees you inconsiderate jerk
CleverEndeavor @ Apr 20th 2009 9:49PM
everyones laid off these days, and uglobe wasnt that big of a company, anyway...
Frostblade10 @ Apr 20th 2009 10:00PM
@rcarm
Bah, shut up. Why should he care about the laid-off employees? It's more important in this economy to worry about your own hide.
Haikibutsu @ Apr 21st 2009 12:21AM
Would you like your extinction buddy to be Rapter Jesus or Philosoraptor?
comments4cheap @ Apr 20th 2009 9:47PM
There's pleo owners?
yearyearlee @ Apr 20th 2009 9:50PM
As many as you can see here replying..
Anthony @ Apr 20th 2009 10:11PM
I saw the Pleo @ Target. It looked so cool. I just wished my 2 yr old was 4. I'd totally have one. Was at Target yesterday & looked around just to be sure. Would probably have bought one had they been on the shelves.
Jake B @ Apr 22nd 2009 2:54AM
I bought one but then it was lonely so I bough four more to be a real herd. Now all my little Pleos walk into walls together its so fun!
1966Dude @ Apr 20th 2009 9:50PM
So in hindsight all the Pleo coverage was a waste? Ouch!
LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Apr 20th 2009 10:25PM
Ya can't say they didn't try!
The Mad Mule @ Apr 20th 2009 9:54PM
LOL I like this new picture over the plain Pleo pic before.
Greg @ Apr 20th 2009 9:56PM
This reminds me of The Land Before Time, which was the saddest movie EVER. :'(
DeoWulf @ Apr 20th 2009 10:03PM
Which one? Land Before Time I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, or XII?
Greg @ Apr 20th 2009 10:10PM
I just remember seeing random parts of it on TV when I was younger.
Also, The Land Before Time XIV is supposed to come out in '09 (you skipped XIII). And no, I don't just know this, I looked this up after posting.
digitalcounterculture @ Apr 20th 2009 10:14PM
The Land Before Time: Infinity, I think
ahha @ Apr 20th 2009 10:32PM
Land Before Time : Forever
STINK @ Apr 20th 2009 10:42PM
The Land Before Time 2002: We Made So Many Sequels We Kinda Caught Up
Soulsaber @ Apr 20th 2009 11:20PM
I think The Land Before Time is competing with Final Fantasy.
compuguy1088 @ Apr 20th 2009 11:20PM
*laughs* They've made more Land before times than there are Rocky movies.......
James Dumoulin @ Apr 21st 2009 8:52AM
Rename Land before time to : Never ending story
Peter @ Apr 21st 2009 9:45AM
The Land Before Time 22 - Prehistoric Boogaloo?
ScOObyDoo @ Apr 20th 2009 10:03PM
Seriously, it doesn't take a bad economy to make a company like this go under. I mean, how many people out there are willing to invest $250 for a damn robot dinosaur?
Yes, I feel sorry for the people who lost their jobs, but surely someone saw this coming?
michas_pi @ Apr 20th 2009 10:02PM
http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF055-Dinosaur_Meteors.jpg
glenskey @ Apr 20th 2009 10:40PM
?
Jerk Face @ Apr 21st 2009 12:24AM
Heh. Nice comic.
Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Apr 21st 2009 12:29AM
PBF is the best. Honda isn't too bad either... I like your style, dude.
a ham sandwich @ Apr 20th 2009 10:03PM
jeez Ziegler! its looks like your Pleo's in pain! what did u do to him?! (other than pelt him with what appears to be flaming rocks from the far reaches of the kuiper belt)
:P
skyline18231 @ Apr 20th 2009 10:05PM
well there goes my skynet prediction
FILA @ Apr 20th 2009 10:18PM
poor pleo, i like that little guy, too much for my pocket, lol, RIP
Mistic @ Apr 20th 2009 11:23PM
oh well.
I always planned on getting one
R. @ Apr 20th 2009 10:45PM
I was visiting one of their factories in Southern China in February, the Pleo line was all wrapped up 'on ice' waiting for the call to resume production... a dozen or so dirty, sad little Pleo-urchins were wandering around the QA test area seemingly lost and motherless...
nowayman @ Apr 20th 2009 10:48PM
no offense, i didn't even know they existed.
Alex @ Apr 21st 2009 1:04PM
I'm a huge fan of robots, but the Pleo never appealed to me. It just wasn't a well designed robot toy, and aesthetically didn't make a good dinosaur for that matter. The price didn't help much, too.
BeyondtheTech @ Apr 20th 2009 11:12PM
Like so many companies that have recently gone under, it's always interesting to read comments on what should have been done instead that would have made the company and/or the product soar, instead of crash and burn like it did.
As if it wasn't obvious (and I hope it's obvious to the rest of the public), when Circuit City decided to hatchet all the smart, possibly well-compensated A/V geeks with demotivated teenagers with a salary just above the position that operates the fryer at McDonald's, we all did a collective slap to the forehead.
Personally, the Pleo looked cool, but was too expensive for the mainstream public. Looking at it closer when it finally hit the shelves at the equally dying Sharper Image, it didn't appear to be a revolutionary product that would have warranted my money, full price, or even at closeout when it was as low as 70% off before it disappeared off the shelves.