# Furby

> Hasbro says Furby sold over 40 million units in its first three years.

- Owner: Tiger Electronics (Hasbro); inventors Dave Hampton and Caleb Chung
- Kind: Product
- Sector: Toys & collectibles
- Seed date: 1998-10-02
- Peak proxy date: Week of Nov 27, 1998
- Date basis: Proxy date; not a directly measured attention peak. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 53 (Notable, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Scarcity drop, Resale market, Press loop, Platform jump, Controversy

## Summary

Tiger launched Furby at FAO Schwarz, then holiday queues and sell-outs drove resale coverage. A false recording claim reached the NSA and online forums. Hasbro later claimed over 40 million sales in three years; collectors and customizers sustained an afterlife.

## Timeline

- Feb 1998 — Tiger Electronics (Retail) — Tiger showed a tethered Furby prototype at the New York Toy Fair before the finished toy went on sale.
- 1998-09-01 — WIRED (Press) — WIRED profiled Furby's development and the television campaign planned for its launch.
- 1998-10-02 — Tiger Electronics / FAO Schwarz (Retail) — Furby went on sale at FAO Schwarz in New York before wider distribution.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/furby

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Furby.” Case HIS-01250. Spread Score v1.2: 53/100. Updated 2026-10-22. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01250