![]() ![]() Rogers was a convicted child molester or had served in the armed forces as a sniper and thus had dispatched many to their graves. Back fence gossip asserted the genial Mr. The rumors' presentation of Barney as a nefarious character who deals drugs or secretly hates children runs contrary to his steadfast image of wholesomeness and trustworthiness.īaseless rumors of similar denigrating nature have plagued other children's hosts cherished for their friendliness and sincerity. It's not the funny costume or the songs that make the show a success it's the friendliness and constant optimism of the show's purple host. Two common rumors about Barney (police uncovered a cache of illegal drugs secreted in the rotund dinosaur's tail, or the endlessly loving and patient children's host roundly cussed out a hapless tyke) strike at the heart of Barney's appeal to the smaller set. Barney's is a loveable persona, and the children he interacts with as part of the show happily sing and dance along with him, looking upon him as a much-admired friend. "I like watching TV with you" and Thank you for watching TV with me.").Barney, the purple dinosaur from television's Barney & Friends, has been on the air since 1992, hosting a show which uses song and dance to teach preschool tots in an environment of warmth and caring. Squeezing his hand will make Barney (i.e. Like in stand alone mode, Barney can play Peekaboo with the characters in the PC games.īy using the TV Pack (a special transmitter plugged into a VCR), ActiMates Barney becomes a sort of viewing buddy and interacts with special encoded tapes and broadcasts of Barney & Friends (even if they were taped off of TV).īarney would sing along to the songs and comment on various events in the episodes and videos. Actimates Barney could also help the user in the various PC games. When not using the toy, Barney would appear on screen in his place in most of the titles. Actimates Barney is required for the pack-in titles, " Barney's Fun on Imagination Island", but was optional for the other titles. The software makes use of a special programming library called "ToyAPI", which communicated with the ActiMates via the PC Pack. ![]() Because of the updated capabilities of this pack, Barney's vocabulary jumped from 2,000 words to an impressive 14,000 words in total. Using the PC Pack, Barney could interact with special PC titles developed by 7th Level and Microsoft. Covering Barney's eyes, which have light sensors, and uncovering them would let the plush play peek-a-boo with the user. These actions can be achieved by pressing the various sensors throughout the plush's body.įor example, if one were to squeeze one of Barney's hands, he would play through one of the games. When used as a stand-alone toy, Barney has a 2,000 word vocabulary and is able to sing 17 songs in addition to being able to play 12 different games. To get the ActiMates to interact with the TV show or the videos, a hockey-puck-shaped transmitter device called a TV Pack must be purchased separately and connected to the video-out connector of the TV set, while to have the ActiMates interact with the specialized computer software (developed by 7th Level and published by Microsoft), another hockey-puck-shaped transmitter device called a PC Pack must be purchased separately and be connected to the MIDI/game port connector of the PC. While Barney can be used as a stand alone toy, the main feature is the ActiMates doll's interactivity with the PC and television. Dolls based on Arthur, his sister D.W., and the Teletubbies were also made following the success of the Barney plush.Īfter dwindling sales, the dolls were discontinued in 2000 with Microsoft losing the patent rights to the toys in 2005. Put into stores, Barney quickly became a huge success that holiday season. The first of these dolls, modeled after Barney, were first displayed at the New York Toy Fair in 1997 to much praise. Codenamed "Gepetto" for the motion technology inside the dolls, the Actimates toys were Microsoft's attempt to get into the toy market, especially the digital sector that was growing very popular by the late 1990s.Ī store display used to showcase the abilities of ActiMates Barney.
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