Two articles about ITP project, "The Needies", that appeared in approximately eight daily newspapers across Canada.Copyright 2005 National Post
All Rights Reserved
National Post (f/k/a The Financial Post) (Canada)
May 31, 2005 Tuesday
National Edition
SECTION: AVENUE; Pg. AL8
LENGTH: 595 words
HEADLINE: They just need to be needed
BYLINE: Samantha Grice, National Post
BODY:
Dannie loves to be loved and needs to be needed. Dannie's mantra, in true Needie fashion is "Hold on! Never let go!"
Mossie comes from a very long line of Needies, and this rich family legacy has given Mossie an intuitive sense of humour and an inborn creativity that he uses to amuse himself.
Brettie, on the other hand, is a very demanding Needie. He thinks the other Needies are always getting way more touch than him, and this has made him a resentful Needie. When this happens (and he is very perceptive!) Brettie makes no secret of his displeasure.
For example, if Dannie is getting lots of hugs, Brettie might say something such as, "Don't touch Dannie. Dannie has a big bottom. Touch me." Sometimes Brettie goes so far as to encourage people to throw other Needies. "Throw him! Throw him!" he might say.
Needies are very jealous.
And although they are plush toys, Dannie, Mossie and Brettie sing and talk on their own. They feel hugs and, more importantly, they know when they are not getting hugs. This is because each Needie has a customized electronic nervous system that enables it to talk, sing and feel hugs.
"I can only talk to you about that on a general level because it is super top secret," says Needie co-creator Daniel Perlin, a student at New York University 's interactive telecommunications program. "Basically they are wirelessly aware of each other and they can talk to you because there is sound synthesis involved."
Perlin and co-creators/old friends Amos Bloomberg and Brett Schultz say the Needies came out of a brainstorming session for a school project. "At one point we all got really annoyed with each other as we competed to come up with the best idea," recalls Bloomberg. "I think we had this moment of going a little meta on ourselves and we were like, 'Wow, we are extremely needy people. So the project was an analysis of ourselves but also thinking about people we knew."
"They are the embodiment of high-maintenance friends," adds Perlin. "They have all our worst traits and all our best traits."
"When you pick up one Needie, it responds because it knows it's been picked up. And when you hug one he might say something like, 'Thank you for being you' or 'Everyone loves to be loved and needs to be needed.' And the real truth about it is that Amos, Brett and I loved to be loved and need to be needed," Perlin says. "We are no exception. And who doesn't?! Come on!"
When the Needies are really happy -- say, if you've been touching them a lot -- they will sing a song for you. And if all three of them are in a room together and are given the right amount of hugs and attention, they become really happy Needies and they'll sing in harmony.
When there is more than one Needie in a room, they are bound to start chatting.
But if it's just you and Mossie hanging out and you are watching TV and ignoring him, he might say, "Don't you love me?" or "I love you. Touch me." And when you do, "Omigod. I think I love you."
When the guys have shown the Needies at NYU, they've left plenty of mouths hanging open, followed by requests to purchase. "You see their eyes open up once they see the dolls are really talking to each other," explains Bloomberg. "That's the moment when people are like, 'Wow! This really works.' "
Needies have not yet hit the streets, but the guys hope to put them into production within the year.
"People are shocked at first, but the Needies are so lovable and squeezable they can't put them down," says Perlin. "It's really about touching, feeling and hugging and it becomes a loving experience no matter how weird it seems."
GRAPHIC:
Colour Photo: Needies are the creation of three students in NYU's interactive telecommunications program. They all know when they're getting hugs or when they are not getting hugs. Mossie, right, has an intuitive sense of humour.; Colour Photo: Careful, those plush toys are very needy, like high-maintenance friends.; Colour Photo: Dannie just loves to be loved and needs to be needed, while ...; Colour Photo: ...Brettie is very demanding and jealous when not getting enough attention.
LOAD-DATE: May 31, 2005
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Copyright 2005 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest Global Communications
Corp.
All Rights Reserved
The Calgary Herald (Alberta)
May 30, 2005 Monday
Final Edition
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A4
LENGTH: 595 words
HEADLINE: High-maintenance dolls compete for attention
BYLINE: Misty Harris, CanWest News Service
BODY:
Everyone knows kids love toys. Now, a New York design collective suggests what would happen if children's toys loved them back.
Needies are a trio of interactive plush dolls inspired by co-dependent, high-maintenance relationships.
Like their human counterparts, they'll not only trade shameless flattery for love but also compete with each other for attention -- sometimes
going so far as to plot physical attacks against fellow Needies -- in a bid to be their owner's favourite companion.
It's Toy Story meets The O.C., with a dash of Lord of the Flies to keep things interesting.
"Needies are satires of personal relationships, but can also be construed as satire of technology in a larger sense," says Brett Schultz, who
along with Amos Bloomberg and Daniel Perlin designed Needies for an interactive telecommunications class at New York University.
The limited-production dolls, only available through Needies.com, boast electronic "nervous systems" that allow them to talk, sing, feel hugs and conspire against each other when necessary. They complain when left alone, coo when cuddled and, thanks to embedded radio transceivers, react to another Needie's presence in the room.
The ones who receive the most affection, for example, might taunt or mockingly console a neglected Needie. The most paranoid of the dolls
-- one that worries the other Needies will "steal his humans" -- will jealously demand his plush brethren be thrown across the room. And when all three Needies are placed together and given equal attention, they burst into song.
"You're in a position of constantly trying to satisfy the needs of your Needies," says Perlin, who considers the dolls a "post-ironic" reflection of the trio's past relationships. "They're much more like pets than regular toys."
According to Douglas Rushkoff, an associate teacher at New York University, Needies may represent an emerging trend of networked toys that combine the essence of plush with interactive technology. By design, he says the dolls serve as proxies for their owners who may be too young to network on their own.
"Your toy actually changes depending on what other toys are around it, and that sets up a more advanced form of play," he says. "Kids actually have a reason to play with one another. It's the same way Gameboys or video games are more exciting if you go online and play against other people."
Parents, however, shouldn't hold their breath for a toddler-friendly version of Needies.
Because of the cheeky nature of the dolls, Needies' creators are marketing them toward the demographic known as Millennials -- those born in or after 1982. Consumer analysts at Iconoculture, a trend research firm that describes Needies as "big, soft Furbies raised on soap operas," say it's the right move.
"These are the kids who've been caring for eggs and flour-sack babies in high school for sex-ed classes; the older ones were part of the first wave of Tamagotchis (virtual pets), and Tamagotchis are back in a big way; they do video games with each other in networks; and it's hard to come up with something more needy than instant messaging and text messaging," says Nancy Robinson, Iconoculture's Millennials research analyst. "It's Millennials' need for touch and contact."
While Needies appear to fit into the macro-trend of comfort toys, which react to their owner's presence in calming ways, Robinson says the dolls are taking the technology to a whole other plane.
"Needies are, in a way, just the opposite (of comfort toys)," she muses, laughing. "It's like bringing real-world roommates into your home."
GRAPHIC:
Photo: CanWest News Service; Needies are interactive plush dolls inspired by real-life relationships.
LOAD-DATE: May 30, 2005
