Is Sphero’s BB-8 The Next Vintage Slinky Toy? Get Them While They’re In Stock!

The BB-8 by Sphero is sure to delight many fans as they prepare for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The Android smart phone-driven toy has become quite the popular pick for fans and according to Android Headlines, is a hard to find the toy and the BB-8 is usually listed as being “out of stock” on certain sites. The cost is $149.99 and is controllable via either an Android smart phone or tablet.

However, one would have to keep checking back for its availability every so often to nab that little guy. It has already been seen in the trailers and basically looks like a soccer ball with a droid head and looks like it’s already become a recognizable, iconic figure as the Star Wars franchise moves forward with their seventh installment, directed by J.J. Abrams.

Back in September, Polygon clarified with photos, the two different version of toys and that the Sphero’s brand shouldn’t be confused with the BB-8 Target exclusive which went on sale for $80 and runs on a physical remote control as opposed to an app. So, Star Wars fans can’t be in a rush and need to be careful and read the packaging.

It’s no wonder that toys from the franchise are gaining production as the film makes its debut in December and apparently, according to the Wall Street Journal, the BB-8 by Sphero “left virtually every other new Star Wars toy in the dust.”

Updates to the Sphero toy will even allow for it to produce holographic projections not unlike what was seen in the original trilogy. There is said to be exclusive dialogue included from the characters from The Force Awakens such as Captain Phasma, played by Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie and those of the First Order. R2-D2 and C-3P0 had already been released. On Black Friday, expect yet another update to the device. Notably the Sphero device updates, per chief product officer John Blakely, as mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, are as follows.

“More updates are coming soon. Users can expect another one around the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally known as ‘Black Friday,’ and yet another around when the movie comes out Dec. 18. After “The Force Awakens” is released.”

The real creators of BB-8 gave their view on having worked with the Star Wars prop in an interview with Popular Science. They also compared how their live-action droid differs to the Sphero toy. Electronic designer and development supervisor Matt Denton and senior animatronic designer, Josh Lee, discussed how much different they are.

“It’s a totally different beast. Sphero is a hamster in a ball, and BB-8 has a head that’s independent of the body so it can spin on the spot.”

Lee talked about how the BB-8 Sphero product is rather out of control, as some may have seen demonstrated when encountering puppies on YouTube. Though, it did fare pretty well in its presentation in a Sphero promotional video. The reality of the situation is, according to Lee, that when attempting to work with the real deal, there’s the “wobble” one has to deal with.

“The Sphero toys are really fun because they’re madcap and out of control. They roll all over. But when you’re doing an event, you can’t have that. You need to precisely puppeteer it. And that was a big challenge—figuring out how to get rid of all the wobble in a sphere mechanism.”

While Sphero’s BB-8 is among the most popular Star Wars toys, according to Yahoo!, another remote controlled toy, the Millennium Falcon Quad, by Air Hogs, is also gaining attention. Then there’s ever popular Star Wars: Battlefront video game, and then Star Wars Blade Builders which allow for creativity for youngsters crafting different light saber versions.

[Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images News]