Ben-DutkaOkay, this is a little wacky.
You may or may not recall the Microsoft ActiMate, which was an interactive video-related toy. Well, Sony has filed a patent for a similar albeit much more advanced PlayStation doll of sorts, and the patent even mentions the ActiMate several times.
The patent was initially filed in 2008 and has been recently published. It's Sony Computer Entertainment Europe at the helm, and they're looking to improve on the ActiMate's basic concept, which didn't quite work:
"The success of such interactive toys depends on there being a good range of titles for the toy to interact with both at launch and into the future. It is also dependent on whether parents will buy a comparatively expensive toy whilst believing it will require further purchases of videos to maintain their child’s interest.
The present invention aims to mitigate or alleviate the above problem."
The product might even include a storage medium reader, a media content player, a wireless receiver and a processor. This "doll" will be able to move its limbs on its own, but with much more control. It'll sense human touch and holy crap, even boast "a refillable liquid reservoir and a liquid release means (for example to generate tears)." The processor could sense light levels and have image and voice recognition as well.
Lastly, this thing would work with both the PS3 and PSP. So who thinks this could be fun for kids? And who would want to try it?