Through sensors in his eyes, feet and hands, the plush 16-inch ActiMates Interactive Barney is able to respond to a child's touch and, with a 2,000 word vocabulary, can talk a child through a wide variety of learning-oriented activities - always with an emphasis on fun. The toy Barney could also be interactive on his own, without a TV or PC. The full system gives parents a library of information from learning experts on children's growth and development, and suggested activities to enhance the child's mastery of important skills. While playing with the ActiMates system, the child is encouraged to explore and discover the curriculum that's built into the software programs, videotapes and the games available in the character itself. In fact, the initial press release quotes an Erik Strommen who has a Ph.D in developmental psychology and who Microsoft stated was a consultant on ActiMates. Microsoft marketed this toy line as "educational". The increase was likely because the PC version included special games and interactive activities that kids could play, and have Barney react and interact with them. The TV version allowed Barney to use up to 4,000 words, while the PC version, made to work with Windows 95 (naturally) increased his vocabulary to 14,000 words. He could "talk" about what was being shown on the TV screen or PC monitor, ask questions to the kids that are watching the videos with them, and more. In both cases, the toy Barney could talk by using an extensive vocabulary. The toy could also be connected to a PC and could interact with videos and software shown on the monitor. The premise of the Microsoft ActiMates lineup was that your kids got a plush small version of Barney in the box, and when you connected the plush toy to your TV with a special transmitter (sold separately), and then played specially coded VHS tapes on your TV (also sold separately), the toy would react to what was playing on the tape.
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