Those who remember Furbies, the iDog or Tamagotchi know that virtual pets are nothing new. I myself had a Tamagotchi back in the early 2000s, having begged my mom to buy me one, and would frantically press buttons to feed it between classes. Now, electronics giant Casio has unveiled the newest step forward in small, somewhat puzzling but nonetheless adorable robot companions. Its name is Moflin, and it’s fluffy, limbless and — in a modern twist — equipped with advanced AI technology.
According to its manufacturer, it can demonstrate over 4 million distinctive personality traits, depending on how it’s “raised.”
The Return of the Virtual Pet
Wrapped in a soft coat of fur with two round eyes peeking from inside, Moflin emits gentle coos and trills, somewhere between a guinea pig’s squeak and a kitten’s purr. It’s equipped with artificial intelligence, allowing it to respond to your voice and touch, which explains the hefty price tag — a singular Moflin retails for ¥59,400, or around $400 USD. These fuzzy little beings have a wide range of capabilities, per Casio: They recognize the person who talks to them most frequently as their owner and respond accordingly, and they also evolve based on their environment.
Moflin comes in either soft gray or light caramel. Paired with Casio’s MofLife smartphone app, you can monitor your Moflin’s emotional state, watch its personality evolve and track the interactions you have with it. That said, it’s not without limitations — Moflin doesn’t have limbs, so all physical expression comes from head tilts, body wiggles and squeaks. It arrives with its own white plastic cot, which doubles as a charging dock.
40,000 Possible Personalities
Casio says Moflin can develop more than 40,000 distinct personality patterns, ranging from timid to adventurous, affectionate to aloof. Moflin also actively “learns” from its owner. If you talk to it often, pet it gently or hold it close, it will remember these moments and start treating you as its primary caregiver. On the flip side, if you neglect it or scare it too much, it might become reclusive, shy or anxious. Over a course of 50 days, it “matures” and adapts its responses, vocalizations, and even how it moves to better match your style of interaction.
“People can feel that their Moflins are different from other Moflins, as the robots, like animals, display individual personalities and emotions, on top of growing and having varying sleep cycles,” Erina Ichikawa, the head developer of Moflin at Casio, told The Mainichi.
The Moflin Membership
Casio didn’t stop at just selling you a robot. They also created the Moflin Membership Club, which costs a hefty ¥6,600 a year to join, and offers an almost comically thorough set of services for your AI pet, including health check-ups (for maintenance and malfunctions), a salon for fur touch-ups and even a “Revival” service that will resurrect a lost Moflin, should tragedy befall it — provided its data has been backed up on the MofLife app.
You can get your own Moflin here on Casio’s official site — though it’s already sold out there — or try your luck in major electronics stores across Japan. And yes, there’s a catch: for now, Moflin is only available for sale in Japan
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Updated On August 15, 2025
