Tokyo, Nov 03: Yoshihiro Koshimoto, a 43-year-old Japanese company employee, insists he doesn't play with dolls. So what's he doing with a furry gnome-like toy that looks like an adorable cartoon character?
"He's more like family," Koshimoto says of his Primopuel, a doll that talks like a five-year-old boy. "When I'm tired from work or other things, I hold his hand and he asks me things like 'Are you OK?' and that makes me happy."
Developed by Bandai, Japan's largest toy maker, Primopuel can utter 280 randomly selected phrases on cue from sensors located on various parts of its body. This feature has won the doll an adult following.
Since the doll's debut in November 1999, the company has surpassed its initial expectations by selling 800,000 Primopuels, at 6,980 yen each (37 pounds). A cuddly toy that sells 30,000 to 40,000 units is considered a hit in Japan's toy industry.
Primopuel's success, however, is due to its target market -- adults.
"This product was developed to target single females in their early 20s. A partner to play with when they felt lonely," said Rika Kida, in charge of public relations at Bandai.
Adults are becoming an important market for Japanese toy makers, whose traditional market -- children -- is shrinking as Japan's society ages.