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The Verge revisited Sony's Aibo robot dog, a 1990s product meant to be a member of the family, in a retrospective episode of its Version History series. The Verge's episode, the first of the show's sixth season, which is themed around pets, recounts how Sony expected humanoid robots to become coworkers, friends and pets, and how the Aibo was built to fill the pet role. Hosts David Pierce, Victoria Song and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy discuss the dog's origins, its success and longevity, why it affected its owners so strongly, what Sony got right and wrong about robots, and whether robotic pets could become a global phenomenon. The episode's accompanying links point to other coverage, including a Wall Street Journal report that Japanese dog owners felt abandoned when Sony stopped supporting the Aibo.