(Image credit: Casio)

There's always one toy or game that everyone wants to get their hands on each Christmas.

Thankfully, with online shopping, it's not quite the same as what Arnie had to go through in to get his hands on a Turbo Man in Jingle All The Way, but there's always a gadget of some sort that has us all scrambling. And it looks like Casio will have the honours this year

Back in October 2024, we wrote about Moflin, a robotic pet that makes Tamagotchi look boring. The reason we covered it then was because pre-orders had opened up in Japan for the fluffy guinea pig lookalike that was designed to be held and cuddled.

Now, pre-orders have also opened in the UK, so you'll soon be able to get your hands on this little cutie, too.

What is Casio's Moflin?

Casio's Moflin has small head and body movements to make it feel like it's doing what a real pet might.

It also has AI-powered features, like being able to recognise the person that gives it the most love, responding with unique sounds and movements.

The more you interact with it, the happier it will be, while ignoring it can make the fluffy AI pet stressed and anxious. It has a total of four million possible emotional profiles.

There's an accompanying app that will tell you its emotional state, but Moflin will also make some sounds that you can turn up or down.

You will need to factor in charging, but that takes place in a small bed that comes with Moflin rather than a USB-C port sitting under the fur. It will take around 3.5 hours to fully recharge and you'll get around 5 hours of life each time.

Moflin will cost £369 and as we mentioned, pre-orders have started today. However, at the time of writing, the Casio Moflin link wasn't live for us.

We therefore can't say when orders will be delivered, but we'd expect it before Christmas. Remember, though, a Moflin is not just for Christmas – although unlike a puppy, it can live in a drawer or cupboard quite happily.