I have never seen Paro up close, only on the internet, but for that price they should be. They are meant to be used as therapeutic tools and I believe their capabilities are lots less than Pleo, but Pleo is more of an entertaining life form, one you can interact with and teach, etc. Paro on the otherhand is great for Austistic Children, nursing homes, hospital patients, etc. I think if it had a Pleo Rb price, It would be fun for a few days, but there is not much to do with it. It is a newborn and stays that way, It does not grow like Pleo Rb and you are not going to be carrying it around ( I can't imagine it, it is or looks too heavy....) so I think it would be more of a bedtime "entertainment", feed it and cuddle for a child , but I can get just as much from watching fish in an aquarium, and they are a much more reasonable price and I also get the benifit of having my blood pressure be lower and they help with the decor of the living room and provide some amusement for the cats, even though it is short lived...

( the cats get bored after three -five minutes and finding out they can not catch the "brown mice" on the bottom of the tank.( My Dojos are brownish like in nature and appear I beleive more like a rodent than a

, because they move so fast...)
Don't get me wrong, I think Paro is a wonderful tool in the right setting but it is aimed for a specific market, I think the most realistic characteristic of Paro, is the big eyes. I have seen Adult Fur seals up close only a few months ago on a beach near here ( A sick dying adult Sea Lion,

200-350 lbs, you could not normally get close to , remember they have huge teeth and would use them on you with no thought...) On the other hand, I have had more people than I can count who when first seeing Pleo, esp when walking with him, have thought Pleo real, thanks to his movements which are realistic enough, It is only when you are closer you realize he is not some "exotic " lizard. Just my two cents worth on the subject. ( ok, more than two cents...

) RWM and the Pleo Township of the Redwoods