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Hatchimals Surprise
Courtesy of Spin Master

Last year, Hatchimals robotic pets were the "it" toy of the holiday season — and now the creators are hoping lightning will strike twice, debuting a new version of the popular toy called Hatchimals Surprise.

While the new Hatchimals Surprise became available for pre-ordering Sept. 18, Spin Master kept the identities of the new toys under wraps (or in the shell, if you will) until Thursday, when it announced that the biggest "surprise" about the new Hatchimals Surprise toys is...

They're twins.

"Each egg hatched will reveal either a pair of identical or fraternal twins," the company said in a statement. So, while the $69.99 suggested retail price is about $20 higher than last year's Hatchimals, at least you get two fuzzy critters for the price.

Earlier this year, Spin Master had already revealed the new Hatchimals Surprise would have "new eggs, a new hatching process, [and] a new species." Actually, it turns out that Hatchimals Surprise includes two new species, Giravens and Peacats. Giraven identical twins have pink fur and blue spots, while the fraternal twins have either blue or pink fur with yellow spots. Peacat identical twins have blue fur with purple stripes, and the fraternal twins have yellow or purple fur with blue spots.

Courtesy of Spin Master

Last year, Hatchimals were sold out around the world more than a month before Christmas, and this year looks like it may be a repeat of that, with parents left scrambling and turning to third-party sellers (who often charged hefty markups) on sites like eBay.

Already, preorders for "Hatchimals Surprise Giraven," "Hatchimals Surprise Peacat" and "Hatchimals Surprise Ligull" are sold out on Target.com. Hatchimals Surprise Giraven and Zuffin varieties are sold out on Walmart.com (psstZuffin is a Walmart-exclusive character), but you can still snag Peacat on preorder if you're fast.

Kmart.com still appears to have Giraven and Peacat available for preordering. Peacat and Giraven preorders are also still available on toysrus.com, although Puppaddee appears to be sold out for the time being.

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