Wikipedia says Doi told the crowd that the AIBO was a symbol of a risk-taking spirit at Sony that was now dead. A company's weird bets are the first thing to go when money gets tight, and the people who built them know it.

The real owners got a funeral too. AFP reported on a Buddhist ceremony in Japan for broken AIBOs and described it as a funeral like any other in Japan. NPR quoted the head priest, Bungen Oi, saying "All things have a bit of soul."

Owners had a reason to hold one.