Last week, Japanese entrepreneur Hiroyuki Nishimura, known as the founder of the 2channel message board and current owner of 4chan, announced that he would be launching a new social network service called POPOPO with Evangelion director Hideaki Anno, Dwango founder Nobuo Kawakami and musician GACKT, alongside other notable media personalities. While at the time of announcement, most details about the app were shrouded in mystery, in today’s special live program broadcast on YouTube, it was (rather unexpectedly) revealed that the app would launch on the same day. Additionally, Nishimura, Anno, Kawakami and GACKT have been appointed company directors of POPOPO.
Now that the cat’s out of the bag, POPOPO is a “smartphone metaverse” video call app that lets users chat using virtual avatars. A big thing to note is that the app doesn’t require having a camera (or for that matter, a virtual headset) to be used. Apparently, movements of the avatars automatically synchronize with the conversation. Furthermore, instead of a “Facetime-style” format, where you have to directly face the person you’re speaking with, POPOPO places your virtual characters in a cinematic scene that switches between different camera shots as the conversation progresses.
The app is intended for both personal use, like conversations between friends and family, and for livestreaming – meaning you can broadcast your conversations live in the style of a talk show. There is also the option to request to join other people’s live broadcasts, which could be an opportunity (provided the app secures a wide enough audience) to talk directly to your favorite streamers, artists or idols.
While the app itself will be free, it seems like it will base its monetization model on cosmetics and avatars, or rather, “Holosuits,” as they are called on the official website.
With Hideaki Anno becoming one of the directors, it comes as no surprise that POPOPO also announced an upcoming Evangelion collaboration. Though we’re not yet sure what the collaboration might entail, it’s safe to assume that Evangelion-inspired Holosuits or backgrounds will be added to the app somewhere along the line. Other than Evangelion, a Touhou Project and Strawberry Prince collab is also coming soon.
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