TAIPEI, Taiwan, July 25. 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Avatars are an essential part of people’s virtual lives in the metaverse. VIVERSE, HTC’s metaverse platform, today announced its partnership with pixiv Inc., which operates pixiv, a leading creator platform in Japan. The alliance will bring new Japanese anime-style avatars to VIVERSE by integrating pixiv’s 3D character modeling software, VRoid Studio. This partnership will give users more options to creatively express themselves and bring their imaginations to life in the metaverse.
Operated by pixiv Inc., pixiv aims to “create a place where creation becomes more interesting”. pixiv is one of Japan’s most prominent social media platforms, providing a place for all kinds of creators to share their illustrations, manga, and novels and interact with each other. In response to the growing demand for virtual content, pixiv launched VRoid in 2018. With VRoid Studio, a 3D virtual character modeling software, users can customize hairstyles, faces, bodies, clothes, and more. of their virtual characters. More than 10,000 avatars are created. through VRoid every day around the world.
“Avatars are an essential part of the metaverse. They represent a user’s personality and quickly convey the idea of ’who I am’ to others,” said Joseph Lin, president of VIVERSE. “Partnering with pixiv will rapidly increase the number of virtual characters on VIVERSE and meet the needs of users who prefer anime and manga styles. VIVERSE will continue to introduce more unique characters and props in the future; with a variety virtual avatars from reality to fantasy, a metaverse like Star Trek won’t be far behind.”
“We believe that integrating VRoid Avatar into the VIVERSE system would be great news for VRoid users,” said Shingo Kunieda, President and CEO of pixiv. “90% of VRoid Studio users come from different countries outside of Japan. We will continue to work with VIVERSE to build a world where people around the world can enjoy communication through 3D Avatar.”
pixiv co-founded the VRM Consortium with 13 Japanese companies. The organization aims to spread the VRM platform-independent 3D avatar file format and formulate a unified standard. HTC has also announced support for the VRM standard since the launch of VIVERSE. Currently, VRM Consortium and HTC are core members of the Metaverse Standards Forum, dedicated to achieving open metaverse interoperability.
The first task of the partnership between VIVERSE and pixiv will be to connect the data on their systems. VRoid users will be able to use their original Avatar models on the VIVERSE platform. Regarding the long-term mission, VIVERSE and pixiv will work together to provide users with more personalized and flexible creation features and to optimize avatar tools and accessories for VIVERSE. In addition to the existing Avatar functions, VIVERSE will also bring more services through partnerships to provide more personalized services based on business needs.
###
About HTC
HTC Corporation aims to bring brilliance to life. As a global innovator in smart mobile devices and technology, HTC has produced award-winning products and industry firsts since its inception in 1997, including the critically acclaimed HTC U and Desire smartphone lines. The pursuit of brilliance is at the heart of everything we do, inspiring best-in-class design and groundbreaking mobile and virtual reality experiences for consumers around the world. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). www.htc.com.
About VRoid
VRoid is a 3D project by pixiv Inc.; the concept of the project is “to create a place where creative activities become more attractive”. With VRoid Studio, the 3D character creation software, users can easily create anime-like 3D characters by customizing their hairstyle, face, body, clothes, etc. according to their preferences. Currently, more than 10,000 Avatars are produced every day around the world. https://vroid.com/studio
About Pixiv
pixiv Inc. develops and operates a platform for creators to “create a place where creation becomes more interesting”. Heart of the platform, “pixiv” is an SNS for creators, focused on interaction through their works (illustrations, mangas and novels). Since its inception in September 2007, pixiv has over 81 million users worldwide and over 100 million artworks. In addition to pixiv, we have developed various services such as BOOTH, a comprehensive marketplace for C2C creations, and FANBOX, a fan community that supports creative activities.
Media kit: https://bit.ly/3zmEUnx
Press contacts:
Edison’s Co.: [emailprotected]
Johnson Chiang: [emailprotected]
Related images
Image 1: VRoid x VIVERSE
This content was posted through the press release distribution service on Newswire.com.
