Hang out with Sergeant Keroro, Gintama, and other popular anime characters in VR.
HTC VIVE is revving up its engines for a big year. In addition to launching a new facial tracking peripheral and improved sensors, the company this week announced a partnership with iFixit to offer easier repair options for their VR headsets. Then of course there’s the upcoming Vivecon 2021 event as well as those cryptic tweets alluding to a new HTC Vive headset(s). As if that weren’t enough, the company this week unveiled yet another exciting partnership, this time with a legendary Japanese animation studio and production company.
In a recent press announcement conducted via Engage, HTC VIVE and Bandai Namco Pictures (BN Pictures) announced plans to expand the VIVEPORT platform using new services designed to elevate your social VR interactions.
In an official HTC VIVE press release, Joseph Lin, President of VIVEPORT, said, “The future of virtual reality is about delivering experiences and exploring infinite possibilities to be realized. We are honored to become BN Pictures’ first VR partner. Through this collaboration, we can bring animation content to a higher level and push the frontiers to unlock the full potential of virtual reality,” Lin adds, “In the next few months, anime content will be available on Viveport and more virtual experiences will be delivered to our audience. Please stay tuned – more exciting things are on the way!”
The two companies will begin by distributing exclusive animation content in VR for the first time. The goal, according to HTC and Bandai, is to expand your overall VR experience through mobile and social platforms. BN Pictures is best known for producing popular animated series such as Aikatsu!, Battle Spirits, Tiger & Bunny, as well as animations based on hit comic titles such as Gintama and Sergeant Keroro. This partnership with BN Pictures enables HTC to expand its intellectual property (IP) portfolio using well-known anime content, opening up access to new fanbases in the process.
In the same press release, OZAKI Masayuki, President and CEO of BANDAI NAMCO Pictures, said, “By combining the original animation planning and production know-how that we have cultivated over the years with HTC’s advanced technological capabilities and strength as a communications platform, we will be able to create an environment where fans can enjoy experiences together, transcending physical limitations, as if they were diving directly into the world of our creations from anywhere in the world. We are very much looking forward to evolving this newly born space together with our fans.”
In addition to expanding the Viveport platform, this partnership will allow fans of Bandai to access their favorite content in new and exciting ways, opening the doors for future collaborations between the two companies.
Feature Image Credit: HTC, Bandai
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