Are traditional YouTubers outdated already? With the appearance of virtual influencers, the “VTubers”, another page on the web and social networks may be turning. Now, influencer-avatars are generating millions and seem to capture an ever-growing audience. A step towards the mass adoption of virtual reality and the metaverse?
What is a VTuber?
A VTuber is an influencer who uses a virtual avatar generated using software or technology. 3D modeling and motion capture. Often it is a stream, a person who comments and plays live on platforms like Twitch or YouTube.
If the phenomenon remains for the moment marginal in Europe, virtual influencers are very popular in Japan: a country that has always been at the forefront of digital practices. However, are VTubers only vulgar virtual variants of Youtubers? Not so sure. Because even if the practice arouses perplexity, even mockery, virtual influencers could well be the future. A powerful incentive to mass adoption of the metaverse and web 3.
Remember: it wasn’t that long ago that someone posting videos online from their bedroom wasn’t highly regarded. At least, at first. Today, Youtubers are recognized, some even work for television channels, become columnists for the media! In 2005, the year YouTube was created, it was completely crazy to think that Internet users posting videos were going to become recognized experts. Even less superstars.
A few clues reveal the incredible potential around this relatively recent practice. On Twitch the word “Vtuber” is in top trend of the year 2022. Some Vtubers even make interviews real people. Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz lent themselves to the game for the promotion of the latest Batman film, answering questions from Vtuber Laplus Darkness.
Virtual Youtubers, a recent phenomenon from Japan
Japanese pop culture is famous for many things. Among others, manga, karaoke, cooking or design make the soft-power Japanese has always exported very well. Through the success of figurines or the practice of cosplay, these fictional universes invest our imaginations. Far from remaining confined to a virtual space, Japanese culture permeates the real world, to the point of creating a veritable subculture on a global scale.
Throughout the ages, many attempts have been made to apply motion capture to home video production. However, it wasn’t until late 2016 that the current Vtuber design was born. That year, Kizuna AI became the first virtual Youtuber to use a real-time avatar for his channel. Quickly, the influencer experienced significant success.
There motion capturethe key technology behind Vtubers
3D systems, motion sensors, voice modifiers… Technology is advancing rapidly. So far the motion capture was an expensive prerogative reserved for Hollywood productions. Flawed at first, these systems are now able to drastically reduce the feeling of “Valley of the Uncanny”, a theory from the Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori. According to him, the more an android robot is similar to a human being, the more monstrous its imperfections seem to us.
Today the motion capture can be used by anyone with the proper equipment. And it is thanks to the dissemination of this tool that V-Tubing spreads. He becomes more accessibleand above all, cheaper. Animaze thus offers an avatar editor intended for the general public. This unprecedented democratization could propel the metaverse that Mark Zuckerberg dreams of.
Influencers and Anonymous
A priori, influencers do not seem compatible with anonymity. Indeed, it is precisely because a person is identifiable that he arouses sympathy. This is how influencers develop a community of followers around them. However, the VTubers are a game changer. Thanks to their expressive avatars, they can choose never to reveal their identity, while retaining the empathy of their audience. Besides, how do you know who is really hiding behind these (very often female) manga characters?
In this regard, the story of the VTbeuse Nora Cat is tasty. This adorable, angelic-looking influencer has a large community of fans. His avatar recalls the aesthetics of Japanese manga, which is very appealing. Problem: The cat-eared influencer was actually…a 40-year-old man. While streaming, his motion sensors unfortunately stopped working, revealing the embarrassing secret.
If the technology still has flaws, VTubers undertake a gigantic eexploring what could be the metaverse of tomorrow. A kind of large-scale experiment, before a possible massive deployment of this technology. In addition, the avatars of these new influencers are very varied and are not limited to human forms. Thus, many choose to dress up as an animal, an alien, an android or even a demonic creature. LikeArvi The Fox, mysterious French videographer who takes the form of a blue fox, 3D version. More than 400,000 subscribers follow him on YouTube.
Virtual influencers with real profits
Digital influence is taking off. A new market that marketing and communication agencies are fighting over. Already present on TikTok, Twitch and Instagram, several companies are trying to exploit the potential of virtual influencers.
This is the case of Hololive Production, a talent scouting agency specializing in V-tubing. On its own, it marks the beginning of a new era for the world of virtual entertainment by promoting these new digitized stars. The profits generated by these agencies continue to increase. Among the 20 users who derive the most revenue from supercats (a donation service to highlight messages during live on Youtube), no less than 14 are VTubers.
However, these new virtual idols always create a certain uneasiness among Western audiences. Less accustomed to the culture of cosplayHowever, Vtubers are extremely popular in Asia. Admittedly, the entertainment industry remains the primary vehicle for adopting these new technologies. But virtual avatars could gradually slip into the world of work or social networks.
VTubers, expressive avatars for the metaverse
Currently, the general public and the media do not fully understand the metaverse. Many are still wondering what is the point of such a gadget. However, the success of VTubers shows us how popular and attractive avatars remain. Thus, it is certain that influencers will have a role to play in the development of this new digital infrastructure.
More generally, it is also the way we consume the web that is about to change. The phenomenon of virtual influencers could accelerate the transition to web 3.0 announced for so many years. While web 2.0 is read-write, web 3.0 offers “read-write-ownership” interactions. That is to say that Internet users become owners of the data and interactions they produce on the web. With such alluring and realistic avatars, one can easily imagine that audiences will want to own them. Another use case for NFTs?
Today, we still use simple emojis (a Japanese invention) to express emotions. On Instagram, the filters are becoming more and more sophisticated and already allow you to change (momentarily) into an alien or a dragon. Tomorrow, will we use motion capture and avatar systems to imitate our favorite influencers? From there, it’s just one step to dive into the metaverse. Sometimes technical details determine the success of a technology.
Cryptocurrency, the new fuel for VTubers?
NFT and cryptocurrencies are never far away. Indeed, many influencers exist in the cryptocurrency ecosystem (especially during market upswings). It seems logical that a virtual world goes hand in hand with a digital currency. Whether it’s the Kamas in online game Dofus or alternatively the currency of the movie’s metaverse Ready Player Onethere is always a link between the gaming and digital transactions. It is not for nothing that the crypto platforms are interested in VTubers. Another interest of cryptos with regard to virtual avatars: they allow you to put a distance between your real identity and your avatar. A feature that could well appeal, as long as the interoperability of metaverses is developed.
Released in 2013, the film The Congress prophesies a world in which actors get scanned and digitized. They are then used as avatars for the Hollywood industry. A science fiction scenario that resonates strangely with the phenomenon of VTubers.
The VTubers promise us a potential major anthropological rupture: the disappearance of the body in the traditional sense of the term. The figure of the virtual influencer heralds a profound change in our relationship to immersive digital worlds. A first step towards the democratization of the metaverse ?
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