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Itoh presented a series of slides to the audience to showcase
his views on Japanese business, which built up to the reveal that
the character Hatsune Miku has generated approximately 10
Billion Yen for his company. The company started humbly, with a
small amount of people huddled around one PC creating synthetic
voices using Vocaloid software, a voice synthesiser with
Yamaha backing which allows users to alter melody, pitch and
other effects to inputted lyrics. The hard work paid off with the
creation of anime-inspired character Hatsune Miku, who is a
combination of singer and
Japanese idol
which has since grown and crossed over into other media such as
figurines and advertising. |
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the many fan-based projects which exist on the internet and across
Japan. When questioned if this stance makes piracy a bigger issue,
Itoh said far from it and that the greater the exposure of
the character than the greater the official sales, due to increased
public awareness. This contributes to securing advertising deals
with companies such as Toyota and Google, as they know
the character is well-known to the general public. He also
encourages the creation of similar Vocaloid software in
China and
Mexico, since it all draws people to his creation and increases
their popularity even more. |
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Itoh reflected on the beginnings of Miku,
stating that he wanting to create a loveable character but to be
innovative also. He embraces the
doujin culture,
stating events such as Comiket (which feature fan-made
merchandise) due to their ability to create new fanbases and expand
current ones as merchandise will include media which characters do
not already appear in, including comics and even pornography.
Embracing this culture also led to the creation of MikuMikuDance
– a fan made program which Itoh claimed generated a massive
amount of brand awareness, which he is grateful for. |
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