Japan's Virtual Star Hatsune Miku Invades CyberAgent's Pico World

CyberAgent America’s (a subsidiary of Tokyo-based CyberAgent) Pico World is already going strong over on Facebook, and today the virtual world recruited a big attraction that should help it even more among fans outside Japan. Today the company announced a collaboration with Crypton Future Media to bring its famous Hatsune Miku into Pico World.

Readers may recognize the iconic character from the Vocaloid voice synthesizing application and her subsequent cultural rise that has included virtual concerts around the world (see video below) as a high-tech stage projection.

Needless to say she has legions of fans both inside and outside of Japan, and CyberAgent America is hoping that Pico World users will want Hatsune Miku Vocaloid virtual goods, including the Hatsune Miku outfit and trademark turqoise pony-tails. The company’s executive vice-president elaborated:

With social game and virtual worlds booming worldwide, we feel Pico World is on the forefront of brining Japanese culture to other countries… This partnership with Crypton Future Media will allow us to bring the Character style, and more importantly Hatsune Miku brand to fans worldwide.

While I’m not sure whether spreading Japanese culture is a key business goal for CyberAgent, it’s certainly a wonderful by-product. I can’t help but draw comparisons with China, especially having read Will Moss’ excellent piece about China’s soft power, and how that nation still lacks such an iconic cultural export.

Here’s a live concert of Hatsune’s, so that you can see her in the flesh pixels: