Virtual reality (VR) can bring many experiences to life, or at the very least put you in the centre of the action, and as we’ve seen before that doesn’t necessarily mean videogames by way of entertainment. One such expereience that we mentioned yesterday as part of a more general story was that of Hop Step Sing!, a virtual idol group, who will be making a debut ‘appearance’ from July 1st to July 4th 2017 at the Anime Expo’s Japan Character VR booth to tie in with the release of their next VR single kiss×kiss×kiss.
The group consists – in as much as they consist at all – of Niina Nijikawa, whose backstory tells of how she became a real idol singer after being dedicated to karaoke, Mikasa Minowa, “whose need for adulation means she’s continually uploading videos and hosting live streams” and Shikiri Shishiba “who decides the pair needs someone to look after them”. In reality the group are a three-way collaboration between Japanese media giant Kodansha, CG production house Polygon Pictures and music label Lantis. With publishing duties also shared by Degica Games.
kiss×kiss×kiss is the follow-up to the group’s first release Kisekiteki Shining! and utilises the HTC Vive to put you right in amongst the group. Both single experiences are set to release on Steam today, June 29th 2017, in the US at a time equivilent to very early in the morning on June 30th for Europe and beyond. Whilst the Steam store pages for both kiss×kiss×kiss and Kisekiteki Shining! do not list prices at the time of writing a press communication received does reveal they will be available at $4.99 (USD) each including a 20% off launch discount. Those wishing to get both should look out for a “Hop Step Sing! Fan Club” bundle when the listings go live.
You can see a trailer for kiss×kiss×kiss below. VRFocus will bring you more information on Hot Step Sing!, developments in the field of ‘virtual idols’, and details on further releases VR on Steam as we get them.
via Mint VR