Bandai Namco Music Live and Bandai Namco Research Form VTuber Business Alliance
The alliance marks a rare instance of a major entertainment conglomerate's music and R&D arms formally collaborating on VTuber content, signaling a push to integrate proprietary motion-capture hardware into live streaming and location shoots.
Reporting from 4 sources: Denfaminicogamer, KAI-YOU, MoguLive, PANORA.
Bandai Namco Music Live and Bandai Namco Research Inc., both part of the Bandai Namco Group, announced a business partnership agreement for the VTuber business on June 23. The alliance combines Bandai Namco Music Live's content production capabilities, including its VTuber project MEWLIVE PROJECT, with Bandai Namco Research's advanced technologies, such as the portable motion capture system ELMIRAIVE CX. As the first initiative under the partnership, a 3D fishing location video featuring MEWLIVE PROJECT VTuber Kumanō Beatrice was produced. The shoot took place at Asakawa International Trout Fishing Ground in Hachioji, Tokyo, using ELMIRAIVE CX to fuse 3D footage with real-time live-action backgrounds on-site, rather than the conventional method of compositing separately recorded 3D footage later. The video is scheduled for release on Kumanō Beatrice's YouTube channel on June 23 at 12:00. The partnership aims to create next-generation virtual experiences as the VTuber market matures and demand for immersive technology grows. New developments for MEWLIVE PROJECT based on this alliance are expected to begin this summer, with details on content updates and events to be announced later.
Bandai Namco Music Live was formed in April 2022 through the merger of three companies: the music business of Bandai Namco Arts, Bandai Namco Live Creative, and Sunrise Music. It operates the Lantis label and handles music production, copyright management, and live event production. Bandai Namco Research describes itself as an "entertainment engineering group" that combines AI, XR, and IoT with the company's entertainment production know-how.
The MEWLIVE PROJECT launched in 2023. It has two sub-productions: MEWLIVE, focused on streaming, music, and live events, and MEWLIVE UNIVERSE, which expands each character's story through music, video, and voice dramas.
The VTuber featured in the first initiative, Kumanō Beatrice, debuted on September 29, 2023, as a 0th-generation member of MEWLIVE PROJECT. Her backstory: she was a teddy bear that remained unsold at a toy store, transformed into a girl through magic, and was taken in by voice actress Kotori Koiwai. Koiwai is listed as her owner in the YouTube channel description. Kumanō Beatrice made her major debut on May 22, 2024, with the digital single "Dull-Colored Sparkle" under Lantis. Her content focuses on games, singing, and ASMR.
The ELMIRAIVE CX system is a portable, high-performance character control system developed by Bandai Namco Research. It allows virtual characters to appear in real time at live events and shows. The fishing location video was shot at Asakawa International Trout Fishing Ground in Hachioji, Tokyo. The release is scheduled for June 23 at 12:00 on Kumanō Beatrice's YouTube channel.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 4 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Denfaminicogamer バンダイナムコミュージックライブとバンダイナムコ研究所がVTuber事業における業務提携契約を締結。VTuber「熊乃ベアトリーチェ」さんによる、実写と3D映像をリアルタイムに融合させた釣りロケ映像を公開
- KAI-YOU バンナム関連企業2社がVTuber事業で業務提携 VTuber熊乃ベアトリーチェの外ロケに先端技術を導入
- MoguLive バンダイナムコミュージックライブとバンダイナムコ研究所、VTuber事業の業務提携契約を締結、取り組み中の新技術も一部紹介
- PANORA バンダイナムコミュージックライブとバンダイナムコ研究所がVTuber事業における業務提携契約を締結