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Nico Nico Cho Kaigi 3, an event by Japan’s largest video sharing service, Nico Nico Douga, was held on April 26 and 27. The event was held in Halls 1-8 of the Makuhari Messe International Convention Center.
Nico Nico Douga is a UGC video sharing service built primarily for users in Japan. One of its characteristics is the ability of viewers to post comments on-screen over a video. With this function, those who upload videos can converse with viewers. It also helped create Japan’s unique net and otaku cultures. The service won a Japan Otaku Taisho award in 2007. The following year, it won an honorable mention in the digital community category at the Prix Ars Electronica held at the Australian media arts festival Ars Electronica. The service has extended beyond just videos to also encompass live broadcasts and still images and currently has over 30 million registered users.
Nico Nico Cho Kaigi is a Nico Nico Douga event that is based around the concept of trying to recreate Nico Nico Douga in real life. Total attendance over the two days of this year’s Cho Kaigi was 124,966 with those attending online at roughly 7.6 million.
On the day of the event, the venue was absolute chaos. There were anime song singers and idols, performances of Vocaloid songs, professional sumo wrestling, displays of military helicopters and submarines, and other expository festivities that focused on content from Nico Nico Douga. There were also areas for cosplay, anime, and games, with each area having its own events and booths at which information on new anime and games was announced. Another characteristic of Cho Kaigi 3 were all the audience participation events.
At night, the Nico Nico Super Party III was held and this was also attended by popular Nico Nico Douga singers and performers. Under the concept “everyone plays a lead role,” attendees got up on stage and performed. It was a two-day dream event for Nico Nico Douga users.
©niwango, inc.
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.
