PRISM Project’s Shogun lays out where he sees VTuber industry heading in next 10 years

On Aug. 21, 2022, an AMA was held by Shogun where they answer frequently asked questions about the VTuber industry, the company he’s working for, and some personal questions. In this Reddit AMA, Shogun answered a question about the future of the VTuber industry, specifically, where he thinks the VTuber industry is heading:

In his answer, he said he’s aware of the developments concerning AR and VT and how they can be used by virtual talents so that they can be a little more interactive. Shogun even made a reference to a popular anime, Sword Art Online, saying that it might not be to the extent of the equipment used in the anime, but cheap wearables will allow more interaction in a virtual space.

He also said he thinks we’re going to see virtual talents break into the physical talent space more often. Currently, the best we can see the virtual talents in their “actual” form is whenever they’d do a 3D stream where their talents will wear motion capture equipment to breathe life into their VTuber models. He then added that one of his top priorities is to make sure the virtual talent is seen as a valid career in the entertainment industry.

This means that the talents won’t just be “VTubing” and that they should also have access to other activities aside from content creation and streaming, be it voice-over work, radio work, or voice acting. It seems that PRISM is putting emphasis on taking care of its talents even as it gets older. He closed the answer with a powerful line saying, “We aim to create an environment that does not, and will not, let people draw lines because you are ‘just a VTuber.’”

The limitations of the VTuber industry have been well-defined from the start. They are streamers living behind the screen with anime avatars who can’t really reveal themselves and interact with their fans the way normal streamers do, at least physically. PRISM Project is aware of this and seems to want to take advantage of the technological advancements currently happening in the AR and VR fields to break this barrier.

This AMA has shed light on what happens in the background of PRISM, including the company’s estimated acceptance rate, protocol when a talent receives harassment, and what it expects from a VTuber auditioning. Here’s the link to the full AMA if you want to learn more about Shogun and PROJECT Prism.

Shogun is the producer of the virtual talent agency, PRISM Project, which is a part of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. PRISM Project is a Japan-based VTuber agency based in Tokyo. The company’s talents mostly speak in English and has been around since Jan. 12, 2021. At the time of writing, PRISM has 12 talents with an audition currently ongoing for the new generation.