At Hong Kong’s Ani-Com and Games Fair this year, hardcore anime and video game fans will be given the chance to date a model of their choice — in VR.
According to the Daily Mail, even Hong Kong’s most socially awkward will have the chance to travel alongside a beautiful companion of their choice, via Leoi Yau, or “VR Travel Friend.” After slipping their phones into the visor of a plastic headset, one of four different models will accompany the player on a trip through Japan or Thailand. Along the way, they will have the chance to wine and dine their virtual attendant at cafes, hot springs, and karaoke bars.
The target audience is “otaku,” a typically disparaging term for those socially awkward (mostly) males who are obsessed with manga, video games, and anime. Nevertheless, the company making it seems to be framing the app as a helpful stepping-stone toward real engagement with the opposite sex. VR Travel Friend Communications Officer Margaret Ming said: “We want to allow more people to try out what it’s like to date a girl, because there are a lot of Otakus who don’t know how to communicate with girls.”
She also claimed that the app “can teach them how to get to know girls,” citing the game’s opportunity to flirt as one of the methods employed. 14-year-old student Wong Wing Yeung seemed to echo her opinion after trying the software, suggesting that “maybe it can help those who are shy with girls.”
While the virtual reality app is technically free, there is a $48 price tag attached to the plastic headset and a magazine that introduces prospective beaus to their virtual dating pool. That is, of course, cheaper than many real-life dates. Then again, this isn’t a real-life date.
Follow Nate Church @Get2Church on Twitter for the latest news in gaming and technology, and snarky opinions on both.
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