Otaku can now get their own virtual 2D waifu!

[Igor-Rowan]

If you're feeling that much loneliness, how hard can it be to just... join an online forum or some shit. Play a videogame, watch a movie, build some model planes or something, join a forum for whatever your hobby is... Then you can at least interact with real people.

Let me tell you, very, very hard. Two YouTuber I really like, one of them Japanese, suffered a delusion in love, one of them when he was younger and had anime as a comfort before deciding to change it all, the other was dumped by the girlfriend and did not have anybody to support him during a hard time of his life, he even contemplated suicide. That's loneliness and what it does to people, thinking rationally is hard, really hard. But they have since moved on.

 

[Zhukov]

Oh my god that is depressing as fuck.

Especially the text message thing. "Oh hey, don't mind me, just texting my computer girlfriend so it will reply and make me feel some fragile imitation of human connection. Life is wonderful."

And at the end. "You know, somebody's home for me. Feels great." Jesus fucking Christ.

Also, that machine makes it look like she's about to be turned into a smoothie the second she fails to be sufficiently perky.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm off in search of some cocoa and a hug.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Can't we all just agree the Japanese are really desperate and sad?

Now lets all go watch POV porn, and read Mass Effect fanfic and pretend someone like Tali would ever like us.

*happy sigh* America.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Oh cmon guys, I thought the first vid was kinda cute. I skimmed the second, but I can see the appeal. For some people who don't really have anyone else and maybe lack the confidence/mental capability of reaching out to others, this might be kinda nice for them. Yes it's probably for lonely people and complete nerds, that much is obvious. But of course, let's just have fun being all "HAH YOU LONELY NERDS" about it and what potential it could have.

Also, really weird design. Why?

 

[Wintermute_v1legacy]

If you're feeling that much loneliness, how hard can it be to just... join an online forum or some shit. Play a videogame, watch a movie, build some model planes or something, join a forum for whatever your hobby is... Then you can at least interact with real people.

Online communities are poor substitutes for real interaction. The depression will still creep in.

Oh I know, I'm not that great at socializing and I often rely on them making the first move. I'm just saying a simple online interaction with someone is better than a coffee machine/robot with pre-recorded messages. On that note, I just had a little chat with Cleverbot and I hope this thing is smarter.

 

[Erttheking]

As a massive shut in with a rather limited group of friends who has never had a girlfriend in his life...Jesus fucking Christ this is pathetic.

 

[PapaGreg096]

If it doesn't have a waifu that looks like Neferpitou or Aisha Clan Clan, I'm not interested

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

If I had to take a bet there's probably a digital husbando industry as well, it's just that it is not as laughable as "oh those virgin otakus" news articles.

I'd be pretty surprised, to be honest. And I was kinda also referring to other digital assistants that we have (Siri, Cortana, Amazon's new thing). A lot of them are voiced by women and given female names. I just think it's a bit weird.

It's just playing on maternal instincts to make the person feel more at ease. It applies to both sexes. Anyone who was raised with a mother-figure, really.

There's probably a ton of really interesting psychology at work behind that.

 

[EternallyBored]

As like an alarm clock where you could set it to wake you up with various fictional characters, and/or a smart home controller with a potentially more active personality I could see the attraction, like having an avatar for your home. Wouldn't pay that price tag, but I could see the appeal of it for more than just lonely socially awkward shut ins. Without better AI it kind of seems like a novelty item at best, and for that price I would just buy a VR headset to show off to guests if I was looking for a novelty electronic device.

The stuff with the wistful texting at work and the sort of forever alone vibe in the first video, yeah no, not interested in that at all. It seems to be aimed squarely at the middle management salary man demographic rather than the NEET crowd though, the insane Japanese work culture that encourages 80+ hour work weeks giving workers money and stability but no time to pursue relationships. The shutin demographic isn't going to have the money to buy this thing.

Still, very weird, and without massive rebranding as more of a smart home device rather than a social companion, I don't see this thing selling well outside Japan.

The overall concept with another couple of years of refinement seems like it could be an interesting way to anthropomorphize a smart home system linking a number of appliances, utilities and functions together.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Welp, I see Japan has made the decision to continue their declining birth rates.

I realize this is a joke, but yeah.. that's not the reason why Japan has declining birthrates, the actual reasons are considerably more horrifying.

Simply put, Japanese marriage, and to a lesser extent sexual relationships, are awful (especially for women) and increasingly people don't want to do them, and since very few children are born outside of marriage that means not enough babies.

To be fair though, even mainstream news outlets have pushed the "it's because Japanese men are weird and perverse and don't want to fuck real women" angle. "Weird Japan" sells a bit better than "Japan has serious problems merging traditional culture with gender equality".

 

[Fox12]

Welp, I see Japan has made the decision to continue their declining birth rates.

I realize this is a joke, but yeah.. that's not the reason why Japan has declining birthrates, the actual reasons are way more horrifying. Chief among them is that Japanese marriage, and to a lesser extent sexual relationships, are fucking horrifying, especially for women, and noone wants to do it, and since very few children are born outside of marriage that means not enough babies.

To be fair though, even mainstream news outlets have pushed the "it's because Japanese men are weird and perverse and don't want to fuck real women" angle.

Yeah, japan's a shithole, even if they are really good at storytelling. Women aren't supposed to pursue a career after marriage, which is backwards as all hell, and men work horrifying hours, and are supposed to be the sole bread winners of the family. No wonder no one likes marriage. I'm usually not super judgmental about other cultures, but they really need to sort their shit out.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

America did it first in 1983 with "Sweetheart", which is funnily enough also a coffeemaker machine.
The only sad thing about this is all the hate and harassment that these innocent robosexual people have to withstand.

 

[Phasmal]

Because it's much, much easier for average women to find men than it is for average men to find women. All a woman needs to do is look decent and smile once in a while. The man has to compete with numerous prettier, smarter, funnier, more successful men. Women also tend to be more talkative, so socializing comes easy.

And women don't need to compete with prettier, smarter, funnier, more successful women? Sounds fake but okay.
I mean, I can't speak about Japan, because I know pretty much nothing about the reasons for so many dudes to be socially isolated, but in general, I don't get the idea that men have to compete and women don't.


Also, like I said, I wasn't talking solely about things made for lonely dudes, I was talking about things like Siri and Cortana. A couple other posters have given me some interesting reasons why it might be, but I still think it'd be better if you could customise the voice of your robot slave.

 

[Phasmal]

Because it's much, much easier for average women to find men than it is for average men to find women. All a woman needs to do is look decent and smile once in a while. The man has to compete with numerous prettier, smarter, funnier, more successful men. Women also tend to be more talkative, so socializing comes easy.

And women don't need to compete with prettier, smarter, funnier, more successful women? Sounds fake but okay.
I mean, I can't speak about Japan, because I know pretty much nothing about the reasons for so many dudes to be socially isolated, but in general, I don't get the idea that men have to compete and women don't.

Women aren't even expected to do the courting. They don't have to be as impressive, since men aren't that picky. It's no surprise men on average have more sexual partners than women. The average woman can be choosier, without needing to compete as fiercely as men do. A man will eventually approach her anyway.

Men on average have more sexual partners... therefore... it's harder for men to find women?

And as for "a man will approach her anyway", what if it's a man she doesn't like? People do have preferences and personalities. It's not just about looking for "a man" or "a woman" (for most people anyway, I hope).

EDIT: Also the idea that women don't do anything to try and find a partner is pretty laughable. There's a reason like 90% of women's magazines are dedicated to "HOW TO FIND AND KEEP A DUDE!", and it's not because we sit around doing our sewing until mother introduces us to a gentleman.

 

[McElroy]

Women aren't even expected to do the courting. They don't have to be as impressive, since men aren't that picky. It's no surprise men on average have more sexual partners than women. The average woman can be choosier, without needing to compete as fiercely as beta men do. A man will eventually approach her anyway.

Well, looks like someone woke up on the right side of the bed this morning! You are not supposed to court your virtual assistant goddammit! I may be sexually frustrated but even I don't want to have sex with every female voice I hear! What I mean to say is: little good will come of this thread if it gets derailed this way.

For some people who don't really have anyone else and maybe lack the confidence/mental capability of reaching out to others, this might be kinda nice for them. Yes it's probably for lonely people and complete nerds, that much is obvious. But of course, let's just have fun being all "HAH YOU LONELY NERDS" about it and what potential it could have.

I see more comments saying this is sad and depressing than "LMAO NERDS". There's a market for the shut-ins to be better at being shut-ins and that sucks. There should be a bigger market for reducing the amount of these people (and it should also be better than the ol' PUAs).

 

[Phasmal]

It's harder for lesser men to find women in the rat race dating game.

Like I said, women are pickier. They're the ones who usually have to say no or yes, so there's less effort involved, unless of course they wanna find their impossible soulmate. But at least the average woman will attract someone. She doesn't know total perpetual isolation.

I have so many questions. What makes a man "lesser"? Is it something that can't be solved? What about women who don't get approached? Do they not exist? NO women know perpetual isolation?

But I do realise that this is a derail, interesting as it might be. Social isolation is a sad thing, but I don't think it's necessarily an entirely male thing.

 

[Zhukov]

If I had to take a bet there's probably a digital husbando industry as well, it's just that it is not as laughable as "oh those virgin otakus" news articles.

I once saw something kinda-sorta similar aimed at women, also from Japan.

It was a kind of pillow covered in a shirt with an arm-shaped bit sticking out. The idea being that you cuddle up to it and it feels like having someone's arm around you.

It was about as heartbreakingly miserable as the coffee machine waifu here.