Giant Bombcast 653: That's Hot Soup!

I don't understand this vtuber craze at all. It's no different than Twitch streaming/Let's Plays that have existed for over a decade. But they're anime girls, so it appeals to otaku and weebs now I guess? But vtubers themselves have existed for a few years, so why the explosion of them now? I guess the main problem for me is that there is a gigantic overlap (practically 1:1) of the people I follow and the people who would be interested in vtubers, so I have been inundated with vtuber stuff recently.

Ben's wrong - Cap'n Crunch absolutely still holds up. I bought a box a couple of weeks ago for the first time in a long while. I knew I still liked it, but when I poured myself a bowl I was surprised at how much I still liked it. It's still hella delicious. My tongue and roof of mouth are absolutely paying the Crunch Toll, but it's worth it.

Damn, was really looking forward to Jason's thoughts on Monster Hunter Rise. Oh well.

but....maybe

I think that we can all agree that Nyanners is the best VTuber.

@jasperkazai said:

I think the current explosion has a lot to do with the viral Korone clips like the Doom'16 playthrough and Eekum Bokum, which led many people with overlapping interest to Hololive, expanding their English fanbase and appealing further to EN fans by introducing en English speaking branch.

I see new highlight clips every day getting translated by a dedicated set of fans, that certainly heightens their spread.

I think the virtual aspect of vtubers is imo both artistically impressive and a fun way to lower the barrier of entry for new viewers. I just find it inherently more interesting from the jump watching an animated avatar emote and react to their experiences. I mean in some ways you're already watching someone perform for a twitch stream, why not put some flare and silly character lore on top of it?

What the fuck is a vtuber???

@cyberspacecat: To build on this, I think the distance provided by a virtual avatar also attracts different kinds of performers than the usual face cam streaming. A decent number of prominent vtubers have either implied or outright stated that they are quite introverted in real life, and if it wasn’t for the virtual avatar acting as a facade, they might never have streamed at all.

Also, it’s an unfortunate fact that basically any female streamer in nerd spaces is going to have creeps openly lusting for her online. At least this way, they’re lusting over an avatar rather than the real person behind it

@mysticpirate: Yes that is also a good point, I feel them on that. I don't mind my own looks but I'm anxious about being on camera, a virtual avatar being a fun alternative in this case.

And for sure, the avatar does create a bit of remove from creeps, although certainly not to the point of immunity.
I don't know if folks have heard but a performer from the most recent gen of the JP branch had to retire before she got to begin in earnest because she got doxxed and stalked, forcing her to quit...
If you want the dark side of vtubers, well there you go.

Please note...

Ontario, Canada: I was brought up to say POP instead of soft drinks or soda.

I'm starting to feel like I was brainwashed!!

Did Ben play much of the other Monster Hunter games because I don't see how he sees more of the traditional gameplay and setup in Rise than more of what World added to the series.

Admittedly we only have like 45 seconds of actual gameplay footage, but the fact that the traversal is what it is really does scream that they're taking World as the blueprint for this.

I don’t know what Jan is talking about, Hades runs pretty poorly on Switch.

Ten years from now, Brad will still have a 1080p TV and still be complaining about Final Fantasy numbers.

How are PS5 games only $10 more expensive in the US when they're £20-£25 more in the UK? Exclusives are apparently now £70 on day one in the UK, aka $88

I've seen some VTubers before, but only in the last few weeks have I actively sought some out based on images I saw. This thumb and podcast got me to find Korone chan. Something about a cute anime dog girl playing and reacting to Doom 2016 is oddly entertaining.

Oh and it reminded me that I need to go back and finish Doom Eternal. Got stuck trying to beat one of the challenge shrines and took a break.

Jeff's kind of an asshole for suggesting that Fall Guys fans are idiots for liking the game. Be better than that, Jeff.