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Toei Animation, Sony Recreate 1999 Otaku Room in VR

What did the typical Japanese otaku's room look like back in 1999? A recent corporate initiative has recreated a stereotypical room in Virtual Reality, although the result may be slightly biased toward Sony tech and Toei Animation properties. Onn'on Studios, a Toei Animation subdivision, launched a virtual space called "Nostalgia 1999" on VRChat last Thursday in collaboration with Sony.

The room is described as an "otaku room with Sony products and anime goods in July 1999." It is a small-sized apartment room comprising six tatami mats (or 9.72 square meters). The room is filled with contemporary technology, like the old-fashioned cassette player and anime goods, including a prominent Ojamajo Doremi poster. Users can zoom in and interact with items in the room; some objects will even activate on touch.

Tsuneyuki Matsudeira from Sony Music Solutions commented that many people in their 30s and 40s will vividly remember Toei Animation shows from the 90s. He also commented that Sony's audio and visual products of the time greatly colored people's experiences. Sony provided the physical items and materials to help recreate the equipment in VR.

Matsudeira teased that events may be held in the virtual space. The team also plans to add a Trinitron television inside the space to allow users to watch anime inside the VR space.

Onn'on Studios' first metaverse project was to create a miniature model of the original Toei Doga studio in VR. Both rooms are free to enter.

Source: Anime! Anime!