The esports event Shishiro Hai, which we have been covering here on COVERedge hosted by hololive production’s Shishiro Botan herself, is garnering attention from not only VTuber fans but fighting video game fans and the e-sports community alike, and every time it is held increases its sense of belonging as an event.
In the first article of the special feature on Shishiro Hai, we introduced various features Shishiro Hai has to offer, such as a unique tournament design and participant selection as well as how big it could become and the influence it possesses. The second article featured interviews with host Shishiro Botan, where we learnt about her attitude towards prioritizing what she likes and her sincerity in making an event that everybody is glad to be a part of, and COVER staff member S, who talked about earnestly trying to accompany Shishiro Botan and bring what she wants to life.
This final edition of the feature will focus on ‘co-creation’ with a number of different companies supporting Shishiro Botan including the Tokyo Design Technology Center who produced a lot of the material used during the event, and an email interview with Shuhei Matsumoto from CAPCOM, producer of Street Fighter 6.
Sponsorship Born From Shared Sentiment – Building Excitement for Shishiro Hai Together
Shishiro Hai generates excitement that transcends location and dimension by involving both participants and fans alike and this would not be possible without collaborators lending Shishiro Botan a hand. Beyond mere sponsorship, it is a relationship that is not just strictly business but one between Shishiro Hai and each company who share a vision of building excitement for the event together and ensuring viewers are having the most fun possible.
Introducing sponsors’ products and initiatives needs to be in a form that is entertaining taking into account viewer psychology and context in order for it to have a positive impression and be informative. Shishiro Botan and S both expressed the importance of such designs aimed at consumers for both the sponsors and for viewers.
Here are some examples of initiatives that have featured during a Shishiro Hai:
- Gift and discount campaigns that are worthwhile for viewers
- Providing stories from even before the event starts to generate festival-like hype
- Special segments that incorporate entertainment elements to keep viewers engaged
- Public viewing locations to experience all the action of Shishiro Hai with others offline
- Creative offerings from current vocational school students
In fact, through pre-tournament sponsor announcements and PR during the event, there has been no major drop-off in viewer numbers: rather, we have been able to maintain a festival-like atmosphere with continual comments being posted that mention company and brand names. Next, we will go into more detail about some of these initiatives.
Event Initiatives and the Hype They Generate
Campaigns
VAXEE produced mousepads that featured key visuals from the 1st to the 3rd event, which were reposted about 19,000 times through follow and repost initiatives on X, and posts from appearing players and coaches delighted to receive mousepads of their own amassed a total of 853,000 impressions.
Stories
With HP, the major sponsor of the 3rd Shishiro Hai, we had more correspondence on X from the announcement of their sponsorship right up until the event, including Shishiro Botan posting about her visit to HP headquarters, and also a “Nebiki (Discount) Challenge Stream” that viewers could participate in, which kept fans engaged right up until the tournament started.
There are also companies instantly recognizable by fans whose relationship with Shishiro Botan and hololive themselves also became a storyline: for example, Red Bull Japan, of which Shishiro herself is a virtual ambassador. When they were announced as a sponsor of the 1st tournament, we received comments such as “Thank you always” and “Tsubasa wo sazuke raion” (The lion that gives me wings), and after the 3rd event, the convenience store chain Lawson held a campaign offering limited-edition stickers with Red Bull purchases across Japan.
Special Segments
Shishiro Hai’s first special segment is now always a taste test stream in collaboration with a food/beverage company. Frozen meal delivery service provider nosh has collaborated for all three events, including Dietary Guidance with Shishiro (the 1st Shishiro Hai) and Telepathic Food Reviews! (the 2nd and 3rd events). The comment section was ecstatic to see appearances not normally witnessed, with about 160,000 viewers across all streams, including mirror streams, for the segment during the 1st tournament. Tournament participants also tried the “あえて、®” (Aete) range of frozen meals from Ajinomoto, who have recently expanded into the esports industry. For a tournament that can be full of tension at times, these are the perfect segments to unwind and have a good time.
Public Viewings
Public viewings held at esports Challenger’s Park (QTnet) for the 2nd edition of the tournament, and HUB for the 3rd event, with a limited-time drinks selection and bonus coasters available at HUB, gave fans a space to not only watch the tournament unfold live, but also hang out before and after the events.
Creative Offerings
Students from the Tokyo Design Technology Center have produced a range of assets and material used for Shishiro Hai including subtitles for participants and interviews, as well as slides shown on stream during the tournament. As well as it being rare and novel for a school to collaborate for a VTuber event as a sponsor, it garnered positive reactions from those in awe of the creative skills current school students have.
How Much Students Gained From Shishiro Hai: Tokyo Design Technology Center
――Tell us about what led to starting this initiative with Shishiro Hai, anything in particular that has left an impression and any challenges that have been taken on through this collaboration.
What led to working with Shishiro Hai was the visit from hololive talents as guests to our campus open day. We saw the incredible response and interest from high schoolers and students currently attending our school, and strongly felt that collaborations with VTubers can be rather effective for the younger generation in providing new learnings for our students and generating PR for our school.
What particularly left an impression was how flexibly sponsorship conditions, which were originally meant for businesses, were changed to suit a school like us. This was never just purely a sponsorship arrangement but was structured so that we could be involved with the production of actual material as a practical learning experience for the students who could see the meaning of a school being a sponsor and get true educational value out of the experience. There are also not many cases of a school being a sponsor so it was a truly meaningful experience and one we are grateful to have been a part of.
――What learnings, opportunities, and skills have students gained from being involved with an event like Shishiro Hai? Tell us about the response from students and any instances that left an impression.
There were so many things students gained from being involved with Shishiro Hai. One of the major things was being able to experience an actual production workflow and the technical level required in the workplace through this project. This is different to other schoolwork in the fact that students were able to develop a real sense of responsibility that their work will actually be used and learnt more practical skills.
In particular, students gave a lot of positive feedback from working in an environment directly related to an industry that they are aiming to get into, saying that they had a clearer picture of what career path they want to take, which was a huge motivation for them.
▼Creative works that students produced(In the red box)
――What was the response from viewers and users like? In particular, were there any comments on X or livestream in response to the students’ work that really stood out?
We received a lot of kind comments and support in response to students’ work that was actually displayed on stream, which have been a huge source of encouragement for both students and faculty members. The more times we do it as well, we have started to see comments that really feel like viewers are acknowledging our continual efforts, which is really pleasing to see.
There have also been comments like, “I didn’t know that sponsors could also be educational facilities,” with interest coming from not only viewers but companies in other industries as well. We have recently had more inquiries about other projects connected to student learning and development, and we can receive more meaningful project proposals now that there is more of a prior understanding about the educational goals and intentions that we have.
――What do you think about the future potential of educational programs linked with actual entertainment content like Shishiro Hai? What do you as a school expect from or what challenge would you like to take on with respect to Shishiro Hai or similar projects?
We feel like the learning potential for educational programs in conjunction with actual entertainment content like Shishiro Hai will really expand. Experiences where you can receive direct feedback from industry professionals and viewers are extremely practical for students and can increase their understanding of what is to come in the future. Through these kinds of initiatives, we hope that it can develop into a system where students can forge a career path in the industry.
Also, in addition to submissions of design production works, we hope that there are more opportunities to provide similar practical experiences from a project, management and data analysis perspective and we would like to independently create more as well.
「A Unique Growth in Loyalty: Shishiro Hai from the Perspective of Shuhei Matsumoto, Producer of Street Fighter 6.
―― What expectations do you have as a publisher after collaborating on VTuber Shishiro Botan’s event Shishiro Hai?
There have already been 3 reiterations of Shishiro Hai, but I always feel there is a willingness to try and keep growing the event with the changes made each time. It is evident that this attitude is one of the big reasons that the more times the event is held, the more loyalty from viewers and participants increases. We are extremely grateful that such growth in loyalty has had a positive effect on Street Fighter 6.
Shishiro Hai is an esports event with a slightly different atmosphere to the more “serious” tournaments that we host such as CAPCOM Pro Tour and STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE. I always think that esports can take any form and wonder what Shishiro Hai has in store for us each time.。
――How have you dealt with the ripple effect and response that has come from co-creation projects with Shishiro Botan such as Shishiro Hai?
Shishiro Botan has hosted other events featuring Street Fighter 6 besides Shishiro Hai, and each one has been accepted by the fighting game community. As you just mentioned, there has been a huge ripple effect on Street Fighter 6, with a remarkable amount of comments from people who have seen Shishiro’s events and wanted to give the game a go.
This effect has led to us proposing a collaboration for the release of the AI character Shishimon-kun generated from data collected from Shishiro Botan gameplay. This allows players to be able to play against Shishiro, and the already high levels of user loyalty for her have led to an amazing amount of player engagement.
――How does CAPCOM, one of the leading fighting game developers for many years now, feel about the potential and value of entertainment such as esports tournaments and gaming streams hosted by VTubers?
There is so much potential and huge value in these sorts of events. This is just my personal view, but VTubers continuing to enjoy playing our games only increases their value. Fans want to see their favorite VTuber, or their oshi, having fun playing video games and if they like it and continuing playing so much that they end up hosting gaming events, then they will want to support even more.
The intentions behind the concept and game modes of Street Fighter 6 are already well-known, and by having VTubers also understand this will contribute to the lasting success of such events rather than them just being a passing trend and make it easier for VTubers to pitch new project ideas. This is when it turns from a mere collaboration into co-creation together with VTubers which I feel holds real value in unlocking new potential for the game.
What did you think about this three-part special feature on the appeal of and behind the scenes of Shishiro Hai? We have tried to take you behind the scenes at how the event was born and the potential it has created in terms of both business and entertainment.
This tournament, which started from Shishiro Botan’s passion for Street Fighter, has led to the creation of a new form of entertainment that pushes the boundaries of esports events through co-creation with many businesses, talents, creators, and, of course, fans.
We will be bringing you more content on COVER projects and behind-the-scenes looks at other examples of co-creation and the value they bring here on COVERedge, so please stay tuned.
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