Robots, dinosaurs, and cosplayers socialized with each other as Japan's largest video-sharing website Niconico opened its two-day meet-up gala April 25. The event, held at the Makuhari convention hall in Chiba, near Tokyo, is expected to attract more than 100,000 fans for the annual offline get-together.
The Niconico "smiling" website is the host of various video sharing communities with varying interests that include robots, animation, cosplaying, sumo, and even politics and the military.
The offline meet-up features display booths and stages, all of which are aired online for those fans that cannot attend the event. Organizers say that last year, the event drew 125,000 visitors, and 7.6 million viewers logged in to watch through the Internet.
The gala this year featured a 10m (30ft) mobile suit robot called "Patlabor," which is derived from patrol labor, and a squad of Pepper androids. The Patlabor will be featured in an upcoming Japanese science-fiction movie, wherein it will be a part of Tokyo's police force. On the other hand, an interactive Pepper android was developed and unveiled last year by French robot-maker Aldebaran. The Pepper has already been well received by customers at a number of Japanese stores.
