China’s iQiyi bets on digital girlfriend to boost virtual reality headset sales
For iQiyi, Vivi assists users in accessing the company’s content based on the history of which videos they prefer to watch. The avatar can also answer simple queries raised by users, such as the time, weather or scheduled television shows, and even help complete missing portions of a poem.
And for those so inclined, Vivi can flirt, compliment a user’s looks and act coy when asked about her age. Because it is VR, a user can “touch” Vivi, who would giggle, act playful or pretend to be angry as part of the interaction.
“I’m already a middle-aged man, and if I like it, I’m sure younger people would like it too,” Ma said. “If a nerd wants to see her dance, he can order her to, and she would go into dancer mode.”
The company declined to release sales figures for the headset, which bears the Qiyu brand. It sells for 3,499 yuan (US$529) in China, compared with 3,999 yuan for Taiwan-based HTC’s Vive Focus.
The Qiyu headset did not rank among the top five VR headset brands in China in the second quarter, which is led by Shanghai-based Deepoon VR, HTC and Japan’s Sony, according to industry research group Canalys.
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