Everything can be experienced ‘virtually’ these days, it seems, including going on ‘virtual dates ‘with girls to practice dating skills for boys.
During the annual Ani-con and Games fair in Hong Kong, boys line up to experience a virtual reality smartphone app offering some romantic solace especially for the young males who are inexperienced, inept or timid in dating skills with real-life girls.
Users slot their phones into a plastic headset and are then automatically immersed on a date. They have the option to choose their activities for the date.
Of course, they get to pick the ‘girl ‘they will be dating from four female models and can opt to ‘spend a vacation’ with their chosen date in either Japan or Thailand. The boys can choose to bring their dates on trips to cafes, hot springs or even hit the karaoke.
The Hong Kong-based app is known by its Cantonese name ‘leoi yau’ or ‘VR travel friend’ is intended by the promoters to help what they described as ‘Otakus’ to practice their dating skills. It is a Japanese term for obsessive manga or anime fans.
Margaret Ming, the app’s communication officer said: “We want to allow more people to try out what it’s like to date a girl because there are lots of Otakus who don’t know how to communicate with girls.” Ming added that the game can teach the boys how to “get to know girls.”
The people behind the app admitted that there is indeed some flirting involved in the story arcs between the players and the models.
The app is free, but boys need to pay for the plastic headset and magazine introducing the women to date and cost $6.
