In November 2023, virtual Youtuber Matsuiro Matsuri celebrated its 5th anniversary by holding a concert themed after Japan’s leading video streaming site of the 2000s, Nico Nico Douga. The homages come in all forms, from covers of Vocaloid songs popular during Nico Nico’s heyday (“Senbonzakura,” “Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru”), to jingles and error messages, and everything in between. However, the barrage of on-screen viewer comments was and remains its distinguishing feature. It wouldn’t be a true Nico Nico parody without that.
For those familiar with Nico Nico, it’s certainly a nostalgic trip, but I’ve seen some confusion among those who aren’t. They wondered how people could enjoy a chat that obscured the actual video. I mean, isn’t it distracting?
In short: yes, certainly, but there are benefits too. While not everyone likes fly-on commentary (I know many people who turn it off whenever possible), it does add something to the viewing experience while also being a product of the old era of online video than.
There are two important aspects of Nico Nico’s unique commentary that make it more of a benefit than a disadvantage. First, because the text is at the beginning of the video, you don’t have to constantly look away to see what people are saying. The second (and more important) is that it fosters a real-time pseudo-community experience without having to watch something live.
Similar to many other video platforms, Nico Nico now allows live streaming, but that wasn’t always the case. Like Youtube, it used to be purely pre-recorded material. While comments sections were nothing new then, what Nico Nico allowed was the ability to make a user comment at a specific moment in the video, so that it was clear what the person was reacting to. What. Best of all, anyone can post messages this way whether they watched the video the day it was uploaded or five years later, and they’ll still show up the same. This means you can feel like you’re watching the same group of people and quipping about what’s going on despite not actually being together in space or time.
In other words, Nico Nico created a form of cultivating asynchronous community through his chat, and this has even lasted to this day when there are so many live streams. In contrast, Twitch and Youtube constantly make viewers feel like they’re missing out if they don’t watch live. Twitch’s VOD service is currently unavailable, while Youtube only allows you to join the chat if you’ve watched something live or at least as soon as it premieres. There’s a comments section and it even allows you to set timestamps, but it’s considered its own space. However, on Nico Nico, chat and comments are one and the same. I believe this approach helps prevent FOMO anxiety to some extent.
That doesn’t mean Nico Nico doesn’t have flaws. Non-potatoes video quality, the ability to view streaming recordings after the fact, and even prioritization of who can even watch something can all be limited for premium membership. Youtube is also more intuitive to browse and use in any language. But Nico Nico has found a solution to the problem of not being able to provide a truly simultaneous viewing experience, and I think there’s still a lot of value in that approach.
I’m grateful to Matsuri for the reminder. Nico Nico is a big part of Japanese Internet history, and with good reason. Perhaps we are also at a point where the flexibility that Nico Nico demonstrates can help people no longer have to stick to rigid schedules and fear missing out.
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