Kaito (software)

Kaito (Japanese: カイト) (stylized as KAITO) is a Vocaloid developed by Yamaha Corporation. He has performed at live concerts onstage as an animated projection along with Crypton Future Media's other Vocaloids (like Hatsune Miku). His production code name was "Taro".[1] His voice is sampled by Naoto Fūga. He was the fifth ever released Vocaloid and the second in Japanese.

This article is about the Vocaloid. For other uses of the name, see Kaito (disambiguation).
Kaito
Kaito V3
Developer(s)Yamaha Corporation, Crypton Future Media
Initial releaseFebruary 14, 2006
Stable release
3 / February 15, 2014
Operating systemWindows
PlatformPC
Available inJapanese, English
TypeVocaloid
LicenseCommercial proprietary software
Websitewww.crypton.co.jp/mp/pages/prod/vocaloid/kaitov3.jsp

The product's name was invited to be chosen by the public, and "Kaito" was selected from among the applicants, which was Vocaloid producer Shu-tP's offered idea.[2][3] One of the reasons why his name "Kaito" was selected was because it would be easy for non-Japanese speakers to pronounce, and it looked fitting with the name "Meiko" when they were put next to one another.[4]

Development

Kaito was developed by Yamaha, Crypton Future Media sold the vocal. His voice was created by taking vocal samples from singer Naoto Fūga at a controlled pitch and tone. He was made to be the counterpart of the Vocaloid Meiko.

Additional software

A Vocaloid 2 update for Kaito was in development, but was cancelled after it failed to meet the deadline. A beta version of the vocals were used in Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai.

On February 15, 2013, a new version of Kaito, called Kaito V3, was released for Vocaloid 3 containing a package of four different tones for Kaito's voice: Straight, Soft, Whisper, and English. In addition, once imported into the engine, the 3 Japanese vocals can access the Vocaloid 4 function Cross-Synthesis (XSY).

Marketing

Kaito's rise to fame was by lucky circumstances, since Kaito was "a commercial failure" when he was first released and few had any interest in him previously. Upon release, he sold only 500 units in his first year, in which he needed to sell 1,000+ units to be counted as "successful" commercially. After his success, 100 units were sold in Jan 2008; this amount began to rise rapidly. By June 18, 2008, Kaito was reported to have now sold an additional 1,000 units, this was twice as much as his initial sales. This also shocked the Vocaloid developers at Crypton Future Media, who were surprised by the sudden attraction to old Vocaloid software "Kaito".

At the height of his sales, he was the only one of the two Vocaloid engine vocals to have a consistent ranking as one of the Crypton's Top Ten Products. In 2010, Kaito was ranked as the 7th most popular Vocaloid product they sold.[5] In some instances after his rediscovery, Vocaloid Kaito was even more popular than the Vocaloid 2 engine Appends for Miku and the Kagamines.

Unlike Kaito, Kaito V3 was very well received upon release. Crypton updated their music software sales page with those of March 2013 in the following month and the presenting data that showed Kaito V3 was an all-time topper in sales.[6] He managed to even surpass Meiko V3 in sales and in August 2014, was in third place while she remained in sixth; first and second were held by Hatsune Miku V3 and Hatsune Miku V3 complete.

Characteristics

Crypton confirmed that Kaito's image on his package had nothing to do with his V1.

As of V3, the Boxart has become his official mascot, along with his counterpart Meiko.

NameKaito
ReleaseFebruary 14 (Yamaha)
February 17 (Crypton Future Media)
Suggested GenreFolk, pop, rock, soft rock, ambient, ballads, jazz, soul, crossover, dance, electronica
Suggested Tempo90-200bpm (V3 Straight), 80-180bpm (V3 Soft), 65-150bpm (V3 Whisper), 70-190bpm (V3 ENG)
Suggested Vocal RangeB1-C3 (V3 Straight), D2-B2 (V3 Soft), F2-D3 (V3 Whisper), B1-B2 (V3 ENG)

Kaito has so far almost 100 songs and one of his songs titled "カンタレラ (Cantarella)", by Kurousa-P, is considered one of his most popular songs with over 2,000,000 views on Niconico.

References
  1. "初音ミク 6th Anniversaryニコ生で「初音ミク誕生までと、これから」特集" [Hatsune Miku 6th Anniversary Nico Nama (live streaming) featured: Hatsune Miku before the birth and now]. Hatsune Miku (in Japanese and English). September 4, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
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