※This article is machine translated.

Cocone has prepared a special website as part of “” recruitment plan” and is actively recruiting. 
（cocone.co.jp/en/recruit/）
Over the 13 years since its establishment, Cocone has grown to a scale of more than 900 employees group-wide. President Tomita discusses why the company is accelerating recruitment at this time and its intentions.
Yosuke Tomita：
President and Director, Cocone Corporation
Director, Attorney at Law He is in charge of not only Cocone’s legal affairs, but also oversees the entire back office to realize Cocone’s broad mission, and is also in charge of subsidiary management.

As a Metaverse Company from Japan, if we don’t make a name for ourselves in the world now, when will we compete?

Ishiwatari:
I have been asked by people inside and outside the company, “You are strengthening your recruitment efforts with the goal of “hiring 300 people. What are you doing?” We are told that we receive questions such as, “Why are you doing this?
Tomita:
You are right. I would like to explain it well today.
In conclusion, this is because the future that Cocone should aim for, “”,” is now clear.
And this future destination is one that the world is beginning to realize and face at the same time.
The “Great Metaverse Era ” has begun.
At this historic time, we cannot afford not to compete to make a name for ourselves in the world as a Cocone.
Now is the time to increase the number of our friends and challenge the world with All Japan and All Asia.
300 people is the minimum level. We need more people to join us.

Ishiwatari:
I see. Shall we start by “” “?

Metaverse is a word as vague as “Internet. It is just a word that indicates ” definite ” direction of the “.

Ishiwatari:
There are many new words appearing and being spoken in the world with the metaverse.
AR/VR, 3D space, open worlds, UGC and creator economy, cryptocurrencies, NFT, Web 3.0, etc.
First of all, what is the “”?
Tomita:
You can enjoy multiple virtual worlds as well as the real world. We believe that the metaverse will allow us to live in a world of ” augmented reality.”
However, it is still a vague concept and there are many theories on its definition.
I think this is how it was when the Internet first appeared.
Now, I see it as “the direction” of the future that “.

The Metaverse came into being because of the need to define a ” future ” in Corona.

Tomita:
Nothing has changed the world more rapidly than the Corona of 2020.
The world has become a place where people are restricted from speaking face to face with acquaintances and even prohibited from going outside.
I was amazed to see a world that looks like something out of a science fiction novel come to life.
The need for online interaction has grown so rapidly that terms ” as “online meetings” and “online classes” have emerged. The online world has literally had to change in the blink of an eye in order to survive, including in areas such as meetings and classes, which have not been digitized to any great extent in the past.
In the process, people have realized that ” living in the ” world ” is important and precious not only in the real world, but also the more time they spend online.
I believe that the rapid changes have led to the emergence of the term “” as a result of people’s search for a term to define the future.

The fusion of real and digital and the creator economy. The challenges of the past have meshed with the times.

Ishiwatari:
We didn’t use the term “Metaverse” at the time, but we had customers from ” Pokecolo.
I don’t get to wear clothes as often as I used to in Corona, but I’m happy to dress up as much as I want in Pokecolo.”
I’m scared outside, but Pokecolo is a world where I feel safe with my friends.”
This year, I was at Pokecolo for both the cherry blossom viewing and the graduation ceremony.”
You have received comments such as the following.
It was a time that reinforced the realization that our service was more than just a change of clothes application.

Tomita:
You are right.
At the same time, the real world, for example, “” industry” was changing, and there was a connection there as well.
Global migration stopped and shows and collections switched to online delivery. Since models could not visit Japan, digital synthesis and digital avatars were also attracting attention.
In this context, avatars from ” Pokecolo walked the runway in the same outfits as real-life models at the 2021 Tokyo Girls Collection (TGC) online distribution.

Ishiwatari:
In ” Pokecolo you did clothing collaborations with designer brands such as Keita Maruyama and Ana Sui.
Real clothes were developed as digital items in the app.
On the runway at TGC, a colonian (avatar) from ” Pokecolo walked alongside the models wearing that dress, wearing an outfit of the same design.
I felt that the barrier between digital and reality is really disappearing.
Tomita:
That’s right. In addition to collaborations with high brands, ” Pokecolo has also been implementing a challenge called “coconets” since 2019, in which customers playing ” Pokecolo become active as creators and produce products in the app, which also leads to earnings.
I feel that the challenges we have taken on, such as “augmented reality ” UGC (User Generated Contents), and the creator economy, are in line with the trends demanded by the times.

It’s a digital world like a work of art, so it attracts people even if it has no gameplay.

Tomita:
I am convinced that the Metaverse is an extension of the CCP (stands for Character Coordinating Play) that Cocone has been accumulating.
We believe that our organization and know-how, which has produced and extended numerous CCP productions, are competitive on a global level.
Ishiwatari:
CCP is the name of the category that we have given ourselves in the course of operating ” Pokecolo, in order to clearly separate and understand that it is ” “different genre from games”.
Tomita:
That is correct.
Although often misunderstood, the essence of “” differs from the game.
The essence of the game is the rules.
People come because those rules are interesting; it’s the same in FPS and RPGs.
But CCP has no rules.
It is different from social networking sites.
You can connect with people, but you don’t have to.
There are no celebrities to come see or people to pay attention to.
Instead we can create a beautiful digital world.
You can invite people with digital works of art.
We have had the fascinating digital world recreated not once, but many times.
It has the ability to add value to digital items that are said to be difficult to convey value.
We believe we have the number one key to Metaverse’s success.

Digital Assetability by NFT. Technology has caught up with the “natural” as a realization.

Ishiwatari:
In 2021, NFT is becoming popular and the world is beginning to talk about the value of digital items = asset value.
Tomita:
As I will briefly mention in the background of the appearance of the NFT, the essence of digital is the ease of reproduction, processing and transmission.
The ability to duplicate something exactly the same made it difficult to prove that one’s data was the real thing and that there was only one in the world.
The technology that makes this possible was introduced in 2008. Blockchain technology was created to make cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) a reality.
Ishiwatari:
Things exchanged in the digital world are data, so you don’t feel like you touch them, so unlike assets in the real world, with data you have to prove that you are “” are there.
Indeed, there is an aspect of ” the value of digital assets is difficult to recognize “”
Tomita:
Thanks for the lawyerly explanation.
The technology of NFT has allowed digital assets to be recognized, and the market for digital Art has rapidly emerged.
Ishiwatari
Cocone also released the NFT marketplace “Cobalt” from its subsidiary in Singapore to sell artwork for ” Pokecolo and other products.

Tomita:
Again, ” items having asset value ” was commonplace in Cocone’s services even before the advent of blockchain technology and NFT.
Trading digital items among customers is a common practice in Pokecolo and although we prohibit RMT (real money trade), trading will not disappear from auction sites and flea market services.
Ishiwatari:
There is a lot of digital item exchange going on in Cocone’s CCP service.
Phantom items from the early days, special seasonal items, and other popular items can be surprisingly expensive.
Tomita:
Cocone, which can still create value in digital items, now guarantees more value ” NFT, a ” secure technology”.
There are many hurdles to overcome, such as legal aspects, security and familiarity with the technology, and ease of use. However, we believe that this technology will expand our “,” ” is one of our strengths.
We will also study NFTs, which are the foundation of assets in the metaverse era, and crypto assets, which are metaverse-native currencies.

I don’t think there are many companies in the world that would put their lives into the “kawaii” metaverse.

Ishiwatari:
The keyword “kawaii” is important for Cocone’s services, isn’t it?
Although already a global term, “kawaii” does not simply mean small or juvenile.
The word “kawaii” is used as a generic term for the positive meanings of “like,” “sympathize,” and “like, ” or for the psychological state of “not being ” ” and “wanting to have social contact (approach).
When you say to an older male board member, “”kawaii”!” to an older male board member, it does not mean that you think the board member is young.
It means that you saw something charming in his personality and felt like he was approachable and nice.
In that sense, we want to create a digital world where people want ” be here, feel “, and feel at ease.

Tomita:
We have released 60,000 items in ” Pokecolo (as of December 2021).
We have also built several other digital worlds from scratch Livly Island “Disney MY LITTLE DOLL ” Hello Sweet Days ” Pokecolo Twin ” Livly Island.
In terms of digital items without gameplay (parameters, etc.), or to put it plainly, avatar items, we are in the top class in Japan and probably at a globally competitive level.
The competition for metaverse around the world is accelerating, and I believe that Cocone can be so unique in the genre in which we have an advantage that we are nearly unique in the world.
Ishiwata:
We have done most of that production in-house.
Forty percent of our employees are designers, and I don’t think many companies have such a large number of in-house designers. The reason why we insist on in-house production is because design = the product itself. We cannot afford not to put effort into it.
Designers and planners ” not only the quantitative numbers, but also the unquantifiable part of the customer’s response, the so-called “.
Gender, age, physicality, etc. may all be flatly liberated in the metaverse age. The last thing that remains is “.
I feel that the ” giving form to “” Cocone’s calling, is being sought more and more by the times.
Tomita:
Metaverse’s battlefield is naturally the world, and in 2021 we tried to put serious effort into global expansion, and our services were well received in East Asia and North America.
Ishiwatari:
Yes, that’s right. It is true that preferences for appearance may differ from country to country and culture to culture, but we feel very confident that our “kawaii” ” can transcend national borders.

Need friends for Metaverse World War = 300 to be hired.

Ishiwatari:
So far we have talked about the key words of the ” Hiring Plan “.
Tomita:
I realized that we are trying to fight against a grand dream with very few people.
Hundreds of thousands of people still enjoy Cocone’s services every day. But how large will the customer base become as the times desire a more digital world?
Also, in new areas such as the metaverse, new technologies, concepts, and business models, including blockchain, can create situations where past precedents do not work at all, where “we are the first in the world “.
All areas of planning, development, and design, as well as legal, accounting, marketing, and community management, could be reconfigured.

Ishiwatari:
We need members who have the skills, knowledge, experience, and the courage to dive into the future to take Cocone to the next stage.
Tomita:
In 2021, we were able to prove the potential of the ” Pokecolo brand franchise with ” Pokecolo Twin, a sequel to ” Pokecolo, gaining support. We also acquired a new IP Livly Island.

In 2022, ” Pokepia,” a 3D version of Pokecolo, a challenge to 3D space, will appear.

We are also considering services that support NFT, blockchain, token, and Play to Earn, with global expansion as a prerequisite.
As the world moves toward the Metaverse, we would like to take on the challenge with Cocone’s unique Metaverse, armed with the high quality of “sensibility from Japan ” Japan.
We look forward to working with you as you take on the challenges of a new era.

Click here to view Cocone’s recruitment information ” Recruitment Plan “.