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Since 2016, Nintendo has been holding virtual concerts featuring the Squid Sisters, Off the Hook, and Deep Cut as a response to the popularity the Splatoon brand and its characters have had since launch. The idols are presented with higher-quality 3D models than what can be found in their respective games and are animated with motion capture technology.[1] Live musicians are present in concerts, playing along to an audio track of the idols singing.[2] The idols speak to the audience in between songs with a "translation" of their dialogue displayed as supertitles on a larger screen behind them. The songs that are performed at these concerts are given a special arrangement that extends their length and adds a proper conclusion. In some of Off the Hook's songs, new verses that are not present in-game are added as well. All concerts have been made viewable from an official source in one form or another, with some getting a remastered audio recording released on CD.
On 15 December 2015, it was announced that the Squid Sisters would be holding their first live performance at Makuhari Messe as part of Niconico Tokaigi 2016 on 30 January 2016, titled Shiokalive 2016 in Japanese. The name is a portmanteau of "Shiokarazu" (Squid Sisters) and "Live". It was held after the first annual Splatoon Koshien regional finals for the Tokyo area.
The concert was live-streamed on Niconico without region locking on Nintendo's Koshien livestream. It was officially uploaded online on 8 February 2016. An English-subtitled version first was uploaded by Nintendo of America on YouTube on 2 May 2016. A remastered recording of the concert's audio is available in the live album Splatoon Live in Makuhari.
On 24 March 2016, it was announced that the Squid Sisters would perform again at Niconico Chokaigi 2016 as part of the event's Music Festival. It was later announced that they would perform on 29 April 2016. The concert was livestreamed on the Splatoon Gachi Bon Matsuri stream, which was not region-locked. It featured the surprise debut of Callie and Marie's solo songs, Bomb Rush Blush and Tide Goes Out, respectively. The following day, the Squid Sisters amiibo were announced, revealing how their songs would be integrated into the game.
The concert was officially uploaded by Nintendo onto YouTube and Niconico the following day. An alternate version of the concert with different angles is also available on Niconico, but it is region-locked outside of Japan. A remastered recording of the concert's audio is included in the live album Splatoon Live in Makuhari.
On 1 June 2016, Nintendo of Europe announced that the Squid Sisters would perform at Japan Expo 2016 in Paris, France. This concert was the first to be held outside of Japan, as well as the first not to be livestreamed. It was held on 8 July 2016 and then uploaded online on 12 July 2016, translated by Nintendo of Europe into various languages. It featured the same setlist as the Chokaigi 2016 concert.
The Squid Sisters made a short appearance at Niconico Cho Party 2016 on 3 November 2016.
After the initial live stream of Cho Party 2016, the concert was first rebroadcast during the Second Splatoon Koshien Regional Tournament for the Kinki region on 5 November 2016, making it viewable for people outside of Japan. A higher-quality version with different camera angles and on-screen transcriptions for dialogue was eventually uploaded onto Niconico on 21 July 2017 to coincide with the release of Splatoon 2. A remastered recording of the performance's audio is included in the live album Splatoon 2 Live in Makuhari.
On 13 December 2017, it was announced that Off the Hook would have their first appearance in a concert, titled Haicalive in Japanese, during Tokaigi 2018 at Makuhari Messe on 10 February 2018. The name is a portmanteau of "Haikara" (Inkopolis, or Inkadia) and "Live". An official video was made available on YouTube on 13 February 2018. A remastered recording of the concert's audio is available on the Octotune soundtrack, as well as the concert itself in 1080i on a Blu-ray that comes with the soundtrack's limited edition.
On 19 February 2018, Nintendo of Europe announced that an Off the Hook concert would be held at Polymanga 2018 in Montreux, Switzerland, before the finals of the Splatoon European Championship. It was held on 31 March 2018. Despite happening in a primarily French-speaking region, this concert was the first to be shown with English dialogue.
The concert was uploaded by Nintendo of Europe and Nintendo of America onto YouTube on 13 April 2018. The upload had enhanced audio that corrects the timing of some sound effects, transcriptions for omitted dialogue, and translations into other languages. It featured the same dialogue and setlist as the previous concert,
On 13 April 2018, it was announced that Haicalive would be held again at Chokaigi 2018 during the Music Festival on 28 April 2018. In the initial announcement, it was teased that an additional song had been added to the setlist. On the day of the concert, it was confirmed to be the song used in the Octo Expansion trailer, Nasty Majesty. An official video was made available on Niconico on 8 May 2018.
On 13 December 2018, it was announced that Off the Hook would be having their first solo concert at Tokaigi 2019 on 26 January 2019, titled Tentalive in Japanese. The name is a portmanteau of "Tentacles" (Off the Hook) and "Live". The concert was streamed simultaneously on Niconico and YouTube by Nintendo, along with the rest of the events of the fourth annual Splatoon Koshien tournament. On 25 April 2019, Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe uploaded localized versions of the concert online. A remastered recording of the concert's audio is included in the live album Splatoon 2 Live in Makuhari.
On 1 August 2019, it was announced that there would be two concerts, titled "Haicalive Kyoto Mix" in Japanese, to be held at the Nintendo Live 2019 event in Kyoto, Japan on 13 October 2019 and 14 October 2019.[3] Within Japan, these were the first Splatoon concerts to be held outside of the Kanto region. They were based on previous concerts. The main act lasted for approximately fifty minutes, the longest yet for the franchise. K.K. Slider from the Animal Crossing series served as the opening act.
Before the release of Splatoon 3, on 21 July 2022, Nintendo announced that the Nintendo Live 2022 event would be held at Tokyo Big Sight for two consecutive days starting on 8 October 2022. Among the festivities confirmed were live music performances featuring music from Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Splatoon 3. Later, on 1 September 2022, it was revealed that Deep Cut would be making their real-world debut in a concert called "Bankalive" in Japanese, a portmanteau of "Bankara" (the Splatlands) and "Live". Deep Cut's performance was one part of a larger show, with the other half featuring DJ KK in a set titled "DJ KK Paradise Mix!!".
The show lasted an hour and was held three times a day, making six performances throughout the event. The last performance on the second day was livestreamed on YouTube.[4] A remastered recording of the concert's audio is available on the Splatune 3 soundtrack.
On 30 August 2023, another Nintendo Live event was announced to be held at Tokyo Big Sight for two consecutive days starting on 20 January 2024.
Included in the event was a brand new concert featuring Splatoon 3's Deep Cut, along with an orchestral performance for The Legend of Zelda series, which were planned to be shown twice a day for a total of four showings, with the final performance of the second day being live-streamed on YouTube on 21 January 2024 at 09:00 UTC. Unlike the previous Nintendo Live in 2022, these two shows would have been separate and attendees would have only been able to view one of them in person.[5][6]
The event, including the Splatoon 3 live concert, was later cancelled on 7 December 2023 due to Nintendo receiving threats towards employees and attendees.[7]
A prerecorded version of the concert was eventually uploaded onto Nintendo's official YouTube accounts on 10 February 2024. It lasted forty minutes and was initially premiered on the Japanese Nintendo YouTube account, with other translations being uploaded soon after.[8]