Utatane Piko

Utatane Piko (歌手音ピコ) / CodenamePIKO (開発コードPIKO) is a Japanese VOCALOID developed and distributed by Ki/oon Music Inc. (formerly Ki/oon Records Inc.), under Sony Music Entertainment Japan, and was released in December 2010 for the VOCALOID2 engine. His voice is provided by the Japanese male singer, PIKO.

In February 2017 he was confirmed to be receiving a update to the VOCALOID4 engine.

Etymology
His surname, "Utatane", means "sound of singer", while "Piko" is the name of his voice provider, a popular Niconico singer; in other words, his name means "sound of singer Piko".

Appearance
Utatane Piko's hairstyle is almost identical to the real Piko's hairstyle, the only difference being a cowlick (ahoge) on top of his head that is shaped like the letter "P". The white hair color is likely inspired by several depicted artworks of the singer. His design incorporates aspects of YAMAHA's RGX A2 guitar

Music featuring Utatane Piko
Examples of usage

Marketing
Though he has a standard licensing agreement, Sony has held a tight copyright control on how his voicebank may be used. This was demonstrated when Sony announced they would not give permission for his vocals to be uploaded from the demo version. There was very little promotion given for him and he seemed to rely only on his provider's (Piko) popularity and links with the VOCALOID fandom. He was the only Japanese VOCALOID2 to be made "download only" at time of release. Utatane Piko's portrayal is that of a teenage/young male singer.

As for merchandising Piko is one of the lesser-known VOCALOIDs, there were only two figures produced for him, both of which were made by COSPA.

 Utatane Piko COSPA.jpg|A Piko Doll Produced by COSPA PIKO COSPA.jpg|A PIKO doll based on his voice provider's image, also produced by COSPA 

Trivia

 * SF-A2 miki's voice provider, Miki Furukawa, works for Ki/oon Music who are owned by Sony. She is from the same group Utatane Piko's provider Piko comes from.
 * Utatane Piko was also the youngest Japanese male VOCALOID to actually be voiced by a male vocalist prior to VY2.
 * Fans often are divided on their opinions of Piko's eyes and their colour. Some say he is Heterochromia iridum with his left being blue and his right green. Some fail to even notice the different coloured eyes, or put them down to lighting.

Gallery
 Utatane Piko.jpg|Full body of Piko's avatar Utatane Piko bust.png|Close up of Piko's avatar Pikologo.png|Logo 