I don't think the software will "die" as in like... the website shuts down and you can't buy them anymore any time soon. People are just going to have to move on to other vocal synths, there are tons of them!
Yeah, i agree. I dont see Yamaha
officially killing off Vocaloid anytime soon, but if things continue at this rate, and like you said, if VOCALOID AI doesnt do well, it's gonna happen eventually. (im prolly gonna guess it'll happen when a new OS comes out and V5 isn't supported on it)
Now, what I'm about to say may come across as sacrilegious given we're on a
Vocaloid-centred forum, but im gonna be real. I'm kinda glad Vocaloid as a synth platform is dead. Yes, it did give us Miku and it did give us a wonderful community full of creativity, but in terms of the actual software, it stagnated a looooong time ago.
It always felt like after the Vocaloid boom that was V3, the engine never really made any significant improvements in terms of voice quality, new features (save for Growl, XSynth, and a bunch of other minor features that were used here and there but never really blew anyone's socks off) That, and the majority of new voicebanks that came out after the mid-point of V3 never really made that much of a mark. ( i can count on one hand the amount of new Vocaloids that still get frequent use that came out after v3)
The platform never really allowed for innovation, new ideas, or anything that wasnt already popular to succeed. Even when Crypton tried to shake things up by themselves (like they tried to do with EVEC), it never really worked because Yamaha and their engine
just didn't allow for it. I remember when Engloids were still coming out, we would always hope that we would
finally get that amazing, powerful, CLEAR, English vocal that would change everything in the West and make Vocaloid mainstream here, but it never happened because Yamaha and their engine
just didn't allow for it.
But now, we dont have to be held back by Vocaloid anymore.
We have a plethora of different, amazing new synths to choose from, most of them just beginning to get their footing. SynthV looks AMAZING in terms of how it can handle English vocals, and i hear CeVIO is finally catching up too. And now, Crypton is making
their own platform. We might finally get CVO4! And not just that, imagine what else is possible! This is a very exciting time to be in! I personally wish Crypton all the best with their new ventures.