Man what a ride its been. Franchise started at the arcade a long time ago and has truly grown. From Xbox to DS to PS. We have seen it all started from the bottom. Here is a picture of the concerts.
There is also been a time line.
Found a nice interview with Harada talking about his love hate relationship with the franchise.:
- Harada used to hate Idolm@ster, because he was forced to play the game to attract customers in a game center. Idolm@ster was something new at the time and not many people play it. Harada who was going back and forth to collect Tekken data at game centers met an angry (game center) owner who told him to do something about it, just because Harada is a Namco employee and must take responsibility. "Play here until the shop closes!" Harada ended up playing it alone until the shop closed, paying from his own pocket.
- Harada then got involved with Idolm@ster again when he was requested Tekken costumes for using in Idolm@ster. He didn't like the idea but complied, because they're in the same company. When he saw Iori in Xiaoyu costume illustration, he had a flashback: "I used to play this girl (Iori) in the game center." "At that time, the owner was mad at me." He then realized that Idolm@ster and its idols share the same destiny, and they've grown popular. It started to grow on him.
- After that, Tekken music composer Akitaka Toyama who went to work on Idolm@ster had consulted Harada about wanting to make a song like Tekken 6's Karma (Electric Fauntain). The song became Next Life. When a test dance scene was made and shown to him, Harada perceived the girls like real people who practiced for their performance. He then formed a connection between him and the idols. That's when he started liking Idolm@ster.
- Harada accidentally tuned into episode 7 of Idolm@ster anime on the TV. He was emotionally moved by the scene of Iori eating bean sprouts. He said Iori is like Lili, a girl from a rich family. Trying to live a life (eating) like common people would be tough. The ability to allow him to observe the private life made him emotional and leads him to watch the entire anime. That's when he started the Iori roleplaying.
- Harada also treats the virtual idols like real colleagues.
- Beside Iori, Harada likes Yukiho whom he wants to see fight with a Russian martial art that utilizes shovel, because Yukiho was seen using shovel a lot. He also finds "lazy prodigy" Miki charming.
- Harada has never been to an Idolm@ster concert but want to go.
- The Iori T-shirt that Harada was wearing and all the goods (including the rabbit doll) he paid by himself. His wife was mad when the T-shirt was delivered under COD (cash on deliver). "Why is this T-shirt 8,000 yen! And who is this girl!?"
- Harada's team in Idolm@ster One For All (releasing May 15) will consist of Iori, Yukiho, Miki, Yayoi, and Hibiki. Yayoi is poor, so he thinks it's fun to group her with a rich girl like Iori. He picks Hibiki because she was funny in the anime.
link to interview
For me I was back in 2007 when i was interested in a XBOX 360 and DOA saw some other games announced in a while and saw this game called Idolm@ster. I got hooked on the concept since i love me some managing sims. Played it but didn't understand a lot of japanese. But the characters where cute and fun. So i started to take more note. and got more involved with the franchise reading the manga and listen to drama cds. So i got more and more invested in the franchise.
Once Platinum stars come out i will probably form my favorite team. Miki, Takane, Hibiki known as project fairy. They have a nice balance since all of them meet a different kind of aspect. being visual, voice and dance. plus i love their quirkiness and go great together with their personalities. and in 2 days the new ps4 game will release. So guys i am interested with your experience with the franchise how you came in contact with it.
inb4 beserk jokes.