IDOLM@STER News!

Lots of exciting IDOLM@STER news coming out now! I just caught up on the official blog, so here are the most exciting news bits I found.

Starting with IDOLM@STER arcade news, the arcade machines no longer support online play as of the end of August. In commemoration though, they showed off an awesome device on the official blog, being a portable THE IDOLM@STER arcade machine in a suitcase! The pictures are below.

The innards of portable IDOLM@STER arcade

Slot for inserting your Producer Card, etc

Portable IDOLM@STER arcade in action

As you can see, it's totally awesome. With this, who needs IM@S PSP?

For IDOLM@STER fans with a PS3, although they still haven't made any plans to release the game on the PS3, the people who participated in the THE IDOLM@STER SPECIAL LIVE in PlayStation Home could very well become part of the Guinness World Records. With 124,750 participants, they are aiming for a record in "Most Participants in a Virtual Concert".

In IDOLM@STER 2 news, Ritsuko is moving up in 765 Production, now taking on the role of producer. It's not clear if she will continue to be an idol, but it says she is still doing multiple things at 765 Pro, so I'm guessing yes. As a producer, she will be managing an idol group by the name of "Ryuuguu Komachi" (竜宮小町), consisting of Iori, Ami, and Azusa. It should be interesting. I'm going to guess that they'll be an idol group you compete against in Idol Academy, probably in some kind of story mode like in IM@S PSP. I'd also assume you can't pick those 3 idols to be in your group for that mode either. I'd expect to be able to use them in Free Produce though. We'll see.

The members of Ryuuguu Komachi

In further news, they will have a playable demo of IM@S 2 at TGS2010, and there will also be a new PV, featuring Ryuuguu Komachi singing one of their songs, "SMOKY THRILL". The demo and PV will also be available for download on Xbox Live. I can't wait!

Title screen for IM@S 2 TGS TRIAL EDITION

They'll also be selling IM@S 2 merchandise at TGS. One of the items is a "THE IDOLM@STER 2 765 Production Guide", which comes with individually wrapped cookies. Just looking at the box makes me want it.

The irresistible 765 Production Guide

They're also selling a case of THE IDOLM@STER 2 Strawberry Crunch snacks. The box for that didn't excite me nearly as much, but it's still cool. Apparently these will actually still be available after TGS from LaLaBit Market.

Well, that's it for now, I'll try to keep on top of the IM@S blog and bring you the latest in IM@S news!