>>529881868
>Why didn't Namco release an English version of a Japanese 2015 game before Bushiroad released their English version of LLSIF in 2014????
I wonder

Like 99% of iM@S westernization arguments ignore the fact that so much of iM@S has its roots in dating sims which means there's been a more of an uphill battle for it than any other equivalent idol series for 90% of its lifespan when the vast majority of idol series that DID get localized pre-COVID pretty much had zero "self insert adult male x teenage girl" content.
Really. only now within the past few years is when I'd think an English version of iM@S would be feasible with dating sim elements being more accepted in the west (series like Fire Emblem and Persona being blatant animu series with dating sim tropes, horny gacha games with self inserts being able to find success) but even then it shouldn't be surprising that English GK wasn't on their priority list when:
>1. China and Korea are pretty much always the next ones before anything English-related with both idol games and gacha games
>2. Previous Chinese/Korean versions of iM@S mobile games (CG and TD) failed
>3. Gakumas wasn't even expected to be anywhere near as successful as it was when they launched it
I'm not even a "NOOOOO NEVER LOCAL IM@S!!!!!!!!" guy but most arguments for any kind of localization pre-2022 aren't really compelling when you think about them on a level beyond "iM@S is about idols... Love Live is about idols.... Love Live in English.... iM@S why no English???????"

>>529884260
Yeah they're gross fuckers