PSP Wait, what? Japanese idol group AKB48 gets a dating sim

[Collector's Edition]

From Destructoid



If you're not up on the concept, in Japan there are these things called "idols". They're pretty much the equivalent of the average western manufactured pop star, though they generally have a more diverse range of talent and celebrity profile besides singing and performance.

AKB48 is one such idol group, and features no less than forty-eight girls (sixty-three depending on who you talk to) for nerds to fawn over. And now they're getting a videogame.

It's a dating sim, as you might imagine, and features over 10,000 pictures and eighty minutes worth of idol-loving video footage. Oh, and it comes in three special editions, including one with a special making-of UMD, kiss stickers from each girl, themed hardware covers, and strange things clearly designed to cause an idol overdose.

Even to an otaku weeaboo animu-loving person such as myself, this doesn't feel quite right. One of the appeals of playing a dating sim is the idea that 2-D animated women are less complicated than real-life people. And even if an idol is possibly the closest you can get to making a 2-D person out of a regular-ass person, it still feels...off.

Well, whatever. Best case is that this is simple fan service, rather than a "Stalking for Dummies" guide.