{"rewrite":{"id":"r_8a4823a876b99d9117705b01","clusterId":"c_cdd22990b4da2fdf08180ad8","slug":"mirishita-producer-details-10-years-of-customer-oriented-concept-development-at-cedec-2026","model":"deepseek-v4-flash:free","headline":"Mirishita Producer Details 10 Years of Customer-Oriented Concept Development at CEDEC 2026","summary":"At CEDEC 2026, held July 22 to 24 at Pacifico Yokohama North, Bandai Namco Studios producer Takahiro Kakizawa presented a session on the concept development behind THE IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE! THEATER DAYS, known as Mirishita. Kakizawa, who joined the project in March 2016 as the developer-side planning and production producer, said he had never played the iM@S series and had no mobile game experience, which pushed him toward a customer-oriented approach. He defined the target audience by narrowing from broad categories like 2D beautiful girl content fans and smartphone users in their 20s to 40s, to a specific group: people who left games due to lack of skill, lack of time, or mismatched smartphone usage situations. This led to adding the condition of wanting to enjoy games casually. Kakizawa identified core iM@S needs, including adoring idol cuteness, feeling a sense of raising them, and experiencing the joy of being thanked as a producer. He stressed that meeting needs means implementing ideas without excess or deficiency, using two evaluation axes: trial, whether players pick it up, and performance, whether they play repeatedly. Post-release, the team tracked SNS trends, implementing a gentle gyaru trend with events in December 2023, August 2024, and April 2025.","whyItMatters":"Kakizawa's session reveals that Mirishita's longevity stems from a deliberate strategy to convert single-idol fans into fans of all 52 members, a process the team calls box oshi, which directly counters the pattern of users leaving after exhausting content for one favorite idol.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eKakizawa joined Namco in 1992 and worked on the driving games \u0026#34;Ridge Racer\u0026#34; and \u0026#34;Rave Racer\u0026#34; before moving to Bandai Namco Games.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eHe described his position as an \u0026#34;away game,\u0026#34; since he had never played the iM@S series and had no mobile game knowledge.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eThe session was titled \u0026#34;Planning and Developing \u0026#39;THE IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE! THEATER DAYS\u0026#39; with a Customer-Oriented Approach ~Concept Development for an iM@S Mobile Game~.\u0026#34;\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eKakizawa defined the core iM@S need as \u0026#34;the joy of being thanked and adored as a producer,\u0026#34; built on three deeper needs: adoring cuteness, feeling the sense of raising idols, and experiencing the glamorous world.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eHe stressed that meeting needs means implementing ideas \u0026#34;without excess or deficiency,\u0026#34; judging each idea on two axes: trial (will players pick it up?) and performance (will they play repeatedly?).\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eThe team added auto live passes and auto progression at release so users could \u0026#34;enjoy without hassle,\u0026#34; and turned long loading times into a feature by displaying SSR card visuals like promotional posters.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eTo encourage box oshi, they rotated idols on the theater home screen, formed new units according to the story, and added costume cards to get all 52 members noticed.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eThey strengthened 3D model expression, added second hairstyles, and coordinated with real live events to convert Mirishita players into fans of the broader \u0026#34;THE IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE!\u0026#34; brand.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eKakizawa closed by saying the customer-oriented concept development approach applies regardless of game genre.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Mirishita's producer says meeting needs is not about implementing many ideas, but implementing them without excess or deficiency. The judgment to hit 100% user satisfaction is the hard part.","twitterPost":"Kakizawa joined Mirishita in 2016 with zero iM@S or mobile experience. His answer to 10 years of success: research users who left games, then design for casual play. #CEDEC2026 #ミリシタ","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"At CEDEC 2026, Mirishita producer Takahiro Kakizawa explained how a customer-oriented concept development approach, targeting users who left games, sustained the title for a decade. He detailed the trial and performance evaluation axes and the box oshi strategy to keep all 52 idols relevant.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Inside\",\"url\":\"https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2026/07/31/185471.html\",\"title\":\"Why has \\\"Mirishita\\\" been loved for 10 years? \\\"Concept development\\\" conducted to be accepted by many users and the thought process to meet needs [CEDEC2026]\"},{\"source\":\"GameBusiness.jp\",\"url\":\"https://www.gamebusiness.jp/article/2026/08/01/27595.html\",\"title\":\"Why has 'Mirishita' been loved for 10 years? 'Concept development' and thinking to meet needs for acceptance by many users [CEDEC2026]\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":16711,"outputTokens":1703,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1785918884,"createdAt":"2026-08-05T08:12:57.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-08-05T08:17:23.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-05T08:12:57.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_cdd22990b4da2fdf08180ad8","canonicalTitle":"『ミリシタ』は、なぜ10年愛されるのか？ 多くのユーザーに受容されるために行われた「コンセプト開発」とニーズを満たすための思考回路【CEDEC2026】","representativeArticleId":"a_bdb3cd6397f1f6a3b6681056","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"The Idolmaster Million Live! Theater Days\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"Kakizawa\"],\"type\":\"event\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-07-31T08:00:03.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-07-31T21:30:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-05T08:17:25.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"GameBusiness.jp","url":"https://www.gamebusiness.jp/article/2026/08/01/27595.html","title":"『ミリシタ』は、なぜ10年愛されるのか？ 多くのユーザーに受容されるために行われた「コンセプト開発」とニーズを満たすための思考回路【CEDEC2026】"},{"source":"Inside","url":"https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2026/07/31/185471.html","title":"『ミリシタ』は、なぜ10年愛されるのか？ 多くのユーザーに受容されるために行われた「コンセプト開発」とニーズを満たすための思考回路【CEDEC2026】"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["The Idolmaster Million Live! Theater Days"],"studios":[],"people":["Kakizawa"],"type":"event","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Takahiro Kakizawa of Bandai Namco Studios presented the Mirishita concept development session at CEDEC 2026, held July 22 to 24 at Pacifico Yokohama North.","Kakizawa became the developer-side planning and production producer for THE IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE! THEATER DAYS in March 2016.","To promote box oshi, the team aimed to get all 52 idols noticed by rotating idols on the theater home screen, forming new units, and implementing costume cards.","The team held gyaru-themed events in December 2023, August 2024, and April 2025, based on trend predictions that planning to implementation takes six to ten months.","Kakizawa used two evaluation axes for ideas: trial, whether players pick up the game, and performance, whether they play it repeatedly."]}