Namco Bandai has brought its Japanese PSP game, "iDOLM@STER: Shiny Festa" to English markets on iOS, but it seems that the company’s accountants didn’t notice the distinction when setting its price on the App Store.
iDOLM@STER (that’s Idol Master in L33t Speak which was cool several years ago) was released in Japan in October 2012 in three different versions: Honey Sound, Funky Note, and Groovy Tune. Each version had its own song list, characters and OVA episode. The UMD disc of each version retailed for 5,980 yen ($60) and the digital download versions retailed for 5,380 yen ($55).
The North American iOS version are available now on the App Store for the same PSP digital download price of $54.99 and they have been renamed to even lamer names: Harmonic Score, Rhythmic Record, and Melodic Disc.
In case that price isn’t high enough for an iOS rhythm game, iDOLM@STER comes with its own DLC store for future song releases.
This price point is much higher than all games on the App Store, even Namco Bandai’s own iOS version of Soul Calibur which was renowned for its $14.99 price. Of course the iOS price crown is still reserved to the "I Am Rich" app which retailed for $999 and sold 8 copies before Apple removed it from the store. The app didn’t provide any functionality beyond displaying a picture of a large glowing gem, presumably to let people know that its owner is rich enough to throw away a thousand bucks.
