<s>
is	O
a	O
Japanese	O
free-to-play	O
collectible	B-Application
card	I-Application
and	O
rhythm	O
video	O
game	O
in	O
The	B-Application
Idolmaster	I-Application
series	O
co-developed	O
by	O
Cygames	O
and	O
Bandai	O
Namco	O
Studios	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Bandai	O
Namco	O
Entertainment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
a	O
spin-off	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Idolmaster	I-Application
Cinderella	I-Application
Girls	I-Application
and	O
part	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Idolmaster	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
originally	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
on	O
September	O
3	O
,	O
2015	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
on	O
September	O
10	O
,	O
2015	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
simulation	O
format	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Cinderella	B-Application
Girls	I-Application
,	O
Starlight	O
Stage	O
features	O
a	O
rhythmic	O
gameplay	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
player	O
times	O
the	O
presses	O
of	O
buttons	O
to	O
the	O
rhythm	O
of	O
the	O
songs	O
and	O
a	O
predetermined	O
pattern	O
displayed	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
reached	O
4	O
million	O
downloads	O
by	O
September	O
11	O
,	O
2015	O
and	O
ranked	O
third	O
on	O
the	O
iOS	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
's	O
sales	O
ranking	O
that	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starlight	O
Stage	O
is	O
a	O
rhythm	O
game	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
player	O
assumes	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
a	O
producer	O
who	O
works	O
at	O
346	O
Production	O
(	O
346	O
Pro	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
talent	O
agency	O
that	O
represents	O
the	O
pop	O
idol	O
characters	O
from	O
The	B-Application
Idolmaster	I-Application
Cinderella	I-Application
Girls	I-Application
video	O
game	O
and	O
anime	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
development	O
began	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
at	O
Cygames	O
considered	O
both	O
Unity	B-Application
and	O
Cocos2d-x	B-Application
for	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
engine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
Unity	B-Application
5	I-Application
was	O
only	O
recently	O
released	O
and	O
had	O
issues	O
with	O
performance	O
spikes	O
,	O
Unity	B-Application
was	O
ultimately	O
chosen	O
for	O
its	O
efficiency	O
and	O
the	O
quality	O
that	O
the	O
team	O
achieved	O
with	O
it	O
during	O
experimentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idol	O
characters	O
 '	O
3D	O
models	O
were	O
created	O
by	O
Cygames	O
artists	O
based	O
on	O
their	O
original	O
appearances	O
in	O
Cinderella	B-Application
Girls	I-Application
and	O
checked	O
by	O
Cinderella	B-Application
Girls	I-Application
illustrators	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Likewise	O
,	O
the	O
original	O
Cinderella	B-Application
Girls	I-Application
illustrations	O
were	O
consulted	O
to	O
determine	O
each	O
idol	O
's	O
dominant	O
eye	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Artist	O
team	O
manager	O
Yūma	O
Tanimoto	O
noted	O
that	O
because	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
appeal	O
lies	O
in	O
its	O
3D	O
stage	O
performances	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
placed	O
significant	O
importance	O
on	O
faithfully	O
recreating	O
the	O
Cinderella	B-Application
Girls	I-Application
idols	O
in	O
3D	O
with	O
specifications	O
such	O
as	O
polygon	B-General_Concept
count	I-General_Concept
and	O
texture	O
resolution	O
matching	O
those	O
of	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tanimoto	O
considered	O
outlines	O
to	O
be	O
crucial	O
to	O
portray	O
the	O
original	O
illustrations	O
in	O
3D	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
characters	O
 '	O
textures	O
were	O
applied	O
to	O
the	O
outlines	O
 '	O
meshes	B-Algorithm
with	O
color	O
adjustments	O
to	O
better	O
replicate	O
how	O
outlines	O
were	O
drawn	O
in	O
2D	O
illustrations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
assist	O
with	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
stage	O
performances	O
,	O
the	O
development	O
staff	O
created	O
a	O
custom	O
timeline	O
editor	O
for	O
Unity	B-Application
named	O
Cygames	O
Unity	B-Application
Timeline	O
Tool	O
to	O
adjust	O
variables	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
idols	O
 '	O
expressions	O
,	O
lip	O
sync	O
,	O
and	O
camera	O
angles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
dance	O
sequences	O
were	O
first	O
designed	O
by	O
choreographers	O
and	O
then	O
performed	O
by	O
dancers	O
for	O
motion	B-Application
capture	I-Application
with	O
hand	O
movements	O
animated	O
by	O
hand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starlight	O
Stage	O
was	O
first	O
revealed	O
on	O
June	O
28	O
,	O
2015	O
at	O
a	O
public	O
recording	O
of	O
Internet	O
radio	O
talk	O
show	O
Radio	O
The	B-Application
Idolmaster	I-Application
Cinderella	I-Application
Girls	I-Application
Dereraji	O
A	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
then	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
on	O
September	O
3	O
,	O
2015	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
on	O
September	O
10	O
,	O
2015	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Windows	B-Application
version	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
DMM	O
Games	O
on	O
September	O
3	O
,	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
promote	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
release	O
,	O
Bandai	O
Namco	O
produced	O
and	O
aired	O
multiple	O
television	O
commercials	O
featuring	O
Masahiro	O
Nakai	O
of	O
SMAP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starlight	O
Stage	O
reached	O
4	O
million	O
downloads	O
in	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
version	O
's	O
first	O
week	O
of	O
release	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
the	O
third	O
top-grossing	O
video	O
game	O
on	O
the	O
iOS	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
the	O
day	O
after	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
December	O
2015	O
had	O
reached	O
10	O
million	O
downloads	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
third	O
image	O
song	O
single	O
,	O
"	O
The	B-Application
Idolmaster	I-Application
Cinderella	I-Application
Girls	I-Application
Starlight	O
Master	O
03	O
HiFi	O
Days	O
"	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
single	O
in	O
The	B-Application
Idolmaster	I-Application
franchise	O
to	O
debut	O
at	O
No	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
ASCII	O
Media	O
Works	O
 '	O
Dengeki	O
Online	O
Award	O
2015	O
,	O
Starlight	O
Stage	O
received	O
second	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
app	O
category	O
,	O
placing	O
it	O
behind	O
Type-Moon	O
'	O
s	O
Fate/Grand	B-Application
Order	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Token	O
described	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
stage	O
performance	O
aspect	O
,	O
featuring	O
3D	O
models	O
of	O
Cinderella	B-Application
Girls	I-Application
characters	O
,	O
as	O
exciting	O
and	O
considered	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
an	O
important	O
aspect	O
for	O
the	O
franchise	O
's	O
fans	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Excite	B-Application
News	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Tamagomago	O
thought	O
that	O
the	O
humanity	O
and	O
individuality	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
characters	O
were	O
deepened	O
thanks	O
to	O
content	O
such	O
as	O
communications	O
and	O
the	O
one-panel	O
manga	O
,	O
and	O
called	O
their	O
inclusion	O
a	O
"	O
plus	O
for	O
a	O
rhythm	O
game	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hara	O
praised	O
the	O
communications	O
aspect	O
for	O
supplementing	O
the	O
stories	O
of	O
idol	O
characters	O
whose	O
backgrounds	O
were	O
not	O
previously	O
covered	O
,	O
while	O
Token	O
wrote	O
that	O
,	O
having	O
only	O
been	O
exposed	O
to	O
the	O
Cinderella	B-Application
Girls	I-Application
anime	O
adaptation	O
before	O
,	O
he	O
learned	O
more	O
about	O
the	O
characters	O
via	O
the	O
communications	O
.	O
</s>
