I think it's not as easy to do in iM@S2 XD I don't think there's a "delete producer data" option anywhere, you just have to delete it from your harddrive or something. I could be wrong, but I haven't found one anywhere.
Also, it's not like you save your idols' data for office mode or anything, so you don't have to worry about overwriting your beautifully crafted S-rank idol, either \o/ I'd always get so confused after finishing an SP playthrough.
Sort of.
It's always sort of. Basically, upon completing a tour of duty (of 55 weeks) to save a ranking score (Which in turn determines what level producer you end up being) your idol team disappears.
Now, here's the problem. There is NO WAY of saving that data. *
To boot, save files in im@s 2 are singular per run. You can't make for example two files in tandem of the same group in the same run.
Now, failing to do this means that you can't producer rank up (It won't commit the rank you earnt for that run until you save the file, which means you lose the savefile of the idol group. It's a trade in.)
All S4U and any im@s2 storymode performances can be saved seperately. It'll even tell you stats of what you earnt in terms of fans, sales and where you did the performance.
You could, in theory make up to 5 (I think?) runs which stop at week 54 (But you wouldn't be able to gain any producer ranks until after you started clearing them.)
If you're worried about the 360 bug where sometimes it won't detect the save file, and assume it's a new installation... When you see a prompt to input your name (as if you started the game for the first time), just quit the game, or reset it. It'll find it again when given a chance. You could always back it up I guess.
*Well, not quite. You could in theory pull off the save file to copy to a PSP or perhaps a USB, but that has issues of sorts, namely you're stuck with the ranking at that point. Certain items won't be accessible until you have a certain rank, but they're usually DLC item related.
