Famitsu

Famitsu

Cover art for the very first issue of Famitsū magazine, June 1986, then known as Famicom Tsūshin.
Categories Video game
Frequency Weekly / Monthly / Quarterly
Circulation 500,000 (Weekly)
150,000 (PS)
120,000 (Xbox)
105,000 (DS+Wii)
100,000 (WaveDVD)[1]
Publisher Enterbrain, Inc., Tokuma
First issue June 1986
Country Japan Japan
Language Japanese
Website www.famitsu.com

Famitsū (ファミ通?) (formerly Famicom Tsūshin) is a Japanese video game magazine published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five console-only spin-off versions of Famitsū: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS, Famitsū Xbox, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD. Shūkan Famitsū (週刊ファミ通?, lit. "Weekly Famitsū"), the original Famitsū publication, is considered the most widely read and respected video game news magazine in Japan.[2][3][4]

Contents

Shūkan Famitsū

Shūkan Famitsū concentrates on video game news, as well as video game reviews. The name Famitsū was originally an abbreviation of Famicom Tsūshin (ファミコン通信?, officially translated as the Famicom Journal), the magazine's original name came from the Family Computer, the Japanese name for the Nintendo Entertainment System, which was the dominant video game console during the 1980s in Japan. The first issue was published on June 6, 1986. Today, Shūkan Famitsū features multi-platform coverage. Shūkan Famitsū is published every Thursday with a circulation of 500,000 per issue.[1]

Necky the Fox

Famitsū magazine covers alternately feature pop idols or actresses on even-numbered issues and the Famitsū mascot, Necky (ネッキー?) the Fox[5] in odd-numbered issues.[6] Year-end and special editions all feature Necky dressed as popular contemporary video game characters. Necky is the cartoon creation of artist, Susumu Matsushita, and he takes the form of a costumed fox.[7] The costumes worn by Necky reflect current popular video games. Necky's name was chosen according to a reader poll, and it derives from a complex Japanese pun: "Necky" is actually the reverse of the Japanese word for fox, kitsune (キツネ?), and his original connection to Famicom Tsūshin is intended to evoke the bark of the fox, the Japanese onomatopoeia of which is コンコン ("kon kon"?).[8]

Others

Famitsū publishes other magazines dedicated to particular consoles. Currently in circulation are:

Famitsū spin-offs that are no longer in circulation include:

Scoring

Video games are graded in Famitsū by a panel of four video game reviewers. Each reviewer gives a score from zero to ten (ten being best). The scores of the four reviewers are then added up with a possible score of forty.

From the fifteen games awarded with the perfect score so far, two are for the Nintendo DS, four are for the Wii, and the others are all for different platforms. All games with perfect scores so far are from Japanese companies, five of them being published/developed by Nintendo, two were published by Sega, two by Konami and three are properties of Square Enix, including Vagrant Story (by the company's current subsidiary Square Co.) The only completely foreign games to achieve a near-perfect score so far are Grand Theft Auto IV from Rockstar Games, also released in 2008, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, released in 2009. (Kingdom Hearts II is a joint effort between Square Enix and the U.S.-based Buena Vista Games.) Famitsū Wave DVD does not grade video games.

Perfect scores

Fourteen games have received perfect scores from Famitsu. They are listed in chronological order:

  1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998, Nintendo, for Nintendo 64)
  2. Soulcalibur (1999, Namco, for Dreamcast)
  3. Vagrant Story (2000, Square Co., for PlayStation)
  4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2003, Nintendo, for Nintendo GameCube)
  5. Nintendogs (2005, Nintendo, for Nintendo DS)
  6. Final Fantasy XII (2006, Square Enix, for PlayStation 2)
  7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Nintendo, for Wii)
  8. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008, Konami, for PlayStation 3)
  9. 428: Fūsa Sareta Shibuya de (2008, Sega, for Wii)
  10. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (2009, Square Enix, for Nintendo DS)
  11. Monster Hunter Tri (2009, Capcom, for Wii)
  12. Bayonetta (2009, Sega, for Xbox 360)
  13. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009, Nintendo, for Wii)
  14. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010, Konami, for PlayStation Portable)

Games that received a near-perfect score of 39 include:

  1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, Nintendo, for Super Famicom)
  2. Virtua Fighter 2 (1995, Sega, for Sega Saturn)
  3. Ridge Racer Revolution (1995, Namco, for PlayStation)
  4. Super Mario 64 (1996, Nintendo, for Nintendo 64)
  5. Tekken 3 (1998, Namco, for PlayStation)
  6. Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram (1999, Sega, for Dreamcast)
  7. Final Fantasy X (2001, Square Co., for PlayStation 2)
  8. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (2001, Sony Computer Entertainment, for PlayStation 2)
  9. Resident Evil (2002, Capcom, for Nintendo GameCube)
  10. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (2004, Square Enix, for PlayStation 2)
  11. Gran Turismo 4 (2004, Sony Computer Entertainment, for PlayStation 2)
  12. Kingdom Hearts II (2005, Square Enix and Buena Vista Games, for PlayStation 2)
  13. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (2005, Konami, for PlayStation 2)
  14. Dead or Alive 4 (2005, Tecmo, for Xbox 360)
  15. Ōkami (2006, Capcom, for PlayStation 2)
  16. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2007, Nintendo, for Nintendo DS)
  17. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008, Rockstar, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)
  18. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009, Activision, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)
  19. Final Fantasy XIII (2009, Square Enix, for PlayStation 3)[9]

Relationship with other magazines

UK trade magazine MCV and Famitsu have an exclusive partnership which sees news and content from each magazine appear in the other.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Enterbrain, Inc. Corporate Information" (in Japanese). Enterbrain. 2009. http://www.enterbrain.co.jp/corporate/goods.html. Retrieved 2009-10-21. 
  2. ↑ Tor Thorsen (2006-03-08). "FFXII gets perfect score from Famitsu". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/finalfantasy12/news.html?sid=6145598. Retrieved 2006-06-09. 
  3. ↑ Steve Kalpaxidis (2005-07-01). "PS3 To Come Without Bundled HDD?". Advanced Media Network. http://psp.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=1590. Retrieved 2006-06-09. 
  4. ↑ Rodney Quinn (2006-03-09). "Final Fantasy XII scores perfect 40/40 in Famitsu reviews". Ars Technica. http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2006/3/9/3107. Retrieved 2006-06-09. 
  5. ↑ Ashcraft, Brian. Gaming Magazine Totally Snubs Xbox 360!?. Kotaku. 4 February 2008.
  6. ↑ Gifford, Kevin. 'Game Mag Weaseling': Japan Mag Roundup 2008. GameSetWatch. 27 April 2008.
  7. ↑ 'Necky the Fox' 今も尚輝き続ける松下進の代表的キャラクター. SusumuMatsushita.net. 10 July 2004.
  8. ↑ Gifford, Kevin. Weekend Factyard: Famitsu/Famicom Tsushin MagWeasel. 19 September 2009.
  9. ↑ Reilly, Jim (2009-12-08). "First Final Fantasy Review Score Not So Perfect". IGN. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/105/1053314p1.html. Retrieved 2009-12-08. 
  10. ↑ "MCV launches daily service". Intent Media. 2007-02-26. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/25830/MCV-launches-daily-service. Retrieved 2007-03-14. 

External links