Famitsu

Famitsu
Famitsu

Cover art for the very first issue of Famitsū magazine (then known as Famicom Tsūshin), June 1986.
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

Famitsu (ファミ通 Famitsū?, formerly Famicom Tsūshin) is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, 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);[citation needed] 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 in Japan during the 1980s. 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 Nekkī?) 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 "kon kon" (コンコン?).[8]

Others

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

  • Famitsū PS (ファミ通PS?) (formerly PlayStation Tsūshin), which reports on Sony platforms news (currently the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable).
  • Famitsū DS+Wii (ファミ通DS+Wii?), which report on Nintendo platforms (currently the Nintendo DS and Wii). The magazine was formerly known as Famitsū 64 and then Famitsū Cube (among other variations of those two names) based on whatever platforms Nintendo was producing games for at the time.
  • Famitsū Xbox (ファミ通Xbox?), which reports on Xbox and Xbox 360 news.
  • Famitsū Wave DVD (ファミ通WaveDVD?) (ファミ通 Wave DVD) is published monthly. Each magazine includes a DVD disc (NTSC Region 2) with video game footage. The magazine was originally called GameWave DVD.

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

  • Famitsū Bros. (ファミ通ブロス Famitsū Burosu?) (which concentrated on video game hints and strategy rather than actual news)
  • Satellaview Tsūshin (サテラビュー通信 Saterabyū Tsūshin?) (which covered the Satellaview)
  • Famitsū Sister (ファミ通Sister?) (which covered bishōjo games)
  • Famitsū DC (ファミ通DC?) (which covered the Dreamcast)
  • Virtual Boy Tsūshin (バーチャルボーイ通信 Bācharu Bōi Tsūshin?) (which covered the Virtual Boy)

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 sixteen games awarded with the perfect score so far, three are for the Nintendo DS, five are for the Wii, and the others are all for different platforms. All games with perfect scores so far are from Japanese companies, seven of them being published/developed by Nintendo, two by Sega, two by Konami, and three by Square Enix. The only completely foreign games to achieve a near-perfect score so far are L.A. Noire, Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto IV, all three of which came from Rockstar Games, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 all from Activision and Gears of War 3 from Epic Games. (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

Sixteen 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)[9]
  2. Soulcalibur (1999, Namco, for Dreamcast)[10]
  3. Vagrant Story (2000, Square Co., for PlayStation)[10]
  4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2003, Nintendo, for Nintendo GameCube)[10]
  5. Nintendogs (2005, Nintendo, for Nintendo DS)[10]
  6. Final Fantasy XII (2006, Square Enix, for PlayStation 2)[10]
  7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Nintendo, for Wii)[11]
  8. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008, Konami, for PlayStation 3)[12]
  9. 428: Fūsa Sareta Shibuya de (2008, Sega, for Wii)[13]
  10. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (2009, Square Enix, for Nintendo DS)[14]
  11. Monster Hunter Tri (2009, Capcom, for Wii)[15]
  12. Bayonetta (2009, Sega, for Xbox 360)[16]
  13. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009, Nintendo, for Wii)[17]
  14. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010, Konami, for PlayStation Portable)[18]
  15. Pokémon Black and White (2010, Nintendo, for Nintendo DS)[19]
  16. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011, Nintendo, for Wii)[20]

Games that received a near-perfect score of 39 (in which one of four reviewers gives the game a "9" while the other three give "10's") include:

  1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, Nintendo, for Super Famicom)[21]
  2. Virtua Fighter 2 (1995, Sega, for Sega Saturn)[21]
  3. Ridge Racer Revolution (1995, Namco, for PlayStation)[21]
  4. Super Mario 64 (1996, Nintendo, for Nintendo 64)[21]
  5. Tekken 3 (1998, Namco, for PlayStation)[21]
  6. Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram (1999, Sega, for Dreamcast)[21]
  7. Final Fantasy X (2001, Square Co., for PlayStation 2)[21]
  8. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (2001, Sony Computer Entertainment, for PlayStation 2)[21]
  9. Resident Evil (2002, Capcom, for Nintendo GameCube)[21]
  10. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (2004, Square Enix, for PlayStation 2)[22]
  11. Gran Turismo 4 (2004, Sony Computer Entertainment, for PlayStation 2)[21]
  12. Kingdom Hearts II (2005, Square Enix, for PlayStation 2)[23]
  13. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (2005, Konami, for PlayStation 2)[21]
  14. Dead or Alive 4 (2005, Tecmo, for Xbox 360)[24]
  15. Ōkami (2006, Capcom, for PlayStation 2)[25]
  16. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2007, Nintendo, for Nintendo DS)[26]
  17. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008, Rockstar Games, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)[27]
  18. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009, Activision, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)[28]
  19. Final Fantasy XIII (2009, Square Enix, for PlayStation 3)[29]
  20. Red Dead Redemption (2010, Rockstar Games, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)[30]
  21. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 (2010, Namco Bandai Games, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)[31]
  22. Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010, Activision, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)[32]
  23. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd (2010, Capcom, for PlayStation Portable)[33]
  24. L.A. Noire (2011, Rockstar Games, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)[34]
  25. Tales of Xillia (2011, Namco Bandai, for PlayStation 3)[35]
  26. Gears of War 3 (2011, Epic Games, for Xbox 360)[36]
  27. FIFA 12 (2011, EA Canada, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)[37]
  28. Final Fantasy Type-0 (2011, Square Enix, for PSP)[38]
  29. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD Collection (2011, Kojima Productions, for PS3)[39]
  30. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011, Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)[40]

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.[41]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "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. ^ "Zelda Receives Highest Ever Famitsu Score". IGN. 1998-11-13. http://ign64.ign.com/articles/065/065709p1.html. Retrieved 2010-09-08. 
  10. ^ a b c d e Lumb, Jonathan (2006-03-08). "FF XII Scores Perfect In Famitsu". 1UP.com. http://1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3148658. Retrieved 2006-08-13. 
  11. ^ Gray, Brian (2008-01-16). "Famitsu Gives Smash Bros. Brawl a Perfect Score". 1up.com. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3165462. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
  12. ^ Ng, Keane (2008-06-04). "MGS4 Scores a Perfect 40/40 in Famitsu". Kombo.com. http://ps3.kombo.com/article.php?artid=7041. Retrieved 2010-09-08. 
  13. ^ "New Games Cross Review" (in Japanese). Weekly Famitsu (Tokyo, Japan: Enterbrain, Inc.): 25. 2008-11-26. 
  14. ^ Fletcher, JC (2009-07-15). "Famitsu hands Dragon Quest IX a 40". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/15/famitsu-hands-dragon-quest-ix-a-40/. Retrieved 2010-09-08. 
  15. ^ Gifford, Kevin (2009-08-05). "Japan Review Check: Monster Hunter Tri". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/news/japan-review-check-monster-hunter. Retrieved 2010-09-08. 
  16. ^ Bailey, Kat (2009-10-20). "Famitsu Awards Xbox 360's Bayonetta Perfect Score". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/news/famitsu-awards-xbox-360-bayonetta. Retrieved 2010-09-08. 
  17. ^ McFerran, Damien (2009-11-24). "New Super Mario Bros. Wii Gets Perfect Score in Famitsu". Nintendo Life. http://wii.nintendolife.com/news/2009/11/new_super_mario_bros_wii_gets_perfect_score_in_famitsu. Retrieved 2010-09-09. 
  18. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2010-04-10). "Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker Deemed Perfect by Famitsu". IGN. http://psp.ign.com/articles/108/1085091p1.html. Retrieved 2010-09-08. 
  19. ^ Funk, John (2010-09-08). "Pokemon Black & White Grab Rare Perfect Score from Famitsu". The Escapist. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103311-Pokemon-Black-White-Grab-Rare-Perfect-Score-from-Famitsu. Retrieved 2010-09-08. 
  20. ^ Romano, Sal (2011-11-15). "Zelda: Skyward Sword scored perfect in Famitsu". Gematsu. http://gematsu.com/2011/11/zelda-skyward-sword-scored-perfect-in-famitsu. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "All Famitsu Scores Archive". Famitsu Scores Archive. Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20080822161328/http://fs.finalfantasytr.com/yearly-scores.asp. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  22. ^ "Inside Famitsu: Rogue Galaxy and More". Edge. 2005-11-30. http://www.next-gen.biz/features/inside-famitsu-rogue-galaxy-and-more. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  23. ^ Freund, Josh (2005-12-20). "Latest Famitsu review scores - Kingdom Hearts II, Mario & Luigi 2, & more". GamesAreFun.com. http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=5915. Retrieved 2010-09-08. 
  24. ^ Feldman, Jason (2006-01-04). "News - Latest Famitsu Scores- Sega Rally 2006, Dead or Alive 4". GamesAreFun. http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=5944. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  25. ^ Mielke, James (2006-04-25). "Okami Preview for PS2". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/previews/okami. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  26. ^ Miller, Ross (2007-06-07). "Famitsu loves Zelda, gives Phantom Hourglass near-perfect score". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/20/famitsu-loves-zelda-gives-phantom-hourglass-near-perfect-score/. Retrieved 2010-08-08. 
  27. ^ bleahy (2008-10-22). "Famitsu Gives 'GTA IV' Higher Score Than 'LittleBigPlanet'". G4TV. http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/690338/famitsu-gives-gta-iv-higher-score-than-littlebigplanet/. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  28. ^ Gifford, Kevin (2009-12-02). "Japan Review Check: Modern Warfare 2, Tales, R-Type". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/news/japan-review-check-modern-warfare. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  29. ^ Reilly, Jim (2009-12-08). "First Final Fantasy XIII Review Score Not So Perfect". IGN. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/105/1053314p1.html. Retrieved 2009-12-08. 
  30. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2010-09-28). "This Week's Flying Get". Andriasang. http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/09/28/flying_get/. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  31. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2010-10-13). "This Week's Flying Get". Andriasang. http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/10/13/flying_get/. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  32. ^ Gifford, Kevin (2010-11-10). "Japan Review Check: Black Ops, Sonic Colors". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/news/japan-review-check-black-ops. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  33. ^ Gifford, Kevin (2010-11-24). "Japan Review Check: Monster Hunter Portable 3". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/news/japan-review-check-monster-hunter_2. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  34. ^ Gifford, Kevin (2011-06-29). "Japan Review Check: L.A. Noire, Wii Play: Motion". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/news/japan-review-check-noire-wii. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  35. ^ Romano, Sal (2011-08-30). "Tales of Xilia scores near-perfect in Famitsu". Gematsu.com. http://gematsu.com/2011/08/tales-of-xillia-scores-near-perfect-in-famitsu. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  36. ^ Gifford, Kevin (2011-09-21). "Japan Review Check: Gears of War 3". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/news/japan-review-check-gears-war. Retrieved 2011-09-21. 
  37. ^ Gifford, Kevin (2011-10-12). "Japan Review Check: Dead Island, Forza 4". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/news/japan-review-check-dead-island. Retrieved 2011-10-12. 
  38. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2011-10-19). "Final Fantasy Type-0 Scores Nearly Perfect in Famitsu". andriasang.com. http://andriasang.com/comynn/. Retrieved 2011-10-20. 
  39. ^ Gifford, Kevin (2011-11-1). "Japan Review Check: Driver, Peace Walker HD". 1up.com. http://www.1up.com/news/japan-review-check-driver-peace. Retrieved 2011-11-1. 
  40. ^ Gifford, Kevin (2011-11-9). "Japan Review Check: Ni no Kuni, Modern Warfare 3". 1up.com. http://www.1up.com/news/japan-review-check-kuni-modern. Retrieved 2011-11-9. 
  41. ^ "MCV launches daily service". Intent Media. 2007-02-26. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/25830/MCV-launches-daily-service. Retrieved 2007-03-14. 

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