Famitsu
Famitsu, formerly Famicom Tsūshin, is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. Famitsu is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the form of special topical issues devoted to only one console, video game company, or other theme. Shūkan Famitsū, the original Famitsu publication, is considered the most widely read and respected video game news magazine in Japan. From October 28, 2011, the company began releasing the digital version of the magazine exclusively on BookWalker weekly.
Cover art for the first issue of Famitsū magazine (then known as Famicom Tsūshin), June 1986. The Atari 2600 controller and the Family Computer controller can be seen on the cover. | |
| Categories | Video game |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Weekly / Monthly |
| Format | Paper and online magazine |
| Circulation | 500,000 (Shūkan) 120,000 (Entamikusu) 80,000 (Connect! On) 40,000 (DS+Wii) |
| Publisher | ASCII (1986–2000) Enterbrain (2000–2013) Kadokawa (2013–2017) Gzbrain (2017–2019) Kadokawa Game Linkage (2019–present) |
| First issue | June 1986 (as Famicom Tsūshin) |
| Country | Japan |
| Based in | Tokyo |
| Language | Japanese |
| Website | famitsu.com |
The name Famitsu is a portmanteau abbreviation of Famicom Tsūshin; the word "Famicom" itself comes from a portmanteau abbreviation of "Family Computer" (the Japanese name for the Nintendo Entertainment System), the dominant video game console in Japan when the magazine was first published in the 1980s.