What does the name Famitsu mean and where does it come from?
Famitsu is a portmanteau abbreviation of Famicom Tsushin. Famicom is itself an abbreviation of Family Computer, the dominant video game console in Japan when the magazine launched in 1986.
Questions about Famitsu
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When was Famitsu first published?
The first issue of Famitsu was published on the 6th of June, 1986, under the title Famicom Tsushin. The magazine converted to a weekly publishing schedule on the 19th of July 1991, with issue 136.
How does the Famitsu review scoring system work?
Four critics each score a game from 0 to 10, and the four scores are added together to give a final rating out of 40. Thirty games have received a perfect score of 40.
Which games have received a perfect 40 score from Famitsu?
Thirty games have received a perfect score of 40. The three non-Japanese titles to achieve this are The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto V, and Ghost of Tsushima. The Legend of Zelda franchise leads all series with five perfect-scoring titles. The most recent game to receive a perfect score is Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Who is Necky and what is the Famitsu mascot's origin?
Necky is a cartoon fox created by artist Susumu Matsushita. The name was chosen by reader poll and is the reverse of the Japanese word for fox. Necky appears on odd-numbered issues of Famitsu and makes a cameo in Super Mario Maker.
Who publishes Famitsu and how has ownership changed over time?
Famitsu was originally published by ASCII until March 2000, when it was sold to Enterbrain. Kadokawa took over from 2013 to 2017, and since 2017 it has been published by Kadokawa's subsidiary, now known as Kadokawa Game Linkage after a 2019 name change from Gzbrain.