Missing Magazine: Dengeki Playstation (Japan)

[kitsunebi]

OK, I don't want to mess with Dengeki Nintendo for the moment, since I only have a handful of issues and determining issue numbers is nigh impossible.

Instead I'd like to get Dengeki Playstation listed, since it prints actual volume numbers on its covers, and I've got lots of them.

Issue 1 is dated Jan. 10 1995. It wasn't yet its own title at this point, and was actually considered a special edition issue of Dengeki PC Engine.

Likewise #2 (March95), #3 (May95), and #4 (June95).

Issue 5 (August95) makes no reference to Dengeki PC Engine on the cover, so it was perhaps at this point clear that the mag would continue on a regular basis.

However, the publication schedule (like most Japanese mags) is irregular, making an accurate database complete with dates nigh impossible without every issue available to reference. For example, the first 50 issues:

#6 (Sep95)

#7 (Oct95)

#8 (Oct95 special edition)

#9 (Nov95)

#10 (Nov95 special edition)

#11 (Dec95)

#12 (Dec95 special edition)

#13 (Jan96)

#14 (Jan96 special edition)

#15 (Feb96)

#16 (Mar96)

#17 (Mar96 special edition)

#18 (Apr96)

#19 (Apr96 special edition)

#20 (May96)

#21 (May96 special edition)

#22 (June96)

#23 (July96)

#24 (June 28 96)

#25 (July 12 96)

#26 (July 26 96)

#27 (Aug 9 96)

#28 (Aug 30 96)

#29 (Sep 13 96)

#30 (Sep 27 96)

#31 (Oct 11 96)

#32 (Oct 25 96)

#33 (Nov 8 96)

#34 (Nov22 96)

#35 (Dec 13 96)

#36 (Dec 27 96)

#37 (Jan 17 97)

#38 (Jan 31 97)

#39 (Jan 31 97 special edition)

#40 (Feb 14 97)

#41 (Feb 28 97)

#42 (Mar 14 97)

#43 (Mar 28 97)

#44 (Apr 11 97)

#45 (Apr 25 97)

#46 (May 16/30 97)

#47 (June 13 97)

#48 (July 11 97 special edition)

#49 (June 27 97)

#50 (July 11 97)

As you can see, there's no definite pattern. The title appears to have started bimonthly, then monthly, then alternating biweekly with "special editions," but sometimes they skip one and only have one issue per month. Once they start printing the full dates on the cover it appears they've switched to regular biweekly status, but there is the occasional lapse such as #38 having the same date as #39, #46 having 2 cover dates, and #48 having a cover date later than the one on #49, but the same as #50. CONFUSED YET?

Philly, maybe it would be best to just list the volume numbers in the database at first. I don't know if you've noticed, but as I've been uploading covers to the Famitsu database, I've been including the dates in the database entry for several issues that had no dates when you created the db. Since I can't edit the issue titles to include the dates myself, I guess at some point you can go through the database, and anywhere you see a cover but no date, you'll be able to check the entry for that issue to see and update the date in the title. The same thing could be done with this magazine.

At any rate, the newest issue is #610 (Mar 31 2016) and the title is ostensibly published on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month, but I wouldn't place any bets on that holding true 100% of the time. Hell, March 31 is the 5th Thursday of the month, so right away we can see that things are still screwy.

Mags still being published are allowable up through the end of 2001, correct? If so, the last one allowed currently is #196 (Dec. 29 2001).

Edited March 12, 2016 by kitsunebi77

[marktrade]

Is it possible to have a section in the download manager for a magazine that's not in the database? It may not be standard practice for Retromags, but it may be the only way to get the ball rolling for some magazines that may be nearly impossible to completely catalog.

[kitsunebi]

Is it possible to have a section in the download manager for a magazine that's not in the database? It may not be standard practice for Retromags, but it may be the only way to get the ball rolling for some magazines that may be nearly impossible to completely catalog

Not a bad idea, although regarding this particular title, I'm more interested in getting it into the database than the download section. I doubt I'll be scanning more than the covers for quite some time, since my scanning priority at the moment is Famitsu (and also because Dengeki PS is squarebound, and I'm still trying to avoid having to figure out how to de-bind the damn things lol.)

[marktrade]

I use a ten-dollar hair dryer!

[kitsunebi]

Well, I just ordered a heat gun. I guess I'll see how it works. If things don't end up going horribly awry, I hope to alternate between this title and Famitsu (or others), since I've got so damn many of them now.

Philly, any chance of setting the database for 1-610 (or 700 or whatever to have some breathing room) and setting up a google drive spreadsheet like you did for Famitsu where I could fill in the dates as I get to them?

[kitsunebi]

Just had my heat gun delivered (at 9:45 PM...wtf, Japan?) and couldn't go to bed before trying it out. Debound my first issue of Dengeki Playstation with ease (but a slightly singed back cover - oops.) I'm about halfway done editing an issue of Famitsu, so I'll finish that up first, but after that I'll be alternating with issues of Dengeki Playstation (I've got over 150 issues and NO ROOM TO KEEP THEM lol.) Hopefully there's a place for them by then.

[Areala]

Somebody stop him before he goes nuts and burns down the whole apartment!

*huggles*
Areala

[kitsunebi]

Somebody stop him before he goes nuts and burns down the whole apartment!

*huggles*

Areala

This was probably actually closer to becoming reality than you may think. At the time, I had just recently returned from an all-you-can-drink work party (complete with shuttle bus there and back, so no need to worry about being sober enough to drive.) Suffice it to say, it probably wasn't the best time for me to be handling dangerous equipment.

[marktrade]

Keep it under 451 degrees Fahrenheit and you should be okay.

[kitsunebi]

Keep it under 451 degrees Fahrenheit and you should be okay.

BUT I'M LIVING IN A CELSIUS WORLD HOW WOULD I EVEN KNOW???!!!

Seriously, I'd be more concerned about setting it down and accidentally knocking it over onto my extremely meltable artificial fiber carpeting before it had a chance to cool down...

[Areala]

Keep it under 451 degrees Fahrenheit and you should be okay.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2012/06/ray_bradbury_death_does_paper_really_burn_at_451_degrees_fahrenheit_.html

"Glossy magazines are likely the most resistant to auto-ignition, although there isn’t a lot of experimental data on this. The paper is relatively dense and coated with a thin layer of plastic. Most plastics auto-ignite at higher temperatures than paper."

*huggles*

Areala

[kitsunebi]

Well, looking at the documentation that came with the heat gun, it appears that on the low setting, it outputs at 400ºC, which is 752ºF. The high setting is 600ºC, or 1112ºF. So you can see why de-binding while drunk is possibly a bad idea. Also, gotta keep that heat gun moving!

[marktrade]

BUT I'M LIVING IN A CELSIUS WORLD HOW WOULD I EVEN KNOW???!!!

You're living in a world where everything's made of wood and rice paper, for all I know, lol.

[kitsunebi]

[marktrade]

Exactly how I pictured it. Like something out of Gundam Wing, lol.

[kitsunebi]

Well, I've finished scanning my first issue of this mag. Rather than start with the earliest issue I have, I figured I would select an issue that prominently featured a game that everyone loves and respects. And what game better epitomizes those qualities than Square's all-time classic - THE BOUNCER?

...

OK, actually I just pulled an issue off my shelf completely at random. Hopefully furiously raging outpourings of disinterest and apathy towards the poorly chosen cover story don't further delay this title's entry into the database/download sections.

[te72]

This is not a thread I had clicked on expecting a hearty laugh, thanks guys!

For what it's worth, I'd be more worried about magazine paper warping, shrinking and more or less melting before I'd worry about it catching fire.

[kitsunebi]

Finished! I'll post a download it as soon as the title gets added to the database.

[kitsunebi]

I'll just continue on while the database is being constructed. Next up on my completely-chosen-at-random list:

Btw, here's a still-in-progress spreadsheet of issue numbers/dates. Everything here is an issue I either own or have the cover for, but I still have two giant boxes full of Dengeki Playstation that I haven't even opened, so there are definitely more to be added. I'm putting the info out there anyway, in case it speeds up the database-creation process.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1n9WQ-gxunktUUSHi83SsFxfFZ_Yiwue7w83nYqDEfXs/edit#gid=0

Edited April 6, 2016 by kitsunebi77

[kitsunebi]

So while editing this issue I was looking at a section on Maaru ooku no ningyou hime (Rhapsody in the US), and saw this character:

So beyond being obviously designed to look like the comic character Spawn, his name is Night Spawn-o. It's like they don't even care about copyright infringement. I've never played Rhapsody - does anybody know if this guy made it into the US release of the game?

[te72]

Can't say I've ever even heard of Rhapsody, at least in the context of a game. I've always had the understanding that Japan has fairly lax copyright laws, especially when compared to the US.

[kitsunebi]

Can't say I've ever even heard of Rhapsody, at least in the context of a game. I've always had the understanding that Japan has fairly lax copyright laws, especially when compared to the US.

It was an RPG of sorts:

They released it on the DS in America, as well.

Edited April 8, 2016 by kitsunebi77

[Areala]

How on earth did we go from 'The Puppet Princess of Marl's Kingdom' in the Japanese to 'Rhapsody' in English?

*huggles*
Areala

[kitsunebi]

How on earth did we go from 'The Puppet Princess of Marl's Kingdom' in the Japanese to 'Rhapsody' in English?

*huggles*

Areala

I suppose it was a case of "anything at all is better than that ridiculous mouthful of a title." The game was already a hard-sell niche product. Giving it the directly-translated title could have only made it a harder sell, I imagine.

[Areala]

I suppose it was a case of "anything at all is better than that ridiculous mouthful of a title." The game was already a hard-sell niche product. Giving it the directly-translated title could have only made it a harder sell, I imagine.

I'm sure you're right, I just always think it's amusing when titles get such massive changes between regions. It's like...Japanese gamers get these games with long, drawn-out titles that sound so exciting, and when they make the trip to the US, stuff gets chopped to make it sound more traditional to our ears.

*huggles*

Areala