Missing Magazine: Dengeki Playstation (Japan)

[kitsunebi]

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.

I don't know about games, but this stuff happens all the time in reverse with English-language movies released in Japan:

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/12/10/13-surprising-japanese-translations-of-american-movie-titles/

Oh, and my favorite not included on this list:

USA: Army of Darkness

Japan: Captain Supermarket

"Rhapsody" is actually sounding like a pretty sensible title, all things considered.

[te72]

First one that comes to my mind is what we know of as Suikoden was originally Genso Suikoden. As if dropping the "Genso" part makes the title sound less strange to western ears.

I rather like that Captain Supermarket poster, particularly how they use his name on a soup can haha.

[kitsunebi]

Well, #94 done.

I noticed that the first issue I picked at random (#165) was the first issue of 2001 and the second randomly-chosen issue (#94) was the first of 1999. So next I decided I might as well do the first issue of 2000:

I swear that I picked this based on the date, as I said above, and the fact that both this issue and #94 both have Gundam on the cover is just a coincidence (although statistically probable, since Japan releases what seems like several hundred Gundam games per year.)

I promise that I'll do another Famitsu after this one, regardless of whether the D.P. database is up or not, although it might be a little slower in coming since work is starting up again.

[kitsunebi]

OK, I've spent the past couple of weeks researching this and I have created a spreadsheet for most of the 600+ issues. This isn't easy, let me tell you. There isn't any consistency to the dates with issues regularly having covers dated earlier than the preceding issue (ex: #139 Apr.21, #140 Apr.14), and the title of the magazine itself changes practically every few issues or so, so every issue's date and title had to be visually confirmed. Most of the remaining issues without cover dates are because the cover date is super-tiny and can only be seen if you actually have the issue in front of you or else have a very high resolution scan.

I literally know of nothing else I can do to further assist in the addition of this title to the database. If anybody else thinks they can fill the missing spots, GO FOR IT:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1n9WQ-gxunktUUSHi83SsFxfFZ_Yiwue7w83nYqDEfXs/edit#gid=0

I've gotta admit that busying myself with creating this spreadsheet has precluded any further progress on scanning anything for the past couple of weeks beyond the two issues that are already completed. I think I'll take a break for a little bit and see what's what and try to rediscover some motivation. Hopefully by then I can start uploading these things.

Why can't Japanese mags just be simple to catalog like everyone elses? (well, except for Game Player's, which I suspect was secretly operated out of Japan...)

[te72]

You've provided quite the service here... I am curious though, is this common with Japanese game mags? Are they more into the Inspector Gadget style of reading?

Also, what about GP? Other than the switch to UGP, what made their catalog strange?

[marktrade]

Thank you for doing all this hard work!

I'm sorry if I've forgotten but I don't remember if you've ever said why you don't upload your releases anywhere else? Even the curators here don't want Retromags to be the only download source for any particular magazine.

[kitsunebi]

Also, what about GP? Other than the switch to UGP, what made their catalog strange?

I was referring to the entire Game Player's lineup. I'm not sure exactly how many titles that is, since they had a habit of renaming them from time to time, eventually doing away with the "Game Player's" moniker entirely. You're right though, they still aren't as complicated as Japanese mags. I think the key is that I've never seen an offer for a subscription in a Japanese game mag, so I think most if not all sales are at retail. In the case of Famitsu, every issue has a different cover price based on the number of pages for that particular issue, so offering a standard subscription fare might prove...complicated (I have seen digital subscriptions, though).

At any rate, the cover dates are there as a guide for the retailer to know when they should yank an issue from the racks. Dengeki Playstation is ostensibly biweekly, but there are a large number of special issues published here and there. Usually, those are intended to sit on the shelf a bit longer than the regular biweekly issues, so they might be dated ahead so that they still appear to be current after sitting on the shelf for a month.

At least, that's my theory.

I'm sorry if I've forgotten but I don't remember if you've ever said why you don't upload your releases anywhere else? Even the curators here don't want Retromags to be the only download source for any particular magazine.

I don't have a rule against uploading elsewhere. I love Oldgamemags and have told Kiwi he's welcome to my stuff if he wants it. The reason I choose to go to this site first is because of the forum, really. I like the community here that's lacking at most of the other major download sites. I hit up Kiwi's site for downloads, but I don't spend any extra time there since there isn't a forum (not one open for registration, anyway).

I don't know what exactly is involved in creating the databases - It could be a simple matter of importing the data from the spreadsheet, but I'm guessing it's a much more tedious process of entering in each line issue by issue, which is why a few shorter-lived magazines have been added recently while this one is still on hold. Over 600 issues is no joke! I'm sure it will get there eventually.