Missing Magazine: Famitsu DC

[marktrade]

This monthly from Famitsu was also the official Sega Dreamcast magazine in Japan. According to SegaRetro there were 32 dated issues and one special issue for 33 issues in total.

The official numbering starts with the year and then the issue number for that particular year, starting with #1999/01 for January 1999. So issue #2000/03 would be March 2000 and the 15th issue published. If we were to number them sequentially, it would look like this:

01 - Jan 99

02 - Feb 99

03 - Mar 99

04 - Apr 99

05 - May 99

06 - Jun 99

07 - Jul 99

08 - Aug 99

09 - Sep 99

10 - Oct 99

11 - Nov 99

12 - Dec 99

13 - Jan 00

14 - Feb 00

15 - Mar 00

16 - Apr 00

17 - May 00

18 - Jun 00

19 - Jul 00

20 - Aug 00

21 - Sep 00

22 - Oct 00

23 - Nov 00

24 - Dec 00

25 - Jan 01

26 - Feb 01

27 - Mar 01

28 - Special issue

29 - Apr 01

30 - May 01

31 - Jun 01

32 - Jul 01

33 - Aug 01

And it just so happens that I've scanned and edited the penultimate issue, July 2001.

https://archive.org/details/FamitsuDC200107

Enjoy!

Edited March 21, 2016 by marktrade

[kitsunebi]

Huh. I already had an unedited copy...I assume that was you, as well? Anyway, thanks for the upgrade!

[marktrade]

Huh. I already had an unedited copy...I assume that was you, as well? Anyway, thanks for the upgrade!

Are you sure it was edited? I uploaded an unedited version to archive.org and finally edited it today to get it off the back burner.

[kitsunebi]

Er, yeah I'm positive it was unedited...like I said. Read it again I figured it was you who had uploaded it, but I couldn't remember when/where I got it from.

[marktrade]

Er, yeah I'm positive it was unedited...like I said. Read it again I figured it was you who had uploaded it, but I couldn't remember when/where I got it from.

Oh, sorry! Well yeah of course it was me, lol. Duh.

[kitsunebi]

Btw, unless you know for sure, I wouldn't count on SegaRetro to have a definitive say on the exact number of issues. For example, they've only got 17 issues listed for Dengeki Dreamcast, but there are at least 32, since someone's been unsuccessfully trying to unload a set of 1-32 on yahoo auctions for a couple of months now. With Sonic Adventure 2 being the cover story on the last issue of FamitsuDC they have listed, it wouldn't be inconceivable for the magazine to have gone on at least a little bit longer (Shenmue II wasn't even released yet at that point.)

Edited March 21, 2016 by kitsunebi77

[marktrade]

Well, Sega did drop out of the console market in 2001, and since this was the official magazine for the console, it would make sense for the magazine to end around the same time. But you're right that ultimately it is just a wiki.

[PirateDragon]

Actually, neither have the number of issues listed on SegaRetro, just question marks.

[RetroDefense]

Gallery:

https://community.retromags.com/gallery/category/581-famitsu-dc/

 

Magazine:

https://www.retromags.com/magazines/category/jpn/famitsu-dc/

 

Publication and download sections hopefully coming soon!

[kitsunebi]

Edit: (I'm leaving this post alone, butt be aware that in contains some incorrect assumptions that have been corrected in the following post):

 

I don't want to rain on this parade, but the list/database isn't entirely correct.  Because Japan.

 

Famitsu DC doesn't seem to have been a very popular magazine, as I almost never see it pop up anywhere, and aside from marktrade's scan I've never even been able to find a cover pic online in high enough resolution to be worth a damn, but looking at marktrade's scan, you can see that the issue in question is the 40th issue of the mag, not the 31st as it's listed here.

 

Japanese publishing data is usually listed right on the cover, but it's in teeny tiny print that's all but invisible at anything other than high resolution scans.  Looking at marktrade's scan reveals the following information:

1. It is the July 1st 2001 issue
2. Famitsu DC is published on the 1st of every month
3. It is the 8th issue of the 3rd volume (with each volume starting in January, this means it was the 8th issue in 2001)
4. It is the 40th issue overall.

Now, the only way to reconcile all of the above information is to realize that point #2 applies to regular issues, but points #3&4 include special issues, as well (of which Japan is fond of). 

 

Considering that the issue we have listed in a separate "Famitsu DC Specials" category was also released in 2001, we can assume that it is the extra issue published in 2001 that would make marktrade's July issue be the 8th issue published that year.  Unfortunately, since I don't see any publication info anywhere in the scan of that special issue, the only way to know exactly which issues it falls between is to get a good look at the covers to the rest of the issues published that year and look for a gap in the numbering.

 

Likewise, to determine where the other "special" issues fall in between issues from 1999 and 2000, you'd have to have quality cover scans of those, as well and look for gaps.  And as for what exactly those special issues are, that's even harder to track down, since it isn't necessarily obvious from the title that they're even related.

 

I'm not saying all this to suggest that we should change anything or remove it from the database.  Unless marktrade has some more issues of the mag lying around we can look at, I doubt we'll ever have much to add to it anyway.  I just wanted to point out that Japanese magazines DON'T PLAY BY THE RULES.  Hell, sometimes a single issue is included in the official numbering systems of two different magazines! (The first several issues of Dengeki Playstation are also counted as "special" issues of Dengeki PC Engine, for example.)

[kitsunebi]

UPDATE:

 

OK, looks like I was wrong. And am now more confused than ever.

Once again this is from the cover print of marktrade's scan:

1. It is the July 1st 2001 issue
2. Famitsu DC is published on the 1st of every month
3. It is the 8th issue of the 3rd volume (with each volume starting in January, this means it was the 8th issue in 2001)
4. It is the 40th issue overall.

However, I did some searching online (WOW, is there almost ZERO information about this magazine ANYWHERE on Japanese websites, including the publisher themselves).  I found a place selling what they claim to be everything though (for over $500), and although the pictures are terrible and super-low-res (as is every Japanese auction/sale pic EVER), I have realized that I was incorrect.

 

It turns out that special issues (including the one that's been scanned and is in our database) really WERE kept separate and should not be included with the regular magazine.

 

Unfortunately, this means that our database is incorrect and needs to be redone, because we're missing issues, regardless.

 

You see, it turns out that Famitsu DC started as a monthly, then went sort-of bi-weekly (but not always), then back to monthly for the last 3 issues.

 

Here's the correct list as near as I can see:

01 - Jan 99
02 - Feb 99
03 - Mar 99
04 - Apr 99
05 - May 99
06 - Jun 99
07 - Jul 99
08 - Aug 99
09 - Sep 99
10 - Oct 99
11 - Nov 99
12 - Dec 99
13 - Jan 00
14 - Feb 00
15 - Mar 00
16 - Apr 00

17 - Mar 31 00

18 - Apr 14 00

19 - Apr 28 00

20 - May 12/26 00

21 - Jun 16 00

22 - Jun 30 00

23 - Jul 14 00

24 - Jul 28 00

25 - Aug 11/25 00

26 - Sep 15 00

27 - Sep 29 00

28 - Oct 13 00

29 - Oct 27 00

30 - Nov 10 00

31 - Nov 24 00

32 - Dec 8 00

33 - Dec 22 00

34 - Jan 5/19 01

35 - Feb 9 01

36 - Feb 23 01

37 - Mar 16 01

38 - Mar 30 01

39 - ??? can't make it out

40 - Jun 01

41 - Jul 01

42 - Aug 01

 

What I can't figure out is, marktrade's July 01 issue is clearly marked as the 40th issue, yet looking at the mags in the auction, it would seem to be the 41st issue.  Maybe I'm just not seeing it correctly.  As I said, Japanese cover pics and auction pics are always too low-res to be useful (since the entire landscape of the Japanese internet is still being designed to use limited data since most people access it with mobile devices).  Take a look for yourself.  There are also 4 special issues (including the one we have here)

http://www.yugiyahiranonetshop.com/product/9979

 

Unless we get some high-res scans of the covers to these things, I don't know if the mystery will ever truly be solved...

[kitsunebi]

So to sum it up, unless someone has further information to the contrary:

 

Despite what is on the cover, it seems to me that the photographic evidence should take precedence, thus giving this magazine a total of 42 regular issues (and at least 4 special issues separate from the regular numbering system).

 

We should adjust our database to include the issues and dates shown in the photographs in the post above.

[RetroDefense]

So most Japanese publications are akin to early Game Players.  Gotcha.  

 

Also, argh.

 

One more reason why I wish the database had a bit more flexibility when it comes to issue numbers.  I'll update the main Famitsu DC listing - can you translate/add the special issues?

[kitsunebi]

can you translate/add the special issues?

 

Not without a better picture.  Or better still, a look at the inside of the mag.  I mean, you can obviously see that the top left one says Dreamcast Visual Memory Data Issue, but the big print on both of the bottom two just says "Dreamcast"　but that seems like an unlikely title.  All I can guess at is that the one on the bottom right was released before the one on the bottom left (The text to the left of the title on the bottom right issue says "It's hot now!" and the one on the left says "It's still hot!"

 

I say don't worry about adding them until we actually have something to contribute.

 

Btw, I think one of the reasons Japanese mags aren't as predictable as mags elsewhere is because they don't offer subscriptions.  Since all of their business is done issue by issue at the newsstand, it doesn't matter if they publish an extra issue here or there, or skip a couple of weeks so their staff can have a vacation.  You also might notice that the cover price from issue to issue changes based on the page count, something that is never done in Western mags.

[RetroDefense]

I've updated the magazine dbase based on kitsunebi77's revised list.  Mulling it over, I also dropped in some placeholders in the Specials section.  They're ugly but considering we know the issues actually exist we may stand a better chance of filling in the blanks by reflecting this.  I'm up for changing my mind though.  Like I said - ugly.

 

Thanks for all the research work, kitsunebi77!

[marktrade]

What I can't figure out is, marktrade's July 01 issue is clearly marked as the 40th issue…

 

Where exactly is it marked? I'm having trouble seeing this.

[kitsunebi]

Where exactly is it marked? I'm having trouble seeing this.

 

It's pretty small.  Most cover scans online are too low-res to be able to see this information, but nearly all mags have it.

 

 

Heisei 13 (aka 2001) July 1st issue (published once on the first of each month) vol.3 no.8 (total no.40)

 

The bit about "published once per month" threw me, since it was true at the time of some of the issues (including this one), but not all of them.

[marktrade]

Well I'll be damned, it was right on the cover the whole time. I just missed it because it was so small and I naturally expect issue numbers to be much larger.