Japanese equivalent of Nintendo Power?

[SynthMilk]

I recently picked up a few issues of MegaDrive Fan and Beep! MegaDrive and was blown away by the quality.  I'm still in the early stages of learning kanji, so not able to read them yet, but just enjoying soaking up some nice graphic design, including bespoke illustrations for level maps, race tracks, character stats, etc.

Got me curious about whether there was a Nintendo Power equivalent in Japan, and while I'm aware of a few Japanese Nintendo-exclusive mags (Marukatsu Famicom, Famimaga, 64Dream/NintendoDream) I don't think any of those was an official Nintendo publication in the way that Nintendo Power was for NoA.  Google says 64Dream/NintendoDream is the Japanese equivalent, but from what I've read it wasn't owned by Nintendo and only began publication with the arrival of the N64; so it kinda missed out on the brand's home console heyday (at least in Japan).

Am I overlooking something?  Seems strange given the popularity of Nintendo Power in the US, that the Japanese HQ wouldn't want to have their own official publication.

Any insights appreciated!

[kitsunebi]

Don't forget that Famitsu was also basically Nintendo-exclusive for a long time (indeed, for its first 10 years of publication it went by its un-abbreviated name of Famicom Tsuushin.)

I don't know why Nintendo didn't set up a publishing division and enter the magazine market earlier, but the earliest Famicom publications, Family Computer Magazine and Marukatsu Famicom, both were high quality publications right from the start, loaded with the same professional illustrations, maps, quality screenshots, etc. that one would expect from an official mag.  Since most Japanese gaming mags prior to the PlayStation focused on Nintendo systems anyway (Sega wasn't really a contender in Japan until the Saturn), maybe Nintendo just didn't see the need to make their own.   The difference in quality between early Nintendo Powers and the competing American mags at the time was pretty stark, but it's hard to imagine how an official Japanese mag would have improved upon what was already being published there.

[SynthMilk]

Thanks, Kitsunebi!

I'm not too familiar with the early Famitsu volumes, but I think you're probably right in that Nintendo didn't see much of a need for an "official" publication when there were already some very good options available.  Maybe 64/Nintendo Dream -- if it is in fact an official Nintendo mag -- was launched in response to Famitsu covering the other fifth generation consoles and Nintendo needing a platform to control the message around the N64 and its struggles in that region.

I'd always kind of written off Nintendo Power as "state media", since the few I picked up were from the N64 era and pretty weak compared to its multi-console competitors, but you've piqued my interest in the early ones.

[kitsunebi]

From an adult reader's perspective, no video game magazines from the 8/16 bit eras are particularly interesting reads, since they were all aimed exclusively at kids.  So you're not going to find a lot of juicy articles or interviews no matter what mag you pick up.  But from a design and print quality standpoint, Nintendo Power ran circles around contemporary American mags, since it was emulating the look and feel of Japanese mags, was backed by the finances of Nintendo and had direct access to source assets no one else had.