So, Does Japan Actually Read Game Magazines_

Apparently! Some people read Japanese game magazines like Famitsu when scans leak early onto the internet. Other people [[link]] actually buy the print publications. But how many? The Japanese Magazine Publishers Association has released circulation numbers for domestic video games magazines. Data is between October 1, 2008 and [[link]] September 30, 2009.(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); Title: Weekly Famitsu Publisher: Enterbrain Circulation: 500,000 Dengeki Nintendo DS ASCII Media Works 160,000 Famitsu PSP+PS3 Enterbrain 150,000 Dengeki PlayStation ASCII Media Works 131,061* Arcadia Enterbrain 120,000 Dengeki G’s Magazine ASCII Media Works 120,000 Famitsu Xbox 360 Enterbrain 120,000 Famitsu DS+Wii Enterbrain 100,417* Dengeki Maoh ASCII Media Works 100,000 Famitsu Wave DVD Enterbrain 100,000 Dengeki [[link]] Girl’s Style ASCII Media Works 80,000 Dengeki Hime ASCII Media Works 80,000 Famitsu Connect! On Enterbrain 80,000 B’s-LOG Enterbrain 50,000 Game Japan Hobby Japan 30,000 *verified circulation To put things in context, American magazine Game Informer has 3.5 million readers, dwarfing Weekly Famitsu’s circulation. However, Game Informer is owned by GameStop, America’s largest game retailer, which does not exactly provide a level playing field for competing print publications in GameStop shops. Famitsu is, it often seems, simply a mouthpiece for the Japanese game industry to put out press releases. UK print magazine EDGE, on the other hand, has a circulation of approximately 28,000 as 2008 — a number that continues to tumble year after year. In comparison, Japanese magazines covering arcade games, dating games and erotic games all have larger circulations than EDGE. The Japanese game mag industry is certainly more varied and niche than its Western counterparts. Whether or not it can continue to post healthy circulation numbers as mankind makes the transition from analog to digital remains to be seen. 2009 Japanese Anime/Game Magazine Circulation Numbers [ANN] [Pic]