Post by leunas on Dec 19, 2006 15:06:15 GMT -5
Every week, we throw up the Famitsu reviews scores because, well, we like to bring you the most foreign, exotic treats the internet has to offer. And let's face it, not many of you read Famitsu, because not many of you live in Japan and/or speak Japanese.
It's also because, like Edge, a lot of people put a lot of stock in the opinions of the Famitsu editors. A set of 9's from Famitsu is normally held to be a lot more respectable than a 9 from IGN or GameSpot, for example.
But every time we post them up, there's also the slightest hint of backlash. Some of you aren't necessarily down with Famitsu. Some of you don't understand just how they do things over there. They don't operate like an American or British mag does, and 108 over at selectbutton has taken the time to explain just why.
When Famitsu rates a game high, they do it out of respect for the readers -- avid players of Kingdom Hearts as most of them are. Avid players of Kingdom Hearts don't want to be told what Famitsu really thinks of their fucking piece of $h1t hobby. So Famitsu awards the "courtesy score" -- which used to be all nines and a ten, and is now all tens and a nine. When Famitsu KNOWS a game is going to sell 2 million copies in a week regardless of what they say, this is what they do.
This, understandably, rankles a lot of people in the West. To us, that's "selling out". Or whoring, take your pick. Dishing out review scores on the basis of sensitivity or cultural sentiments would get a Western mag crucified, yet for Famitsu it's shrugged off as part of the weekly routine.
Famitsu makes more money off the back cover advertisement than off all the newsstand sales combined (they offer no subscription service). What Famitsu is -- and you wouldn't know this unless you've held a heavy issue in your hand on a tired Friday morning -- is straightforward (if not entirely honest) PR in a pretty, meaty, high-quality bundle. It's an advertisement feast. If the western concepts of "journalistic integrity" are distorted and twisted within its pages, they're done so very lovingly. Because, you see, that degree of over-thinking really doesn't exist here. You can cry "viral!!!!!!!!!!!!" and "TEH PAID!!!!!!!!!!" all you want at Famitsu's features and articles. However, you can't change that it's a h311 of a thing to look at on the train on Friday morning, or at lunch on Friday afternoon; it provides stimulating topics of conversation (for geekos) over Friday dinner.
So, basically, shilling is cool so long as those after a bit more insight know that's how things are done. As long as you know Final Fantasy will always get 9's, and that lesser-known (ie those without murderously loyal fanbases) games will receive the "proper" treatment, you'll be fine (which is why we all ignored the scores they gave Sonic, but paid attention when games like Blue Dragon and Lost Planet won them over).
www.kotaku.com/gaming/famitsu/famitsu-for-beginners-222494.php