60-581: ASCII Corporation, Ltd. was a Japanese publishing company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo . It became a subsidiary of Kadokawa Group Holdings in 2004, and merged with another Kadokawa subsidiary MediaWorks on April 1, 2008, becoming ASCII Media Works . The company published Monthly ASCII as the main publication. ASCII is best known for creating the Derby Stallion video game series, the MSX computer, and
120-534: A brand and a division of Kadokawa Future Publishing. On February 4, 2021, Kadokawa announced that the company had formed a Capital Alliance with Sony and CyberAgent to strengthen the company's creation, development, and acquisition of new IP while also maximizing use of existing IPs. As part of the agreement, both Sony and CyberAgent would receive a 1.93% stake in the company. By August 2021, Kakao Japan had acquired an 8.3 percent stake in Kadokawa, making them
180-430: A company of his own in 1992, named Impress . On November 26, 2001, CSK Corporation and Unison Capital Partners L.P. announced the approval of transferring the control of its subsidiary ASCII to Unison Capital Partners L.P., effective on March 30, 2002, as part of a strategy to focus CSK's operations on B2B enterprises. The transfer was approved on December 21, 2001. As a part of deal, ASCII's outstanding debt owed to CSK
240-540: A modern, large-scale industry disseminating all types of information. " Publisher " can refer to a publishing company, organization, or an individual who leads a publishing company, imprint , periodical , or newspaper. The publishing process covering most magazine , journal , and book publishers includes: (Different stages are applicable to different types of publishers) Newspapers or news websites are publications of current reports, articles , and features written by journalists . They are free, sometimes with
300-677: A particular field and often push the boundaries established in these fields. They usually have peer review processes before publishing to test the validity and quality of the content. A magazine is a periodical published at regular intervals. It features creative layouts, photography, and illustrations that cover a particular subject or interest. Magazines are available in print or digital formats and can be purchased on apps or websites like Readly or accessed free of charge on apps or websites like Issuu . The global book publishing industry consists of books categorized as fiction or non-fiction and print , e-book , or audiobook . The book market
360-474: A police investigation into bribery . Prosecutors alleged that the Kadokawa chairman authorized a ¥76 million payment (adjusted to ¥69 million under Japan's statute of limitations ) to a consulting company with ties to a former executive of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee in exchange for being selected as an official sponsor of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games . Kadokawa has denied
420-400: A premium edition, or paid for, either individually or through a subscription . They are filled with photographs or other media and usually are subsidized with advertising . Typically, they cover local , national, and international news or feature a particular industry. Some organizations charge premium fees if they have the expertise and exclusive knowledge. The news industry is meant to serve
480-403: A registered ISBN to identify it. Directories contain searchable indexed data about businesses, products, and services. They were printed in the past but are now mostly online. Directories are available as searchable lists, on a map, as a sector-specific portal , as a review site (expert or consumer), or as a comparison site . Although some businesses may not consider themselves publishers,
540-435: A shop with a small margin (or none at all) compared to a website is very cost-effective because it acts as a huge billboard that offers a browsing experience that enables consumers to make purchasing decisions. It gives them a feel for the brand, has a presence in the community, and creates jobs. Also, using social media publishing to advertise has a good ROI if trending, high-quality content is created that reflects positively on
600-758: A single franchise, e.g., Ballantine Del Rey LucasBooks has the exclusive rights to Star Wars in the United States; Random House UK (Bertelsmann)/Century LucasBooks holds the same rights in the United Kingdom. The video game industry self-publishes through BL Publishing/ Black Library ( Warhammer ) and Wizards of the Coast ( Dragonlance , Forgotten Realms , etc.). The BBC has its own publishing division that does very well with long-running series such as Doctor Who . These multimedia works are cross-marketed aggressively, and sales frequently outperform
660-623: A subsidized income for publishers. If the advertising has a return on investment (ROI), the publisher can boost income exponentially by increasing the spending. An ROI of up to £10 per £1 invested is possible, as seen in the John Lewis & Partners Christmas campaigns . Likewise, any cost savings that harm the customer/consumer experience can impact a brand in the long term. Multichannel marketing can be more cost-effective in creating an immersive experience that cannot be replicated with one channel. For example, when considering marketing spend,
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#1732787115296720-459: A website, from which anyone can download and read it. An increasing number of authors are using niche marketing online to sell more books by engaging with their readers online. Refer to the ISO divisions of ICS 01.140.40 and 35.240.30 for further information. Publication is the distribution of copies or content to the public . The Berne Convention requires that this can only be done with
780-404: Is a modern term for publishing a book but printing so few copies or with such lack of marketing, advertising, or sales support that it effectively does not reach the public. The book, while nominally published, is almost impossible to obtain through normal channels such as bookshops, often cannot be ordered specially, and has a notable lack of support from its publisher, including refusal to reprint
840-421: Is also undertaken by governments, civil society, and private companies for administrative or compliance requirements, business, research, advocacy, or public interest objectives. This can include annual reports , research reports , market research , policy briefings, and technical reports . Self-publishing has become very common. Publishing has evolved from a small, ancient form limited by law or religion to
900-448: Is an academic publisher run by a university. Oxford University Press is the largest in the world and specializes in research, education, and English language teaching internationally. A catalog is a visual directory or list of a large range of products that allow you to browse and buy from a particular company. In print, this is usually in the format of a softback book or directory. Smaller visual catalogs can be known as brochures. With
960-421: Is huge, with around 1.5 billion people speaking English. Translation services are also available to make these texts accessible in other languages. Self-publishing makes publishing widely accessible through small print-run digital printing or online self-publishing platforms. E-reader screen technology continues to improve with increased contrast and resolution making them more comfortable to read. Each book has
1020-574: Is known as the Kadokawa Group. These companies are of three types: publishing, film and visuals, and cross media. The publishers primarily deal with books , bunkobon paperbacks, manga , and visual media magazines; the film and visual companies deal with Japanese feature films and DVD sales of international films and anime ; the cross media companies deal with digital content, urban information and television program information magazines, along with information transmission combining paper media,
1080-491: The Harry Potter and James Bond franchises. The publishing landscape is continually evolving. Currently there are four major types of publishers in book publishing: These companies traditionally produce hardcopy books in large print runs. They have established networks which distribute those books to bricks-and-mortar stores and libraries. When a mainstream publisher accepts a book for publication, they require
1140-458: The RPG Maker line of programming software. ASCII was founded in 1977 by Kazuhiko Nishi and Keiichiro Tsukamoto. Originally the publisher of a magazine with the same name, ASCII , talks between Bill Gates and Nishi led to the creation of Microsoft's first overseas sales office, ASCII Microsoft , in 1978. In 1980, ASCII made 1.2 billion yen of sales from licensing Microsoft BASIC . It
1200-589: The development of books . The Chinese inventor Bi Sheng made a movable type of earthenware c. 1045 , but there are no known surviving examples of his work. The Korean civil servant Ch'oe Yun-ŭi , who lived during the Goryeo Dynasty, invented the first metal moveable type in 1234–1250 AD. In what is commonly regarded as an independent invention, Johannes Gutenberg developed movable type in Europe around 1450, along with innovations in casting
1260-468: The 1980s, ASCII became active in the development and publishing of software and peripherals for popular consoles such as the Family Computer and Mega Drive . After Microsoft's public stock offering in 1986, Microsoft founded its own Japanese subsidiary, Microsoft Co., Ltd. , traded as Microsoft Kabushiki Kaisha (MSKK), and dissolved its partnership with ASCII. At around the same time, the company
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#17327871152961320-495: The Department of Justice, filing a permanent injunction on the merger. Although newspaper and magazine companies still often own printing presses and binderies, book publishers rarely do. Similarly, the trade usually sells the finished products through a distributor who stores and distributes the publisher's wares for a percentage fee or sells on a sale or return basis. Some major publishers have entire divisions devoted to
1380-468: The Internet, they have evolved into searchable databases of products known under the term e-commerce . Interactive catalogs and brochures like IKEA and Avon allow customers to browse a full range if they have not decided on their purchase. Responsive web and app design will allow further integration between interactive catalog visuals and searchable product databases. Until recently, physical books were
1440-415: The United States. Before the great success of Nintendo 's Family Computer , MSX was the platform for which major Japanese game studios such as Konami and Hudson Soft produced video games. The Metal Gear series , for example, was first written for MSX hardware. Publishing company Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software, and other content available to
1500-612: The World Wide Web in 1989 soon propelled the website into a dominant publishing medium. Wikis and blogs soon developed, followed by online books , online newspapers , and online magazines . This also facilitated the technological convergence of commercial and self-published content and the convergence of publishing and production into online production through the development of multimedia content. A U.S.-based study in 2016 that surveyed 34 publishers found that straight, able-bodied, white females overwhelmingly represent
1560-496: The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) have called for reform of the paid-for publishing sector. These unions, representing 14,800 authors, jointly published a report to expose widespread bad practices among companies that charge writers to publish their work while taking away their rights. When an author self-publishes a book, they retain all rights and assume responsibility for all stages of preparing, publishing and distributing
1620-451: The allegations, and his company announced that it would cooperate with the investigation. Kadokawa was indicted by prosecutors on October 4, 2022. Later that day he announced his intent to resign as the chairman of his company. He continued to deny the allegations and vowed to prove his innocence at trial. On June 8, 2024, a group of hackers called BlackSuit launched a ransomware attack on multiple websites owned by Kadokawa, including
1680-632: The author must cover all the costs of publication, surrender some rights to the publisher, and pay royalties on sales. Vanity presses often engage in deceptive practices or offer costly, poor-quality services with limited recourse available to the writer. In the US, these practices have been cited by the Better Business Bureau as unfavorable reports by consumers. Given the bad reputation of vanity publishing, many vanity presses brand themselves as hybrid publishers. The Society of Authors (SoA) and
1740-633: The author to sign a contract surrendering some rights to the publisher. In exchange, the publisher will take care of all aspects of publishing the book at the publisher's cost. They rely entirely on sales of the book to recoup those costs and make a profit. The author receives a royalty on each sale (and sometimes an advance on royalties when the book is accepted ). Because of the financial risk , mainstream publishers are extremely selective in what they will publish, and reject most manuscripts submitted to them. In 2013, Penguin (owned by Pearson ) and Random House (owned by Bertelsmann ) merged, narrowing
1800-510: The average stand-alone published work, making them a focus of corporate interest. The advent of the Internet has provided an alternative mode of book distribution and most mainstream publishers also offer their books in ebook format. Preparing a book for e-book publication is the same as print publication, with only minor variations in the process to account for the different publishing mediums; E-book publication also eliminates some costs like
1860-614: The book. The author may hire professionals on a fee-for-service basis as needed, (e.g. an editor, cover designer, proofreader) or engage a company to provide an integrated package. Accessible publishing uses the digitization of books to mark them up into XML and produce multiple formats to sell to customers, often targeting those who experience difficulty reading. Formats include a variety of larger print sizes, specialized print formats for dyslexia , eye tracking problems, and macular degeneration , as well as Braille , DAISY , audiobooks , and e-books . Green publishing means adapting
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1920-566: The brand. Film, television, radio, and advertisements publish information to their audiences. Computer games, streaming apps, and social media publish content in various ways that can keep audiences more engaged. Marketing additional products closely related to a major film, such as Star Wars , is an example of tie-in publishing. These products include but are not limited to spin-off books, graphic novels, soundtrack albums, computer games, models and toys, social media posts, and promotional publications. Examples of tie-in publishing based on books are
1980-515: The company announced that it had acquired anime studio Doga Kobo . Reuters reported in November 2024 that the entertainment and electronics giant Sony was in talks to acquire Kadokawa. Sony had previously discussed acquiring Kadokawa, but Kadokawa demanded Sony acquire the entire company, while Sony only wanted Kadokawa's anime and video game assets. In September 2022 chairman Tsuguhiko Kadokawa—son of founder Genyoshi—was arrested as part of
2040-407: The company continued to suffer from accumulated debts, until an arrangement was made that CSK Corporation would execute a major investment into ASCII in 1997. In the mid-1990s, ASCII acquired the company Something Good, and renamed it to ASCII Something Good , through which they developed three Sega Saturn games: AI Shogi (1995), AI Igo (1997), AI Shogi 2 (1998). ASCII originally used
2100-539: The company. This made Kadokawa Corporation the sole subsidiary of the holding company Kadokawa Dwango. On July 1, 2019, Kadokawa Dwango was reorganized again; only the publishing business remained in Kadokawa Corporation, and it was renamed Kadokawa Future Publishing , while Kadokawa Dwango itself became the second iteration of Kadokawa Corporation and the holding company of all of the Kadokawa Group companies. The original name Kadokawa Shoten remains as
2160-547: The consent of the copyright holder, which initially is always the author. In the Universal Copyright Convention , "publication" is defined in Article VI as "the reproduction in tangible form and the general distribution to the public of copies of a work from which it can be read or otherwise visually perceived." Privishing ( priv ate publ ishing , but not to be confused with self-publishing )
2220-422: The discount given to retailers (usually around 45 percent). Small publishers, also called independent or indie publishers, operate on a traditional model (i.e. the author surrenders some rights in exchange for the publisher bearing all costs of publishing), but their precise terms can vary greatly. Often, they do not pay an advance on royalties. A hybrid publisher shares the costs of publication (and therefore
2280-417: The largest shareholder. On October 29, 2021, Kadokawa announced that it had formed a capital and business alliance with Tencent , which acquired a 6.86% stake in the conglomerate for ¥30 billion ($ 264 million). The aim of the alliance is for Kadokawa to expand its global reach using Tencent's platforms. China, where the company has an existing joint venture with Tencent, is a particular target. In July 2024,
2340-576: The mainstream publishing industry to a handful of big publishers as it adapted to digital media. The merger created the largest consumer book publisher globally, with a global market share of more than 25 percent. As of 2022 , approximately 80% percent of the United States trade market for books was controlled by the " Big Five " publishing houses: Penguin Random House , Hachette , HarperCollins , Simon & Schuster , and Macmillan . In November 2020, ViacomCBS agreed to sell Simon & Schuster,
2400-521: The name ASCII Media Works , effective on April 1, 2008. The merger was approved in 2008. On January 10, 2010, the formerly named ASCII company MediaLeaves was merged into Enterbrain, dissolving the last of the ASCII entity. MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by Microsoft and ASCII on June 16, 1983. It was conceived and marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-president at Microsoft Japan and director at ASCII Corporation. Nishi conceived
2460-575: The name Nexoft on early American releases. In 1991, they renamed Nexoft to ASCII Entertainment , although releases around this time used the Asciiware name. To focus on supporting the interactive entertainment channel in America, startup company Agetec (for "Ascii Game Entertainment Technology") was spun off as an independent corporation in 1998 and later became a fully independent publisher one year later. Co-founder Tsukamoto had left ASCII to create
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2520-573: The primary source of recording knowledge. For accessibility and global reach, this content can be repurposed for the web. The British Library , for example, holds more than 170 million items with 3 million new additions each year. With consent, content can be published online through e-books, audio books, CMS -based websites, online learning platforms, videos, or mobile apps. On the Internet, writers and copy editors are known as content writers and content editors, although their roles vary from their print-based counterparts. Advertising can provide income or
2580-452: The project as an attempt to create unified standards among various home computing system manufacturers of the period. MSX systems were popular in Japan and several other countries. It is difficult to determine how many MSX computers were sold worldwide, but eventually, 5 million MSX-based units were sold in Japan alone. Despite Microsoft's involvement, few MSX-based machines were released in
2640-790: The public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works , such as books , comic books , newspapers , and magazines . With the advent of digital information systems, the scope has expanded to include digital publishing such as e-books , digital magazines , websites , social media , music , and video game publishing . The commercial publishing industry ranges from large multinational conglomerates such as News Corp , Pearson , Penguin Random House , and Thomson Reuters to major retail brands and thousands of small independent publishers. It has various divisions such as trade/retail publishing of fiction and non-fiction, educational publishing, and academic and scientific publishing . Publishing
2700-489: The public interest, hold people and businesses to account, and promote freedom of information and expression. Editors manage the tone of voice of their publication; for example, negative versus positive articles can affect the reader's perspective. A journal is an academic or technical publication also available in digital and(or) print format, containing articles written by researchers, professors, and individuals with professional expertise. These publications are specific to
2760-457: The publishing industry in the US. Salon described the situation as a "lack of diversity behind the scenes in book world." A survey in 2020 by the same group found there has been no significant statistical change in the lack of diversity since the 2016 survey. Lack of diversity in the American publishing industry has been an issue for years. Within the industry, the least amount of diversity
2820-410: The publishing process to minimize environmental impact. One example is the concept of on-demand printing, using digital or print-on-demand technology. This cuts down the need to ship books since they are manufactured close to the customer on a just-in-time basis. A further development is the growth of online publishing, where no physical books are produced. The author creates an e-book and uploads it to
2880-442: The risks) with the author. Because of this financial risk, they are selective in what they publish. The contract varies according to what is negotiated between author and company, but will always include the surrender of some rights to the publisher. Hybrid publishing is the source of debate in the publishing industry, due to the tendency of vanity presses to masquerade as hybrids. A vanity press will publish any book. In return,
2940-483: The scribes of Europe had produced since Constantine founded his city in A.D. 330." The history of modern newspaper publishing started in Germany in 1609, with the publication of magazines following in 1663. Missionaries brought printing presses to sub-Saharan Africa in the mid-18th century. Historically, publishing has been handled by publishers , although some authors self-published. The establishment of
3000-497: The third largest book publisher in the United States, to Penguin Random House in a deal that, if it had gone through, would have formed the largest publishing company in the world. On November 2, 2021, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit (U.S. v. Bertelsmann SE & CO. KGaA, et al.) to block the merger on antitrust grounds, and on October 31, 2022, the D.C. District Court ruled in favor of
3060-540: The title. A book that is privished may be referred to as "killed." Depending on the motivation, privishing may constitute a breach of contract , censorship , or good business practice (e.g., not printing more books than the publisher believes will sell in a reasonable length of time). Publishing became possible with the invention of writing and became more practical upon the introduction of printing . Before printing, distributed works were copied manually by scribes . Due to printing, publishing progressed hand-in-hand with
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#17327871152963120-469: The type based on a matrix and hand mould . The invention of the printing press gradually made books less expensive to produce and more widely available. Early printed books, single sheets, and images created before 1501 in Europe are known as incunables or incunabula . "A man born in 1453, the year of the fall of Constantinople , could look back from his fiftieth year on a lifetime in which about eight million books had been printed, more perhaps than all
3180-481: The video streaming website Niconico , resulting in most of its services being temporarily suspended. On June 27, the hacker group published a statement on the dark web , claiming responsibility for the attack and threatening to release 1.5 terabytes of stolen data, which included business partner information and user data, unless a ransom was paid. Kadokawa Corporation serves to bring together several affiliated Japanese companies related to Kadokawa Shoten under what
3240-453: The way the data is displayed is published. A textbook is an educational book, or e-book, that contains information on a particular subject and is used by people studying that subject. The need for textbook publishing continues due to the global need for education. Textbooks from major publishers are being integrated with online learning platforms for expert knowledge and access to a library of books with digital content. A university press
3300-416: Was 40 percent of Microsoft's sales, and Nishi became Microsoft's Vice President of Sales for Far East. In 1983, ASCII and Microsoft introduced the MSX , a standardized specification for 8-bit home computers. In 1984, ASCII entered the semiconductor business, followed by a further expansion into commercial online service in 1985 under the brand of ASCII-NET. As the popularity of home video game systems soared in
3360-481: Was also obliged to reform itself as a result of its aggressive diversification in the first half of the 1980s. The company went public in 1989. ASCII's revenue in its fiscal year ending March 1996 was 56 billion yen, broken down by sectors: publications (52.5% or 27.0 billion yen), game entertainment (27.8% or 14.3 billion yen), systems and semiconductors (10.8% or 6 billion yen) and others. Despite its struggles to remain focused on its core businesses,
3420-472: Was forgiven, and under Unison's control, the ASCII's Enterbrain and IT publishing divisions would maintain autonomy, while ASCII was restructured to concentrate on PC and IT publishing businesses. On May 28, 2002, Unison Media Partners announced ASCII became a fully owned subsidiary of via share exchange, and ASCII would be delisted, effective on October 1, 2002. On November 18, 2002, the Astroarts subsidiary
3480-489: Was in higher-level editorial positions. Publishing on specific contexts Publishing tools Kadokawa Group Holdings Kadokawa Corporation ( Japanese : 株式会社KADOKAWA , Hepburn : Kabushiki-gaisha Kadokawa ) , formerly Kadokawa Dwango Corporation , is a Japanese media conglomerate that was created as a result of the merger of the original Kadokawa Corporation and Dwango Co., Ltd. on October 1, 2014. The holding company known today as Kadokawa Corporation
3540-416: Was originally founded in 1945 as Kadokawa Shoten , to "revitalize Japanese culture through publishing" in the postwar era. It was merged with Dwango Co., Ltd. to form Kadokawa Dwango on October 1, 2014, and became a subsidiary of Kadokawa Dwango. In February 2019, Kadokawa Dwango announced that Dwango would stop being their subsidiary to be a direct subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation in a reorganization of
3600-495: Was renamed to ASCII, while ASCII was renamed to MediaLeaves. The former Astroarts subsidiary would inherit the publishing business of the former ASCII. On January 29, 2004, Unison Capital Partners, L.P. announced the sale of ASCII's parent company MediaLeaves to Kadokawa Group Holdings , to be completed in March 2004. On September 27, 2007, Kadokawa Group Holdings announced the merger between subsidiaries MediaWorks and ASCII under
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