[ASCII MEDIA WORKS] A brand every gamer has heard of! What are the game titles from ASCII MEDIA WORKS, now inactive but still remembered by name?
[ASCII MEDIA WORKS] A brand every gamer has heard of! What are the game titles from ASCII MEDIA WORKS, now inactive but still remembered by name?
2025-04-18
[ASCII MEDIA WORKS] A brand every gamer has heard of! What are the game titles from ASCII MEDIA WORKS, now inactive but still remembered by name?
Just hearing “Dengeki Bunko” or “Dengeki PlayStation” might make your heart race—and for good reason. The backbone of the beloved Dengeki brand was once the publisher ASCII MEDIA WORKS.
Even the name gives off strong vibes of IT and otaku culture—and that impression is absolutely spot-on. This company was a group of true media artisans, working in everything from publishing and games to character merchandising.
ASCII MEDIA WORKS was founded on April 1, 2008—yes, April Fool’s Day, but this was no joke. The company was born from the merger of the already popular publisher “MediaWorks” and the IT pioneer “ASCII.”
It was a cutting-edge brand at the intersection of gaming magazines, IT culture, anime, and light novels.
You can't talk about ASCII MEDIA WORKS without mentioning its many “Dengeki”-branded media. From Dengeki Bunko came titles like “A Certain Magical Index”, “Sword Art Online”, and “Accel World”—works that are still loved and adapted into anime today.
Magazines like “Dengeki PlayStation” and “Dengeki G's Magazine” were like bibles for gamers and anime fans alike.
It’s no exaggeration to say they were part of the infrastructure of otaku culture.
In 2013, ASCII MEDIA WORKS was absorbed into KADOKAWA, becoming a “brand company” under its umbrella. In 2015, the brand company system was dissolved, and by 2018, the division itself ceased to exist.
But don’t worry—the name “ASCII MEDIA WORKS” still lives on as a face of the Dengeki brand. In other words, every time we see the Dengeki logo, we’re reconnecting with this company’s DNA.
ASCII MEDIA WORKS was never just a publisher. It was more like a “cultural alchemist,” bridging technology and entertainment, publishing and gaming. In the ever-changing world of media, its legacy of passionate, high-quality works is nothing short of legendary.
Traces of it still live on in our bookshelves and game collections today. So the next time you feel nostalgic, take a moment to remember—“I was so into Dengeki back then.”
Heavily focused on visual novels and otome games! Here's the lineup of ASCII MEDIA WORKS titles!
Dear Girl 〜Stories~
Hakuoki
Dengeki Gakuen RPG Cross of Venus
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (Haruka Nogizaka's Secret)
ASCII MEDIA WORKS
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