Since last generation, Famitsu has gotten substantially less critical. If anything, they are far more questionable than any Western publication simply because of the shady ways they operate. There have been plenty of rumors that they don't even write feature spreads on games, and that instead publishers push the pieces to them. They also tend to get reveals from major titles first, and although part of that is likely their status at this point, deals have also likely been made.
On non-ethical grounds, they really have gotten far, far less critical. To put it into perspective, from 1998 to now, Famitsu has awarded 23 games with a perfect score. The magazine was first published in 1986, meaning it took over a decade before Famitsu scored what they felt was a perfect game. The number of games with a perfect score prior to 2005? Four. That means in the past decade, Famitsu has rated 19 more games with a perfect score, drastically increasing the rate and giving a peek at their sudden shift.
"But that's just perfect scores" you might be thinking. Well let me give you a bit about their near perfect scores. The history with these goes back further, with their first near perfect score only being awarded in 1991. A total of 41 games have received a score of 39, and guess when the bulk of them were scored? If you guessed 2005 and forward, you would be completely correct. Prior to 2005, 11 games got a 39/40. 2005 forward, 30 more games would go on to receive a 39.
I won't even bother trying to figure out the number of 36 - 38 scores they give, which still averages out to basically 9/10 scores all over the place. This doesn't even touch on the criticisms I have with their review format where no writer has to say enough to indicate they even played the full game, or if they even played it at all.
I'm not trying to say western review standards are necessarily substantially higher, but Famitsu is a joke. All they have going for them is that they have a large audience, although the sudden shift in scoring standards around 2005 really can't be ignored. Although it can only be speculated, it seems obvious that some major shift happened internally, whether it was a staff change or money changing hands, that steadily broke down whatever credibility the publication had left.
