Nintendo Power

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This article is about the Nintendo of America produced publication. For the Japanese-only flash ROM cartridge for the Super Famicom and Game Boy, please see Nintendo Power (cartridge).

Image:Nintendo-power1.jpg Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine from Nintendo. The first issue published was July/August of 1988 spotlighting the NES game Super Mario Bros. 2.

Contents

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Design

The magazine has traditionally been heavily focused on providing video game strategy, as opposed to other video game magazines which often focus a lot on game reviews, previews, and gossip. As the magazine is published by Nintendo itself, Nintendo Power often featured detailed in-game maps which came directly from programmers and companies. As a result, the magazine earned a reputation as being an "insider" source on game info with "official" content that differentiated itself from the more speculative, "amateurish" approach of its contemporaries.

The magazine has remained financially successful, and is one of the longest-running video game oriented magazines still in circulation. Today, though still "officially" affiliated with Nintendo, the magazine has become more similar to its contemporaries (i.e. Electronic Gaming Monthly), with a greater focus on staff reviews, gossip, and fan letters than in previous years, but still includes game strategies.

In July 2005, Nintendo Power created a new design to appeal to a more general audience, including a new logo and article format. In an effort to gain more customers, Nintendo also created a promotional offer that involves registering three products in Nintendo's site, and receiving three Nintendo Power issues for free (as well as receiving the option to order an extra year - twelve issues - for US$12.00).

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History

Nintendo Power began as the several page long Nintendo Fun Club Newsletter, but quickly changed to its current magazine format. The first issue published 3.6 million copies with every member of the Nintendo Fun Club receiving a free one. Almost one third of the members subscribed.

The magazine was edited at first by Fun Club "President" Howard Philips, an avid game player himself. Nintendo Power's mascot in the late 1980s and early 1990s was Nester, a comic character created by Philips. After Philips left the company, a more "teenage" Nester became the magazine's sole mascot. Early issues of the magazine featured a two-page Howard and Nester comic, which was later replaced with a two-page Nester's Adventures, which was then reduced to one page, and then dropped altogether. Subsequently, Mario replaced Nester as the mascot of the magazine. Later, during the early 2000s, the magazine made another mascot out of their Senior Writer, Alan Averill. Apparently very camera-shy, Alan himself never appeared in any photos; rather, he was represented by a plush toy of a Blue Slime from Dragon Warrior. Fans often clamored to see what Alan actually looked like, but the magazine instead ran still more photos of the toy, and even claiming that Alan was, in fact, a Blue Slime. Eventually, Alan retired from Nintendo Power to join Nintendo of America's localization department. His true image was never revealed. A more recent running gag for the magazine is the inclusion of a photo of Mr. T in the Player's Pulse section.

During the early 1990s the magazine used what was a unique and very expensive promotion; they gave a free copy of the new NES game Dragon Warrior to every new subscriber.

Following the release of the Super Nintendo, the magazine featured lengthy, continuous comic stories based on Super Mario World and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. After these stories ended they were replaced by similar multi-issue stories based on Star Fox and Super Metroid, as well as comics based on the animated series of Pokémon and Kirby: Right Back At Ya!, respectively. More recently, short excerpts of comic books based on Custom Robo, as well as Metal Gear Solid, have been featured (as well as a short Metroid Prime comic). Currently, there is no comic featured in Nintendo Power.

During 2001, Nintendo Power released a spin-off semi-magazine named Nintendo Power Advance, featuring the Game Boy Advance and its games. Four issues of Nintendo Power Advance were printed, the last of which served as a strategy guide for Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2.

There are currently over 200 issues.

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Sections in Nintendo Power

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Currently running

  • Player's Pulse - "Mailbag" section that features letters to the editor submitted by readers. At first, it was two different sections titled Mailbox and Video Spotlight, the latter of which featured mail from really good players. But during 1989, they merged into one section. Currently, it is titled just Pulse.
  • Pak Watch / Game Watch / News - A look at upcoming games and gaming news.
  • Nintendo Online - Shows information and news on video game websites.
  • Top 30 / Top 20 / Power Charts - The top-rated games as voted by the readers. Originally, it featured the top 30 NES games, then changed to feature the top 20 games for all the systems in 1992. In 1995, the name was changed to Power Charts, with varying numbers depending on which system (the handheld systems would have half the list length of the consoles). It was removed in 2001, but brought back in 2002, this time being listed in order of top sales and the Nintendo Power staff's choice of the "best games".
  • Classified Information - For codes and strategies and gaming secrets. Despite being the magazine's most popular department, it is no longer monthly as of Volume 193, but instead will appear when there are enough new codes and secrets in a given month to justify including it.
  • Inside Zelda - An interview with a The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess development team member
  • Player's Poll Contest / Player's Poll Sweepstakes - Monthly contest where readers send in included cards to enter and provide feedback to the magazine.
  • Now Playing / Reviews - Editor reviews for the latest game releases. During 1992, the games were reviewed by two employees named George and Rob, but this change did not satisfy the readers, and George and Rob were removed the following year. More recently, though, the section now features reviews by one editor per game, with the occasional "counter-point" by a dissenting editor who feels that a game warrants a different score.
  • NP 411 - Information on how to reach the magazine's departments and where to find information on a specific game in that magazine.
  • Point/Counterpoint- In this section, two or more NP staffers go head to head on a Nintendo related topic.
  • Playback- A section reminiscing about games of old. This department made its debut in the March 2006, volume 201 edition of Nintendo Power.
  • Game Over- A one page strategy divulging details on how to conquer a final boss of a selected game. This also made its debut in the March 2006, volume 201 edition of Nintendo Power.
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Discontinued

  • Counselors' Corner - Nintendo's game couselors answering game-related questions, such as hints and strategies. It was removed in 2002.
  • Epic Center - Role-playing game information and coverage. Originally written by Alan Averill, who has since left Nintendo Power.
  • NES Achievers / Power Player's Challenge / Arena - Players send in their best game scores to try to win free T-shirts.
  • NES Journal - A newsletter within the magazine, often featuring media news relating to Nintendo and celebrity interviews. The column disappeared after Volume 16, but the celebrity interviews remained until late 1992.
  • The Nindex - A list of all of the GameCube games. Appeared shortly after the launch of the GameCube, and left mid-2004.
  • Game Boy - Early on in Game Boy's career, the magazine ran a special column focusing on the handheld, even giving it its own section within. However, it ended shortly after the Super NES came out.
  • Game Boy A-Go-Go / Title Wave - This section featured short strategy reviews for games that weren't big enough to receive full ones. Originally, it focused on Game Boy Color games, but then changed its name in 2002 to accommodate GameCube games as well. However, it vanished from the magazine during 2003, causing all the games that would've been appropriate for this section to receive two-page strategy reviews.
  • George and Rob - two adult video game players, named George and Rob, would play all the game covered in the issue, and rate them. A several-page section in the game would have a section for each game, along with a short paragraph from both George and Rob on what they liked/didn't like about the game.
  • Power On - Entertainment section featuring caption contests and celebrity interviews. Began in 2002, but ended in mid-2005.
  • Pokécenter - For latest Pokémon news and updates, TCG strategies, and team analysis. It came into the magazine in April 1999, but ended in the July 2005 issue when it merged with several other sections.
  • The Crossing Guardian A little section (About 1-2 pages) about Animal Crossing. As the game got old, the section left the magazine.
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Player's Guides

Image:Nes-game-atlas-t.jpg Template:Main Nintendo Power has also produced another series of strategy magazines called Player's Guides. The first Player's Guide was simply called The Official Nintendo Player's Guide. When Nintendo Power switched from a bi-monthly magazine to a monthly magazine in May 1990, every other issue was a Strategy Guide focused on a single game. This didn't last long however, and only four such Strategy Guides were released. Starting in January of 1991, Nintendo Power became a full fledged monthly magazine with issue #20. Issues prior to that have become highly collectible.

The first four Player's Guides in book format were the NES Game Atlas (featuring maps of popular NES franchises), Game Boy (featuring select Game Boy games), Mario Mania (featuring information about Nintendo's mascot, Mario, but was mostly a full strategy guide of the then-new Super Mario World), and Super NES (featuring select Super NES games). All four were free with a subscription of Nintendo Power in 1992. Later, a fifth Player's Guide, Top Secret Passwords, featured passswords (and a few cheats) for selected NES, Super NES and Game Boy games.

Beginning with The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past, Player's Guides now feature one specific game, much like the earlier Nintendo Power Strategy Guides. They are separate entities from the magazine itself. The concept is now emulated by other publishing companies such as Brady Games or Prima for Nintendo and other video game consoles. Almost all major Nintendo video games released today will have an official Player's Guide associated with it.

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Milestones

Here is a list of milestones Nintendo Power has had over the years:

  • First issue: Volume 1 - July/August 1988
  • Game Boy introduced: Volume 7 - September/October 1989
  • "Pocket Power": mini-version of Nintendo Power given out at movie theatres showing The Wizard - December 1989
  • First of four strategy guides: Volume 13 - June 1990
  • "Now Playing" column debuts: Volume 18 - November 1990
  • Super NES introduced: Volume 25 - June 1991
  • First Super NES game cover, Super Mario World: Volume 28 - September 1991
  • Super Power Club launched: Volume 41 - October 1992
  • First Bonus Issue: Volume 44 - January 1993
  • Final NES game cover, Battletoads & Double Dragon: Volume 49 - June 1993
  • 50th issue published: Volume 50 - July 1993
  • The new Nintendo Power logo (with a new 3-D look) debuts: Volume 68 - January 1995
  • Nintendo Power celebrates 10 years of the NES: Volume 78 - November 1995
  • Nintendo 64 introduced: Volume 85 - June 1996
  • First Nintendo 64 game cover, Super Mario 64: Volume 85 - June 1996
  • Final Super NES game cover, Donkey Kong Country 3: Volume 90 - November 1996
  • Pokémon debuts: Volume 98 - July 1997
  • 100th issue published: Volume 100 - September 1997
  • Nintendo Power celebrates its 10th anniversary: Volume 110 - July 1998
  • Game Boy Color introduced: Volume 114 - November 1998
  • Game Boy Advance introduced: Volume 132 - May 2000
  • "Nintendo Online" column debuts: Volume 135 - August 2000
  • GameCube introduced: Volume 137 - October 2000
  • The white Nintendo Power logo debuts: Volume 143 - April 2001
  • Final Nintendo 64 game cover, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2: Volume 146 - July 2001
  • 150th issue published: Volume 150 - November 2001
  • First GameCube game cover, Super Smash Bros. Melee: Volume 151 - December 2001
  • Nintendo Power celebrates its 15th anniversary: Volume 170 - July/August 2003
  • Nintendo DS introduced: Volume 181 - July 2004
  • The enhanced Nintendo Power design debuts, which features a bold logo and new article format: Volume 193 - July 2005
  • First Nintendo DS game cover, Mario Kart DS: Volume 194 - August 2005
  • 200th issue published: Volume 200 - February 2006
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Comic series in Nintendo Power

  • Howard and Nester / Nester's Adventures (Volume 1-55)
  • Battletoads (Volume 24-25)
  • Super Mario Adventures (Volume 32-43)
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Volume 32-43)
  • Mario VS Wario (Volumes 44 & 56)
  • StarFox (Volume 45-55)
  • Super Metroid (Volume 57-61)
  • Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (Volume 89-93; excerpts from the graphic novel)
  • Blast Corps (Volume 97-99)
  • Pokémon (based on the long-running animated series)
  • Kirby: Right Back At Ya! (based on the animated series)
  • Metroid Prime (based on the video game)
  • Custom Robo (short excerpt from the comic book)
  • Metal Gear Solid - The Twin Snakes (short excerpt from the comic book)
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See also

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External links

sv:Nintendo Power

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