Nintendo Power
 |
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.
|
 The final Nintendo Power logo, circa 2005-2012. |
|
| Categories | Video games |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Circulation | 475,000[1] |
| Publisher | Nintendo (1988–2007), Future US (2007–2012) |
| First issue | July/August 1988 |
| Final issue | December 2012 |
| Country | USA, Canada |
| Language | English |
| Website | NintendoPower.com |
| ISSN | 1041-9551 |
Nintendo Power was a monthly news and strategy magazine initially published in-house by Nintendo of America, and later run independently. As of issue #222 (December 2007), Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.[2]
The first issue published was July/August 1988 spotlighting the NES game Super Mario Bros. 2. It was one of the longest-running video game magazines in the United States and Canada, and was Nintendo's official magazine in North America.
On August 21, 2012, Nintendo announced that they would not be renewing their licensing agreement with Future Publishing, and that Nintendo Power would cease publication in December 2012.[3]
Overview and design [edit]
From the beginning, Nintendo Power has focused heavily on providing game strategy, tips and tricks, reviews, and previews of upcoming games. Seeing as the magazine enjoyed twenty years of Nintendo-directed publication, NP was the ultimate source for detailed mapping and insider knowledge delivered directly from the programming teams. As a result, the magazine has enjoyed the reputation of being the definitive source for all things Nintendo, separating itself from a more traditionally speculative approach as used by its contemporaries. The magazine has remained financially successful and is one of the longest-running game oriented magazines still in circulation.
In mid-1998, Nintendo Power allowed outside advertising within its pages, something formerly reserved for Nintendo-based products only. In its early years, ads only appeared in the first and last few pages of the magazine, leaving no ads to break up the magazine's editorial content. These front cover advertisements were often simply subscription offers.
In July 2005, Nintendo Power created a new design to appeal to a limited gaming audience, including a new logo and article format. Along with the cosmetic overhaul came a greater focus on Nintendo fans, staff reviews, rumor-milling and fan service including an expanded and enhanced reader mail segment (known as "Pulse") and an equally revamped "Community" section. Nintendo also introduced a new incentive promotional offer that involves the registration of three Nintendo (or Nintendo affiliated) products through Nintendo.com to receive a free three issue trial subscription to Nintendo Power.
Later, the magazine has changed its focus from game strategies and cheat codes to mainly news, previews, and articles on upcoming games. The magazine's composition shifted to a more ostentatious design, with less organized framework and more aggressive, bright colors and shapes.
History [edit]
Issues #001–221 [edit]
Nintendo Power began as the several page long Nintendo Fun Club News (which was sent to subscribers for free). However, in mid-1988 Nintendo Fun Club News was discontinued after seven issues[4] and revamped as Nintendo Power.[5] 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.[citation needed]
The magazine was edited at first by Fun Club "President" Howard Philips, himself an avid game player. While the Fun Club News focused solely on games made in-house by Nintendo, Nintendo Power was created to allow for reviews of games produced by those licensed by Nintendo, such as Konami, Capcom, and the like. Nintendo Power's mascot in the late 1980s and early 1990s was Nester, a comic character created by Philips. After Philips left the company, 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 the two-page Nester's Adventures, later reduced to one page, and eventually dropped altogether. Subsequently, Mario replaced Nester as the mascot of the magazine. Later, during the early 2000s, the magazine made another mascot out of its Senior Writer, Alan Averill. Apparently very camera-shy, Averill himself never appeared in any photos; rather, he was represented by a plush toy of a Blue Slime from Dragon Quest. Fans often clamored to see what Averill actually looked like, but the magazine continued to substitute with photos of the toy, and even claimed that Alan was, in fact, a Blue Slime. Eventually, Averill retired from Nintendo Power, joining Nintendo of America's localization department. To this day, most fans have never seen a real image of Averill. The inclusion of a photo of Mr. T in the Player's Pulse section became a running gag in the early half of 2005. More recently, running gags have centered around Chuck Norris references and jokes at the expense of writer Chris Shepperd.
During the early 1990s the magazine used what was a unique and very expensive promotion; giving away a free copy of the new NES game Dragon Quest to every new subscriber. This promotion was in part a move on Nintendo's part to make money off Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest in Japan) which had not sold nearly as well as Nintendo had anticipated, and it was left with a large number of unsold cartridges on its hands. The promotion both helped the company get rid of the unsold merchandise, and won the magazine thousands of new subscribers.
Following the release of the Super NES, the magazine featured lengthy, continuous comic stories based on Super Mario World and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. After these stories ended, they were replaced by similar multi-issue stories based on Star Fox, Super Metroid, and later on, N64 games such as Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and Blast Corps. Comics based on the animated series of Pokémon and Kirby: Right Back At Ya! also made several appearances. More recently, short excerpts based on Custom Robo and Metal Gear Solid have been featured, as well as a very short Metroid Prime comic, and one based on the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games translated from the original Japanese version.
In issues 196–200, Nintendo Power featured a "Top 200" game list, revealing 40 of them in countdown from every issue. The top 5 were, from fifth to first: Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Resident Evil 4, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.[6]
Starting in issue #206, the magazine began a page called Super Smash Bros. Brawl Wii Smash Files, which put the spotlight on announced characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The section ended abruptly long before the game's release.[citation needed]
Issues #222-285 [edit]
On September 19, 2007, Nintendo officially announced that the large magazine publisher Future US would begin publishing Nintendo Power. The company's first official issue was released in October, as issue #222 (December 2007). It was also revealed that circulation would be increased to 13 issues a year, with the extra magazine being a holiday season bonus issue (Nintendo Power stopped making the Bonus issue in 2011).[7]
Issue #231 (August 2008) celebrated Nintendo Power's 20th anniversary and made a list of the top twenty games from each of Nintendo's home and handheld consoles, and the best one for the unsuccessful Virtual Boy.
In February, Nintendo Power released a bonus issue called 20 Years of Nintendo Power. It contained information on classic Nintendo Power articles from the NES to the Wii era. It also had stories behind Pokémon's arrival in the United States, 3-D gaming, every Legend of Zelda game, and more. Part of the year-long celebration of Nintendo Power's 20th anniversary, this section ran only for 2008, ending with the Holiday 2008 issue. It was only available in stores; it did not ship to subscribers.
The November 2008 issue (Volume #234) was the first volume to ship subscribers a "subscriber edition" of the magazine. Subscriber editions would have a cover without text or bar codes in the way of the artwork, while retail editions of the magazine would retain the text.
In issue #252, Nintendo Power included a top ten list for the best games of the decade.
Nintendo Power has additionally released seasonal Buyer's Guides, poster magazines, a 2010 calendar, and two special guides dedicated to the Mario and The Legend of Zelda series of games that were available only at retail.
On August 21, 2012, Nintendo announced that they had opted not to renew their licensing agreement with Future Publishing and that Nintendo Power would cease publication after 24 years. The final issue would be December 2012. Senior Editor, Chris Hoffman stated that his staff would "try to make the last issues memorable". Nintendo reportedly did not actively participate in discussions to continue the magazine online.[8][9]
Nintendo Power's final issue was December 2012 (Volume #285). The cover featured clay models of Mario and Bowser promoting New Super Mario Bros. U, paying homage to the Mario and Wart clay models promoting Super Mario Bros 2 back in Volume #1. The issue featured a 20 pages of Wii U reviews, as well as the following special sections:
- NP's All-Time Favorite Games: List of Nintendo Power's top 285 Nintendo games ever
- Great Moments in Power: A compilation of Nintendo Power history
- Power Players: Reflections from former and current Nintendo writers[10]
The issue also included a poster displaying every past Nintendo Power cover, minus the Subscription Edition covers.
Main sections [edit]
Running until time of cancellation [edit]
Pulse [edit]
Formerly "Player's Pulse", this section featured letters to the editor as submitted by readers. At first it was two different sections titled Mailbox and Video Spotlight, the latter of which featured mail from notable gamers. But during 1989, they merged into one section. Now, the first two pages are dedicated to basic letters while the third page is for responses to a requested topic. Starting in #239, a new column on the second page titled Don't Hassle the Hoff began, spotlighting senior editor and veteran Nintendo employee Chris Hoffman's response to a single letter. For example, a fan tried to explain that the character Tails from the Sonic the Hedgehog series was a fox, not a mutant squirrel (as Nintendo Power called him). Hoffman, however refused to believe him. This section is a reference to American actor David Hasselhoff.
While Nintendo Power does respond with a serious response to several of the letters it receives, it's more than common for a joke response to be posted. However, the amount of letters posted in Pulse dropped drastically over the years. For example, in Volume #206, 18 letters were posted in the first two pages of Pulse and 17 contained a response. In Volume #257, eight letters were posted in the first two pages and six received a reply.
A section called "Top Sellers" and "Most Wanted" was originally merged in 2005 with "Pulse". It showed the top five games of each console people wanted most, and the top sellers of each system. The former required input into the NSider Forums, which closed September 17, 2007. Future US stated that they "didn't really want to lose" the "Most Wanted" and parts of the "Community" sections (NSider Reviews, Fan Art, etc.), but, according to Future US, "[Future US] have always depended on input from people at nintendo.com's NSider forums." Future US continued with that due to Nintendo's decision to indefinitely close the NSider forums, "Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do right at this moment." However, Future US hinted that they would possibly create a new forum to replace the NSider forums and they will be currently "looking at ways to bring those cut sections as soon as possible." In issue #256, Most Wanted was revived in the form of Reader's Most Wanted, placed within the Game Forecast in "Power Up."
As of Volume #256, Pulse expanded a new page called "The Score." Results from online polls were posted, with topics related to Nintendo gaming.
Power Up [edit]
Formerly News until issue #256, this lengthy, multi-page segment was devoted to news relating to video games, their publishers/developers, as well as announcements. As of issue #256 it also contained the "Collector's Corner" which spotlighted gaming-related merchandise, "Star Power" which spotlighted a video game character, "A Winner Is.../Dodongo Dislikes..." which highlighted brief highs and lows in the gaming world, "Warp Zone" that displayed what Nintendo Power wrote 5, 10, and 20 years ago, and a short "Power Quiz." However, the answers were displayed at the bottom of the page, unlike the lengthier "Power Quiz" in the past.
At the end of Power Up is the Game Forecast (formerly "Pak Watch" and later "Game Watch Forecast"). This section was a list of upcoming games and their status in relation to release. This section was not in issue #285, since that issue focused on the past, and not the future. As of Issue #223 (Holiday 2007) Future US switched from the previous three dot progress meter to using specific time frames of release but warns readers that the release time frames are subject to change. There was formerly a little column in between the page called Bits of Tid, in which little pieces of information in the world of gaming are shown. Next to the Game Forecast was Readers Most Wanted that shows the top 10 games gamers want. Opinions could be inputted through an online Nintendo Power survey.[11]
Download [edit]
Debuting in issue #212, "Wii Channels", as it was known at the time, provides information on recently released and upcoming Wii Channels and Virtual Console, WiiWare, and DSiWare titles. The Evaluation Station is a collection of mini reviews of the latest Virtual Console, WiiWare, and DSiWare titles. Reviewists rate the games on a scale of "Grumble Grumble," "Hmmm...," and "Recommended." It also featured a column called Wanted! devoted to the most wanted Virtual Console titles, the results showing most wanted games from both readers and staffers. EarthBound was currently #1 on the list the subscribers sent in, and Mega Man: The Wily Wars was currently the #1 title the employees want to see on the Virtual Console. As of volume #245, Wanted! was officially discontinued. August 2011 was the first issue with 3DS Virtual Console and 3D Classics reviews.
Power Profiles [edit]
A column containing information and an interview with a person involved in the game industry. It debuted in issue #216 and featured famed video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. The column was absent in Volume #280, but added again with Volume #281.
Previews [edit]
Information on upcoming games spread throughout pages accompanied by numerous screenshots and artwork. In volume #252 it changed from a column-esque layout to a more standard article design.
Playback [edit]
A section reminiscing about games of old. This department made its debut in the #201 (March 2006) with Earthworm Jim.
Reviews [edit]
A section where staff writers review the latest games. The games are rated on a scale of 1–10 with increments of .5. They used to be rated on a scale of 1–5 with any increment. Currently the only perfect 10s in Nintendo Power history are Metroid Prime, Super Mario Sunshine, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
The second-highest reviewed games are New Super Mario Bros, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver versions, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Rayman Origins, and Kid Icarus: Uprising which all scored a 9.5. Among the worst reviewed games have been Ant Nation, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and X-Men: Destiny for DS, which have all received scores of 2.0, and Kung Fu Panda 2, Major League Baseball 2K12 and X-Men: Destiny on the Wii got a 2.5. Also, NASCAR The Game: 2011, Transformers: Dark of the Moon-Stealth Force Edition for Wii, Transformers: Dark of the Moon-Autobots/Decepticons for DS, and Driver: Renegade 3D for the Nintendo 3DS all got a 3.0.
A Reviews Archive was placed at the end of the issue's reviews, showing the scores for all previously reviewed games from the last 10 issues. The staff provided extra commentary on them throughout the archive. In previous volumes, a blue dot next to the game title represented a Wi-Fi compatible title, but had been removed from issues #244 on.
Community [edit]
The community section was dedicated to Nintendo culture, covering Nintendo-related events, music, collections, fan art, cosplay, mods, food, websites, and in the past, art of the month, reader reviews, Miis, and Animal Crossing. A number of features such as Reader Reviews and NSider Fan Art were removed due to their dependence on input at the NSider Forums, which was shut down indefinitely on September 17, 2007.
285 Greatest Games of All Time [edit]
In their final issue in December 2012, the staff of Nintendo Power gave their 285 greatest games of all time:
Discontinued [edit]
Counselors' Corner [edit]
Nintendo's game counselors would answer game-related questions, providing hints and strategies. It was removed in 2003. Nintendo of America eventually closed its game counselor hotline in 2005, and all employees working as counselors at the time were moved to other departments.
Epic Center [edit]
Role-playing game information and coverage. Originally written by Alan Averill, who has since left Nintendo Power. In the November 1996 issue (p. 55), it states" Due to the chronic lack of new epic games in North America, and a relatively robust line up of action and sports games that need to be covered, Epic Center will not be in the December issue of Nintendo Power. In future issues, Epic Center will appear whenever we have new materials that warrant a column."[12]
NES Achievers / Power Player's Challenge / Arena [edit]
Players send in their best game scores to try to win free T-shirts, originally Super Power Stamps. Later it challenged readers to do insanely hard stunts such as a 3 heart run without being forced to continue after defeat in Zelda games.
NES Journal [edit]
A newsletter within the magazine, often featuring media news relating to Nintendo (such as the premieres of the cartoon shows and the release of The Wizard) and celebrity interviews. The column disappeared after Volume 16, but the celebrity interviews remained until late 1992.
The Nindex [edit]
A list of released Nintendo GameCube games. It appeared with the release of the system, and came to a close in 2004.
Nintendo Online [edit]
Showed information and news from video game websites.
Game Boy [edit]
Early in the Game Boy's lifespan, the magazine ran a special column focusing on the handheld. However, it ended shortly after the Super NES was released.
Game Boy A-Go-Go / Title Wave [edit]
This section featured short strategy reviews for various video games. Originally, it focused on Game Boy Color games, but then changed its name in 2002 to accommodate Nintendo GameCube games as well. However, it vanished from the magazine during 2003.
Power On [edit]
Entertainment section featuring caption contests and celebrity interviews. Began in 2002, but ended in mid-2005. As of volume 215, the caption contests have returned in the "Community" section.
Pokécenter [edit]
For latest Pokémon news and updates, TCG strategies, and team analysis. It became part of the magazine in April 1999, and ended in the July 2005 issue when it merged with several other sections.
Game Over [edit]
A one-page strategy divulging details on how to conquer a final boss of a selected game. This feature also made its debut in the March 2006, volume 201 edition of Nintendo Power as a replacement for the previously discontinued "Beat the Boss" articles (first appeared in Volumes 86 and 87, July/August 1996). Game Over sometimes takes the place of Power Quiz. Game over was also what's written on the last page on the final issue.
Power Quiz [edit]
A quiz about a selected game, series, or area of Nintendo. Alternates issues with Game Over. Answers are posted in the next issue, as well as on Nintendo.com. It has been revived deficiently in "Power Up" as of issue #256, but there are fewer questions and answers are now posted at the bottom of the page.
Classified Information [edit]
This section contained a list of cheats on new games. The section slowly died off when increasingly fewer cheats were added into games.
Top Sellers [edit]
An evolution from different versions of this section including "Top 30", "Top 20" and "Power Charts". 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", and featured varying numbers per list, as handheld console lists received only half as much space as consoles. It was removed in 2001, but brought back in 2002, then revamped in 2005 as "Top Sellers", this time being listed in order of top sales and for "Most Wanted", the NP staff and reader's choices for best games. This section was merged with Pulse. Top Sellers and Most Wanted was removed after Nintendo's decision to indefinitely close down the NSider Forums on their website for a big site overhaul in 2007. Most Wanted was revived in 2010.
NP 411/Contact Us [edit]
Information on how to reach the magazine's departments and where to find information on a specific game in that magazine. As of issue #222, this has been integrated into Pulse. Pulse is from issue #222 and up.
Nintendo Power Official Miniguide [edit]
A small, basic guide to newly-released games. It usually did not provide information for the whole game, but provided helpful tips, strategies, and selective walkthroughs. Some of the miniguides they have implemented into the magazine were Magical Starsign and Custom Robo Arena. Since its omission, the 'miniguides' have begun bearing a normal article format, such as the "Galactic Tour" article for Super Mario Galaxy in issue #222.
Player's Poll Sweepstakes [edit]
Since issue one, Nintendo Power has had a "Player's Poll Contest" (later called "Player's Poll Sweepstakes") where there would be a grand prize, a 2nd place prize, and 3rd place prize once a multiple-choice survey about the magazine's content and demographic was submitted. Ever since the Future US takeover, effective Issue #222, the survey has been omitted, and one only needs to send in basic information (name, address, e-mail address, etc.) The Grand Prize often holds a game, the system to play it on, and other miscellaneous prizes. The Second Place Prize yields only the game itself. The Third Place Prize was a T-shirt, but has since been dropped since the Future US takeover. It was discontinued altogether in issue #243.
Official Guides from Nintendo Power [edit]
Nintendo Power also produces a series of strategy magazines called Official Guides from Nintendo Power. The first OGNP 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. The magazine claimed this was because the strategy guides were intended to review the games that they considered the best, but they eventually abandoned the concept upon realizing that the best games usually come out shortly before Christmas. Starting in January 1991, Nintendo Power became a full fledged monthly magazine with issue #20. Issues prior to that have become highly collectible.
The first four Nintendo 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 mailed free to subscribers of Nintendo Power in 1992. Later, a fifth free Player's Guide, Top Secret Passwords, featured passwords (and a few cheats) for selected NES, Super NES and Game Boy games. This guide was sent to subscribers who were now in the Super Power Club. Though originally billed as a subscriber exclusive, it was eventually sold at retailers.
Beginning with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Player's Guides adopted a "one specific game" format, 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 from then to 2007 had an OGNP associated with it.
OGNPs are often sold at video game retailers, magazine stands and can also be ordered directly from Nintendo Power. Most Nintendo Power subscription packages include a free OGNP as an incentive.
With all of the FAQs for video games on the internet in modern times, OGNPs have suffered lower sales, and have long been a major incentive used for renewing subscription through the mail. T-shirts and the like are offered on occasion through the mail-in offers, however, by subscribing through the internet, many more premiums are available (more T-shirts, for example).
As of mid-2007, Nintendo seems to have quietly discontinued the series after the publication of the guide for Pokémon Battle Revolution. Guides for popular games, including recent releases, are going out of stock at the Nintendo online store. No guide was published for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and none have been announced for soon-to-be-released major Nintendo projects. However, Chris Slate stated in Issue #223 that the project is on hiatus.
Nintendo now outsources production of official guides to Prima Games. This can be seen with Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and Super Mario Galaxy, among others. For The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and "Mario Kart Wii," Prima released "special digest" versions of those games' strategy guides, which were NP subscriber bonuses (as such, they carried the label "Supplement to Nintendo Power Magazine"). These have been the only such guides since 2007.
Nintendo Power Awards [edit]
The Nintendo Power Awards, once called the Nester Awards (after the cartoon character featured in early issues of Nintendo Power), are the magazine's annual ceremony of recognition for the previous calendar year's games. The awards are nominated by the staff members, and the awards are voted on by the readers via Nintendo.com. The results, which appear in a following issue, reflect both the winners based on readers' votes and which candidates the writers felt should have won. As of 2006, there have been eighteen annual awards featured in what is usually the March issue of the following year, the first awards having taken place in 1989, honoring games released in 1988. The magazine was known for creative awards such as "best mullet" (won by Aqua Man) but these have largely disappeared and have been replaced by more generic awards. The 2009 awards were determined by separate votes of staff and readers leading to two possible winners for each award.
These are the Game of the Year winners from 1988–2011:
|
|
|
|
In issue 252, Nintendo Power, in addition to their games of the year awards, included a top ten list for the best games of the first decade of the 21st century. They are as follows:
Comics and manga [edit]
- Howard and Nester / Nester's Adventures / Nester and Max (Volume 1–55,231, and 285)
- 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)
- Star Fox (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 series)
- Punch Out!! (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)
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team (Manga). Based on a 6-part serial in Japan, the English translation reads right-to-left as in its original format. (Volume 207–212)
- Pokémon: Black and White Manga excerpt (Volume 269)
Promotional VHS tapes [edit]
On occasion, many subscribers, along with game console owners who registered their consoles, received VHS tapes promoting the Nintendo 64 and games such as Donkey Kong Country,[13] Star Fox 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo-Kazooie, and Pokémon. One of the tapes covered both Donkey Kong 64 and Jet Force Gemini. Some of the tapes featured "hidden" previews at the end after the credits.
The practice has ceased with the availability of DVDs and online video. Nintendo Power included one bonus DVD in the August 2005 (v. 194) issue, featuring videos for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Nintendogs, and other games.
In the August 2011 (v. 270) issue, they included a Pokémon DVD that had a "Catch 'em all" music video by The Presidents of the United States of America and the first episode of the Black and White Animated Series.
Spin-offs [edit]
During 2001, Nintendo Power released a spin-off semi-magazine named Nintendo Power Advance, featuring the Game Boy Advance and its games. A copy of the first issue was given complementary to subscribers in addition to being sold at newsstands. 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.
With the release of Pokémon for the Game Boy, Nintendo Power included six mini-issues of 'Pokémon Power' mainly featuring tips and strategies for the game.
In 1989, a smaller version of the magazine called Pocket Power was distributed at movie theaters showing The Wizard.[14]
Nester [edit]
Nester was the long-time teenage mascot and comic strip star of Nintendo Power. Nester was created by Howard Phillips, "President" of the Nintendo Fun Club and a former editor of Nintendo Power, to be the supporting character in his comic strip, Howard & Nester. The comic strips generally advertised new games, often by dream sequences where Nester was actually a given video game character. From 1989 to 1993, The Nintendo Power Awards featured Nester-shaped trophies and were referred to in the magazine as the "Nesters" as a reference to the Oscars.
In the June 1991 issue (Volume 25), Phillips was written out of the strip after his real-life counterpart left Nintendo to work for LucasArts. The strip was retitled Nester's Adventures the following issue and continued publication until Volume 55 (December 1993). Nester, now as a college student, appeared in Nintendo Power issue #100. He would be seen again in issue #231, the magazine's twentieth anniversary, here a grown man with a son new to Nintendo. Nester's final appearance in Nintendo Power was in the final issue, Volume 285, in a comic titled "Nester & Max", where he is seen reading and lamenting the final issue. He is then reminded by his son that, "None of this is really going away, is it? I mean, Nintendo Power had a great run and you've got it all right here. It's like when you finish a great game - you're kind of sad to see it end, but really proud and happy, too. You know what I see when I look at this final issue? 100% completion."
Nester has also been featured in a few video games that were released while the character was still featured in the magazine. His first appearance was as a commentator in NES Play Action Football. Other appearances include the ending of To the Earth. Nester was the main character in Nester's Funky Bowling for the Virtual Boy, which also introduced his sister Hester. The character of Lark in Pilotwings 64 for the Nintendo 64 was based on Nester.[15] Several games for the NES featured the name "NESTER" as one of the pre-set names on high-score lists, or a default character name like in To the Earth for example. The original NES release of Dragon Warrior references both Howard and Nester through character dialog, however this was removed in the later Game Boy Color version. A DLC microgame in WarioWare D.I.Y. created by Nintendo Power called Funky Boxing (a loose reference to Nester's Funky Bowling) does not have any apparent references to the character, but if the game is opened in the editor, the player's boxer is named "NESTER." [16]
A prominent NES emulator has been named after him.
See also [edit]
- Official Nintendo Magazine, the U.K. and Australian equivalent.
- Nintendo Magazine System (Australia), the former Australian equivalent.
- Nintendo Dream, the Japanese equivalent.
- Club Nintendo, the Mexico and Latin America equivalent.
- Nintendo World, the Brazil equivalent.
- Nintendo Force
- History of computer and video games
- Nintendo of America
References [edit]
- ^ "Nintendo Power << Future US, Inc.". Future US. Retrieved 2010-09-02.[dead link]
- ^ "Customer Service | Nintendo Power Magazine & Player's Guides". Nintendo. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ Mallory, Jordan. "Nintendo Power coming to an end". Joystiq.
- ^ Philips, Howard (June/July 1988). "Prez Saz". Nintendo Fun Club News 7. p. 3
- ^ Parish, Jeremy. "EGM Retro: 20 Years of NES from 1UP.COM". 1up.com. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
- ^ "NP Top 200". Nintendo Power 200. February 2006. pp. 58–66
- ^ Megaton. "Future officially takes over Nintendo Power". OnNintendo.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
- ^ Jordan Mallory (August 21, 2012). "Nintendo Power coming to an end". Joystiq.com. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
- ^ Sarah LeBoeuf (August 21, 2012). "Nintendo Power Ceasing Publication After 24 Years". Escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
- ^ "Nintendo Power". Nintendo Power. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ^ "Nintendo Power Poll Page Survey". Surveymonkey.com. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ "Epic News". Nintendo Power 90 (DKC3): 55. November 1996.
- ^ "DK! Donkey Kong is here!". Platypuscomix.net. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ Luke Plunkett. "Pocket Power Unearthed". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ Nintendo Power: "His handle is Lark, but everyone in class knows this guy is Nester." Nintendo Power. Nintendo of America. September 1996, page 25.
- ^ "Mario Maze by WADY".
External links [edit]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
