Nintendo Power
OCLC 760783416 | |
Nintendo Power is a
On August 21, 2012, Nintendo announced that it would not be renewing its licensing agreement with Future Publishing, and that Nintendo Power would cease publication in December.[1][3] The final issue, volume 285, was released on December 11, 2012.[4]
On December 20, 2017, Nintendo Power officially returned as a podcast.
History
Nintendo Fun Club News preceded Nintendo Power as a newsletter sent to club members for free.[5] In mid-1988 it was discontinued after seven issues[6] in favor of Nintendo Power. The new magazine was founded by Nintendo of America marketing manager Gail Tilden in 1988.[7] The first issue, dated July/August 1988, spotlights the NES game Super Mario Bros. 2. Of this issue, 3.6 million copies were published, with every member of the Nintendo Fun Club receiving a free copy.
From the beginning, Nintendo Power focuses heavily on providing game strategy, reviews, and previews of upcoming games. In mid-1998, Nintendo Power first allowed outside advertising in the magazine, 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.
In July 2005, Nintendo Power introduced 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 a revamped "Community" section. Nintendo introduced a new incentive promotional offer that involved 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 changed its focus from game strategies and cheat codes to mainly news, previews, and articles on upcoming games.
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.[8]
On August 21, 2012, Nintendo announced that it had opted not to renew the 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.[9][10]
Nintendo Power officially returned on December 20, 2017, as a podcast, using the original logo design.
Format
The magazine was founded by Gail Tilden with support from Nintendo's first Fun Club "President"
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.[11] This promotion was in part a move on Nintendo's part to promote RPG games and gain the benefit of sales of series like Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest in Japan) and Final Fantasy. The game had not sold nearly as well as Nintendo had anticipated, leaving the company with a large number of unsold cartridges. The promotion both helped the company get rid of the unsold merchandise, and won the magazine thousands of new subscribers.[12]
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, Nintendo 64 games such as Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and Blast Corps. It had several comics based on the animated series of Pokémon and Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. Toward the end, it included short excerpts based on Custom Robo and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. It included a very short Metroid Prime comic, and another story based on the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games translated from the original Japanese version.
Official Guides from Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power produced a series of strategy magazines called Official Guides from Nintendo Power, beginning with
Nintendo Power Line
The Nintendo Power Line was a staffed hotline providing gameplay hints about Nintendo consoles, such as the Nintendo Entertainment System.[13] It ran from the publishing of the first issue publication of Nintendo Power in 1988 until June 2010, closing in favor of the Internet.[14] The hotline was revived as automated messages, from November 11 to November 13, 2016, in celebration of the release of the NES Classic Edition.[15]
Spin-off magazines
During 2001, Nintendo Power released a spin-off semi-magazine named Nintendo Power Advance, featuring the
With the release of Pokémon for the Game Boy in 1998, Nintendo Power includes 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.[17]
Nester
Nester is the long-time teenage
In the June 1991 issue (Volume 25), Phillips was written out of the strip after his real-life counterpart left Nintendo to work for
Nester is featured in a few video games that were released while the character was in the magazine. His first appearance was as a commentator in
Podcast
Nintendo Power | |
---|---|
Presentation | |
Starring | Chris Slate |
Genre | Video games, entertainment, talk |
Created by | Chris Slate |
Developed by | Chris Slate |
Language | English |
Production | |
No. of episodes | 57 (as of May 2023[update]) |
Publication | |
Original release | December 20, 2017 |
Provider | Nintendo |
Related | |
Website | http://www.nintendopower.com/ |
On December 20, 2017,
On May 12, 2023, an episode based on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was released. In it, Chris Slate announced that the episode is the final planned one for the podcast. He followed up by stating that there may still be more special episodes later.
See also
- Official Nintendo Magazine, the U.K. and Australian equivalent.
- Nintendo Magazine System (Australia), the former Australian equivalent.
- Nintendo Dream, the Japaneseequivalent.
- Club Nintendo, the Mexico and Latin America equivalent.
- Nintendo World, the Brazil equivalent.
- Nintendo Force, a spiritual successor.
- Camp Hyrule, Nintendo's Internet-based community from 1995 to 2007, adjunct to Nintendo Power
- History of computer and video games
References
- ^ a b Kain, Erik (23 August 2012). "Nintendo Power Magazine Will Cease Publication This December According To Nintendo". Forbes. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- ^ "Nintendo and Future US Team To Publish Nintendo Power magazine". Future US. 19 September 2007. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- ^ Mallory, Jordan (August 21, 2012). "Nintendo Power coming to an end". Joystiq. Archived from the original on January 14, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ^ John Gaines. "Where Have All the Magazines Gone?". Library Point. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
- ^ Phillips, Howard (1987). "Welcome to the Club". Nintendo Fun Club News. Vol. 1, no. 1. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- ^ Phillips, Howard (July 1988). "Nintendo Fun Club News #7". Nintendo Fun Club News. Vol. 2.
- ISBN 978-0-06-227670-4.
- ^ "Future officially takes over Nintendo Power". Nintendo Forums. 12 October 2007. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
- ^ Jordan Mallory (August 21, 2012). "Nintendo Power coming to an end". Joystiq.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
- ^ Sarah LeBoeuf (August 21, 2012). "Nintendo Power Ceasing Publication After 24 Years". Escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
- ^ Mackey, Bob (5 February 2007). "Smart Bombs". Internet Archive: 1up.com. p. 2. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ Parish, Jeremy (21 August 2013). "The New Dark Age of Dragon Quest". USgamer. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Nintendo Power Hotline Advertisement". Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ^ "So you called the Nintendo Power Line...Who Exactly Was On The Other End?". 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
- ^ Cooper, Gael (2016-11-07). "Game on! Nintendo's Power Line returns this weekend only". CNET. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ^ Nintendo Power (2002). Nintendo Power Advance Issue 004.
- ^ Plunkett, Luke. "Pocket Power Unearthed". Kotaku. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ a b Caoili, Eric (June 29, 2008). "Promotional Consideration: Nester's return". Engadget. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^ Webster, Andrew (December 24, 2012). "Link to the past: making Nintendo Power's final cover". The Verge. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^ Nintendo Power: "His handle is Lark, but everyone in class knows this guy is Nester." Nintendo Power. Nintendo of America. September 1996, page 25.
- ^ "WarioWare: D.I.Y. cameos | NinDB Forums". fryguy64.proboards.com.
- ^ "Nintendo Power Returns As An Official Nintendo Podcast". My Nintendo News. December 21, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (December 21, 2017). "Nintendo Power returns as an official podcast from Nintendo". Polygon. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^ Gach, Ethan (December 21, 2017). "Nintendo Power Comes Back In Podcast Form". Kotaku. Retrieved December 22, 2017.