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).

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

Contents

[edit] Design

The magazine was from the start heavily focused on providing video game strategy, in contrast to other video game magazines that often focus on game reviews, previews, and gossip. As the magazine is published by Nintendo itself, Nintendo Power has often featured detailed in-game maps provided directly by programmers and companies. As a result, the magazine has earned a reputation as an "insider" source of game information with "official" content that differentiates 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. However, it still includes game strategies from time to time.

In July 2005, Nintendo Power created a new design to appeal to a more general audience, including a new logo and article format. However, the change was not merely cosmetic, as more pop culture references and use of terms like "badass" were birthed along with the design, one can only assume to capture a wider teen demographic as well.

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).

Additionally, up until near the year 2000, Nintendo Power did not allow any outside ads - only ads were allowed for Nintendo games and accessories, or Nintendo Power promotions. 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. The ads on the inside front cover were almost always subscription offers.

[edit] History

Volume 209 of Nintendo Power
Enlarge
Volume 209 of Nintendo Power

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, himself an avid game player. 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 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 Warrior. Fans often clamored to see what Averill 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, Averill retired from Nintendo Power to join Nintendo of America's localization department. His true image was never revealed. 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; it gave a free copy of the new NES game Dragon Warrior to every new subscriber. However, this promotion was in part a sly move on Nintendo's part to make money off a failure-the Dragon Warrior (Dragonquest in Japan) games 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 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, and later on, N64 games like Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and Blast Corps. were made; 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). Nintendo Power is currently running a comic based on the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, which is translated from the original Japanese version and reads in traditional manga format.

There are currently over 210 issues. In issues 197-200, Nintendo Power did a top 200 game list with 40 each issue. The top 5 were Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Resident Evil 4, with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time taking the top spot.

In issue 211, Nintendo Power began listing upcoming Wii games and Virtual Console games.

[edit] Sections in Nintendo Power

[edit] 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. Many of the answers are funny and are just jokes, while others are by the so-called unfunny Chris Shepperd.
  • Pak Watch / Game Watch / News - A look at upcoming games and gaming news.
  • 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". Recently, when a game that the staff gave bad ratings to is the top seller, they make a joke at its expense.
  • 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.
  • 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 was not popular with the readers, and George and Rob were removed the following year. More recently, though, the section has featured 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/Contact Us - Information on how to reach the magazine's departments and where to find information on a specific game in that magazine.
  • 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 feature also made its debut in the March 2006, volume 201 edition of Nintendo Power.
  • Power Quiz- 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.
  • Point/Counterpoint- In this section, two or more NP staffers go head-to-head on a Nintendo-related topic.
  • Animal Crossing Monthly- Different tile and clothing designs for Animal Crossing: Wild World. This is occasionally left out.
  • Community- Covers events, music, collections, Pokémon, and other Nintendo-related things.

It is somewhat difficult to firmly establish what is a consistent monthly column in the magazine, as compilation has been fairly unpredictable following its "new look", with sections such as Classified Information, Game Over and Power Quiz printed on and off throughout recent publication (strangely, the "Inside Zelda" series of articles ran more steadily than aforementioned features without being considered a monthly column).

[edit] Discontinued

  • Beat the Boss - A number of final bosses were listed every month with strategies on how to defeat them. This has recently returned in the form of Game Over.
  • Counselors' Corner - Nintendo's game counselors answering game-related questions, such as hints and strategies. It was removed in 2002. 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.
  • The Crossing Guardian - A little section (about 1-2 pages) about Animal Crossing. It was later made into the Crossing Quarterly, but as the game got old, the section left the magazine.
  • 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 (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 - A list of all of the GameCube games. Appeared shortly after the launch of the GameCube, and left mid-2004.
  • Nintendo Online - Showed information and news on video game websites.
  • Game Boy - Early on in the Game Boy's lifespan, 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.
  • 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.

[edit] Player's Guides

Image:Nes-game-atlas-t.jpg
NES Game Atlas Player's Guide cover
Main article: Nintendo Player's Guide

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. The reason for this, as stated in the magazine's 50th issue, 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 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 mailed free to subscribers of Nintendo Power in 1992 (subscribers had a choice among the four). 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.

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.

Player's Guides are often sold at gaming stores or can be ordered direct from Nintendo Power. Most Nintendo Power subscription packages include a free Player's Guide as an incentive.

With all of the FAQs for video games on the internet these days, Nintendo's Player's Guides have a tougher time competing, and they have long been a major incentive used for renewing subscription through the mail. T-shirts and the like are in fact offered on occasion through the mail-in offers, however, by subscribing through the internet, many more premiums are available (more T-shirts, for example).

[edit] Controversy

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Due to its format, the magazine has occasionally been met with controversy and criticism from some gamers. It has been argued that since it is a game magazine being published by a game company, it is inherently biased. Nintendo Power did, in fact, publish a few articles bashing the Sega Genesis in the mid-90's (such as "What They Teach at Power U," which was essentially a series of Nintendo advertorials disguised as an educational article, which reached the inevitable conclusion that Sega's product was vastly inferior to Nintendo's) and for an extended period during its early years the magazine gave extensive, favorable coverage to games published by Nintendo, usually hyping them over third-party titles and often devoting huge multi-section articles to them.

A controversy ensued upon publication of the second issue of the magazine. Parents called in to complain to the magazine's office that the cover, featuring Castlevania II: Simon's Quest with an image of Simon holding the severed head of Dracula, frightened their children and had resulted in many of them having nightmares. Nintendo Power has since steered clear of cover artwork that features such graphic imagery and instead now place it inside the magazine. However, in the milestone issue No. 200, a picture of a zombie from Resident Evil: Deadly Silence was shown on the cover.

Nintendo Power also received controversy about Conker's Bad Fur Day, a video game relased by Rare Entertainment. The game was very controversial, with sex, alcohol, obsence language, and drugs. Nintendo Power didn't even mention the game upon its release, causing mild controversy about the kiddy and "wussy" image that Nintendo was trying to preserve.

[edit] Milestones

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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 theaters 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
  • First Virtual Boy Cover with the entire issue in 3D by wearing special ChromaDepth glasses: Volume 75 - August 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
  • First Wii game cover, Rayman Raving Rabbids: Volume 207 - August 2006
  • Wii introduced: Volume 210 - December 2006

[edit] Comic series in Nintendo Power

[edit] Nintendo Power Spine Pictures

Starting with issue #92, pieces of Nintendo characters were printed on the spine of the magazine. When placed upright in order, the magazines form complete characters when viewed from the side. When Nintendo Power was redesigned, the spine picture idea was abandoned. The printed characters include:

  • Mario (though some issues were misprinted, resulting in a disfigured Mario)-1997
  • Link-1998
  • Donkey Kong-1999
  • Lugia (pokemon)-2000; incomplete
  • Fox McCloud-January 2002 through March 2002
  • Mario (from Super Mario Sunshine)-May 2002 through August 2002
  • Samus Aran-September 2002-December 2002
  • Link (Wind Waker)-2003
  • Link, Mario, Samus (Square Pictures From Up to Down)-January 2004 through May 2004
  • Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Fox McCloud (Square Pictures From Up to Down)-July 2004 through December 2004
  • Nintendo DS-January 2005 through June 2005

[edit] Spin-offs

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.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

    [edit] External links

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