Nintendo Power -- Once great, then irrelevant, now great again?

I recently read my free copies I received for registering games. I liked how good-natured it is towards games on non-Nintendo systems, giving kind words to Okami and Castlevania SOTN among others. But I suspect it's only because Nintendo is dominating the markets so much that they aren't worried about the competition.

Wow, I don't remember them even acknowledging the existence of other consoles back the early 90s.

I think this was in the letter columns

the thing that strikes me about that cover upthread is that it's not shitty 3d CG like the covers were when the N64 hit the market

Haha the very first issue of NP was like a clay model of SMB2, I held on to it for years, wish I still had it. I had the first six or seven years of NP. There were also bad covers with real people dressed up as Link and Simon Belmont and shit. Those were the days.

http://ganonstower.com/np4sm.jpg

I mean is that Richard Marx? WTF.

http://www.themushroomkingdom.net/mania/images/mag/np_julyaugust88.jpg

^ Ha, I had forgotten about them making Mario's hat blue there.

http://castlevania.classicgaming.gamespy.com/Images/Scans/CV2/np-cv2.jpg

i also had the first six years of Nintendo power. Are they all online anywhere?

I've just found these covers here and there. The only really cool thing about those old ones were complete maps for things like Metroid and Metal Gear.

And Kid Icarus. I've never even played Kid Icarus, but I remember staring at the maps in NP for hours on end, mentally working my way through the levels.

http://retromags.com/wiki/index.php?title=Nintendo_Power has most of the early covers.

Just got the new ish!

This Track and Field cover cracks me up to this day.
http://retromags.com/wiki/images/9/9c/NP_Issue_003.jpg

Even as a little kid I was like "wtf, you don't have rocket shoes in that game."

The cosplay covers just keep on coming:
http://retromags.com/wiki/images/3/37/NP_Issue_005.jpg

Yeah, that dude looks like a "Hayabusa."

I assume this is Nicholson's first and only game mag cover:
http://retromags.com/wiki/images/8/83/NP_Issue_010.jpg

Someone please prove me wrong.

well there was that Witches of Eastwick game they released for Atari Lynx

haha

Ok here's the sequel with Michael Keaton up front:
http://retromags.com/wiki/images/0/07/NP_Issue_048.jpg

This seems to be the last of the cosplay shit. A little better than the early NES era stuff:
http://retromags.com/wiki/images/9/95/NP_Issue_034.jpg

Earthquake RIP:
http://retromags.com/wiki/images/a/a3/NP_Issue_035.jpg

lol "CD-ROM TECH UPDATE"
Yeah, we decided nobody wants that CD-ROM shit. Go make your "Playstation," Sony. Good luck with that.

The new issue (feb 2009) is an RPG special and well worth checking out... mostly focusing on upcoming releases

they have such a terrible website

Nintendo Power corrupts Nintendoly.

$5.00 for a one year subscription to Ninteno Power via Amazon, if you're in the US. Preety crazy deal (lasts till next Satuday).
http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Power/dp/B001074CAQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=magazines&qid=1275251965&sr=8-2

Nintendo Power

preety?

always been confounded by mario's blue hat on the first nintendo power cover

Ok, for $5, that is my birthday present to myself. I am running out of trial issues of "The Week" to read in the restroom.

Rest in Peace

Is sad

eh, if EGM can make a comeback, so will Nintendo Power

when microsoft buys nintendo after they bankrupt, totally bet they'll relaunch

Man I just had a vision of a world where Apple bought Comcast.

Are Nintendo in any danger of bankruptcy? They just took all 10 slots in the Japanese handheld sales chart!

it's hard for me to see a future for Nintendo like its past, since the Wii HD or whatever it's called looks like a loser out of the gate, & the 3DS seems like the wrong handheld at this time; whether those spell bankrupcy I dunno, depends on their financial condition & skills, but short of licensing Mario to Apple they look like they might get Sega-ed.

haha I guess licensing Mario to Apple would be being Sega-ed.

uh nintendo are not even a little bit in trouble, i was being massively sarcastic

i'd say i'll miss nestor but a) i barely remember him and b) he creeped me out iirc.

http://4thegirlgamers.blogspot.ca/2008/07/nintedo-power-20th-anniversary-edition.html

uh nintendo are not even a little bit in trouble, i was being massively sarcastic

Hah, sorry I don't keep much track of the industry (the all-10-positions was the result of some frantic Googling). I know they don't get a lot of respect, and that the Wii is no longer outselling the PS3 and 360 combined.

The WiiU will probably sell a trillion units.

Sony are the ones currently in trouble financially, 3DS is doing ok, really unconvinced by WiiU myself though.

Lego City Undercover(nee Stories) looks cool, but at this point, I'm wondering if I should just pick up a Gamecube and load up on select cheap games, as the system was good for those.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlZ-vxCfWVg

Wii can run Gamecube games though, right? So it might be a better buy.

Wii can run Gamecube games, Wii U won't I think (but idk probably will have them as downloadable Virtual Console titles?)

Get the Wii just because it's hard and expensive to get video component out cables for the GameCube.

BUT! the later price cut Wii models don't have GC backwards compatibility, so watch out for that. They won't have the controller ports.

wow - I didn't know they dropped gamecube support... horrible.

http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/npfinal-640x360.png

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/11/final-nintendo-power-cover-brings-the-magazine-full-circle/

This is sort of sad to me, but yeah I only subscribed up until N64 years and then I just pretty much never read a videogame magazine again. It's funny how many comments on various sites are "Who care this is just a 30-page ad from Nintendo WAKE UP SHEEPLE" when really what print magazine isn't basically an advertisement.

when really what print magazine isn't basically an advertisement

Holky siht...

Gotta say the demented-looking Mario from the first issue cover looks pretty awesome.

all video game mags are atrocious hack jobs but Nintendo Power at least was not also written with a dudebro core gamer male-gazey house style. I think all my back issues from my various subscription eras have been sold or disposed, alas.

still hilarious to me that they fucked up Mario's coloring on the first cover

It's a brochure. Everyone mourning its passing is a fucktard

when really what print magazine isn't basically an advertisement

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pgRNgMASibE/Smu9E4Ekb-I/AAAAAAAAAA8/ibyomLpG5UQ/s200/norman.jpg

Really great article here

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/183233/Nintendo_Power_Remembering_Americas_LongestLasting_Game_Magazine.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GamasutraFeatureArticles+%28Gamasutra+Feature+Articles%29

Nice

http://i.imgur.com/1W3h7.jpg

lol, we r old

Wow, that article is great so far. The making-of for the game maps!

Should I do anything with my stacks of old NP / Next Gen / EGM / etc. gaming mags or should they go straight into a dumpster

Internet Archive might be interested in scanning them

Basically spot check for anything that might not be scanned "out there", do a desultory eBay listing of anything in a contiguous chunk, then recycle

i kinda want em? for bathroom reading?

Forks if your address is still at 53rd street I'll send them to you

theres a (small) market for nes/snes era nintendo powers but even then i think i managed ~$3 an issue when i sold off all the ones i had

Aw, thanks dude. I left that job awhile back. I will ilx u with info

https://archive.org/details/nintendopower

and thanks again dayo