Nintendo Power's Final Cover 79
skade88 writes "Ars Technica has a review of the last-ever issue of Nintendo Power. It's bittersweet seeing a part of my childhood ending." Being in print for 25 years means it's got most single-platform computer magazines beat.
the good news: (Score:2, Funny)
Re:the good news: (Score:5, Funny)
gent, swank, penthouse, hustler, and barely legal are still published.
The fact you would lump Nintendo Power with a bunch of stroke mags I find deeply disturbing. Your mother's basement must be a very scary place.
Re:the good news: (Score:5, Funny)
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Don't be so sure.
Dear Penthouse, I was working in the data center one Sunday morning with my new coworker, Sally. This was her first day and she wore a revealing top, miniskirt, high heels, and, as I soon discovered, no panties or bra. ...
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You can get compilations of the Playboy Interviews in book form.
They are worth the read.
Ironically, for all the jokes about getting those types of magazines for the articles, some of them had really decent articles and short fiction.
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Why? They're all single-"platform"?
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Well you see, for most of us we did not have to grow up with our parents beating us to within an inch of our lives, and who despite ability to do so, wanted us to be loved and have things that we loved to do.
For those of us with GOOD memories of our childhoods, quite a few have equally loving memories of Nintendo, and actually have feelings of sadness and sorrow when those memories have to be put fully behind us.
People such as yourself, who did not grow up with loving parents, and had no friends to play Nin
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You were adopted and your parents never really loved you.
Re:the good news: (Score:5, Informative)
"but did you ever ONCE, just one time, see them telling kids "Don't waste your money on this game" ever? "
You have a selective memory. Here is the list of review scores they've given Wii games. http://www.gamerankings.com/sites/768-nintendo-power/index.html?platform=1031
I see plenty of low scores. I also see that their scores on Nintendo-made games generally fall with the consensus, including some of the less favorable scores.
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What are you talking about? Of course it was an infomercial for nintendo games.
It did that by containing interviews, previews, game-related comics, walk-throughs and strategy guides complete with screenshot maps.
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The internet sure was great for that 25 years ago!
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Because Nintendo Power was an integral part of a lot of people's childhoods. Before the internet became a thing, it was one of the few ways to get maps, guides, cheats, and codes for Nintendo games. It's not about the magazine being relevant, or even very good; it's about nostalgia.
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Tell me about it (Score:2, Funny)
the last-ever issue of Nintendo Power. It's bittersweet seeing a part of my childhood ending.
Yeah no kidding. I can't get over the demise of the Phonograph Monthly myself...
Surprised it lasted... (Score:2)
... this long considering magazines really haven't been relevant since the late 90's early 2000's for gaming.
Re:Surprised it lasted... (Score:4, Insightful)
... this long considering magazines really haven't been relevant since the late 90's early 2000's for gaming.
Why does everyone assume that if they are not interested in something no one is interested in it?
Re:Surprised it lasted... (Score:4, Insightful)
"Why does everyone assume that if they are not interested in something no one is interested in it?"
It's not about interest, it's about usefulness vs what you are paying. I read all sorts of gaming mags back in the pre-internet era. Nintendo power was one of my first magazines but they were supplanted quickly by better magazines even back then by EGM and gamepro. The primary purpose of gaming magazine is to get info on new games for different consoles. The net pretty much replaced mags in this capacity around that time for much cheaper. I don't see how anyone would continue to pay for what you can now get for free.
The end of Nintendo power is proof of this, it's just a little late (about a decade).
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Oh how the mighty have fallen (Score:1)
This story was on Hacker News two days ago.
There was a time when Slashdot used to be the site that every other news aggregator cited. Now Slashdot seems to be a site that just cites other aggregators...two days later.
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There was a time when Slashdot used to be the site that every other news aggregator cited.
Ars got it two days ago. And in the 10 years I've been on slashdot I can't remember it ever being the place you go for breaking news. When exactly was this era you speak of?
"In print"? (Score:1)
What is the "print" of which you speak?
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What is the "print" of which you speak?
It's pretty much like an SMS, but with all the vowels.
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"print" is another term for "echo", which is used to put characters on your screen.
Correction (Score:4, Insightful)
Being in print for 25 years means it's got most single-platform computer magazines beat.
I think you meant "single-manufacturer".
I Still Love My Power Glove (Score:3)
Why kill it instead of move it online? (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm kind of surprised that Nintendo is flat-out killing the Nintendo Power brand instead of just moving it online. I mean, it's not like video game journalism is dead. It's just moved entirely online. (Are there any print video game magazines left? That are still printing physical copies, that is. I'm not aware of any.)
I would have thought there'd still be demand for a Nintendo Power, just not in print form. I guess not? Or was there a website, that's since been replaced with the current information about going out of print?
It's kind of sad to see it go, but I haven't subscribed since the mid 90s, I guess. Still, it's a nice cover and a nice tribute to their first issue.
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It's not obvious to me... it just looks like Nintendo decided to kill the licensing deal with the company that is actually handling the magazine. Possibly, they weren't able to pay Nintendo enough what Nintendo wants anymore, to be allowed to continue to use their trademarked name?
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Are there any print video game magazines left? That are still printing physical copies, that is. I'm not aware of any.
Game Informer is still being pushed pretty heavily by GameStop.
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And very successfully so, too. With more than 8 million copies monthly, it is the third-largest magazine in the United States [wordpress.com].
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So they can get 0.1% of the share of Gamespot, IGN, GameTrailers, GameFAQs, etc.'s pie? What would be the point?
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To advertise Nintendo products? Same as the original?
I dunno, it seems strange not to make any attempt at keeping it going online. I'm assuming it had some readers to keep it going as a pure-print magazine for the past decade, during which it would have made sense to bring it online.
After all, Sony has the PlayStation blog [playstation.com] and Microsoft has... uh... whatever this is, I guess [xbox.com]. (Does Major Nelson's blog [majornelson.com] count?)
Nintendo has, well, nothing. Sure, there's nintendo.com [nintendo.com], but that compares more to us.playstation.co [playstation.com]
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Magazines are helpful... (Score:2)
...when you're already looking at a screen to play the game.
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Now you have a smartphone or tablet right there with you.
There are people still who don't have second screens with internet access. There are actually people who don't own smartphone's or tablets.
Or just save your game and google your problem on the console.
I've done that.., works better if your console has linux so you can print something if you need to rather than trying to memorize or write things down.
There is just "something" about a nice thick paper gaming magzing though. I'm talking classic "Shoe" EGM, "Johnny England" OPM or Next Generation.
Is it needed in today's world? (Score:3)
25 years = da best! (Score:2)
Being in print for 25 years means it's got most single-platform computer magazines beat.
The Chicago Cubs have been around since circa 1876, and last won a world series in 1908.... guess that makes them the single best baseball team ever.
PC World started in 83, Byte in the mid 70s, CGW in 81, and countless others on this list, let alone those local published underground ones for BBS's
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_magazine [wikipedia.org]
Impressive! (Score:1)
/. is only a few days behind of the rest of the web. Feels like progress!
You cynical bastards can say what you want... (Score:5, Insightful)
... but I choose to remember the mag through the innocent eyes of the kids I was. I don't care that the entire mag was a marketing stump for Nintendo. I enjoyed the mag when I was a kid, and I haunted the mailbox whenever an issue was due. Early on, when they were publishing strategy guides, I got all kinds of use out of them (Particularly Super Mario 3 and Final Fantasy).
I grew up poor, getting a new game was a once, maybe twice if we were lucky, a year thing. Every month or two mom could afford to let us rent something for a few days, and Nintendo Power gave me a way to look at what was coming out and judge if it was something I wanted to spend those precious rental or acquisition opportunities on.
The adult in me agrees with all the scorn and criticism heaped on the mag, especially as it grew longer in the tooth.
But the wide eyed child in me remembers those first few years of Nintendo Power with great fondness.
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I think that is part of why we 30-somethings feel a small bit of sadness to see Nintendo Power go. It's not because we loved the magazine (who still has a subscription, really). We feel a tinge of sadness because it is a cold reminder that our childhood is forever gone.
my
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That was up until I got Battle Toads and Double Dragon, based on their enthusiastic endorsement. That was when I learned that not only should I not love Nintendo Power, I should never have loved them. Was a hard lesson for me.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battletoads_&_Double_Dragon [wikipedia.org]
Bizarrely, the Wikipedia entry says that the game was good. That's odd. One of the worst video game purchases I've ever made.
Readers (or lack of) to blame (Score:2)
True Final Cover (Score:1)
Nintendo Power's true final cover was in November 2007. When Future US took over publishing the magazine from Nintendo, it ceased to be Nintendo Power.
Not the only magazine to die recently (Score:2)
Meanwhile, Nintendo-Gamer (previously N-Gamer, NGC Magazine, N64 Magazine, Super Play), which I've been subscribed too since 1994 has also died.
I used to read that magazine over and over, copying the artwork, trying the cheats, spending hours which two games I was going to ask for for Christmas/my birthday (right next to each other).
Sad times.
I disagree (Score:2)