Games - Nintendo Power

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	Games - Nintendo Power

: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 news and strategy magazine from Nintendo
. The first issue published was July/August of 1988 spotlighting the NES game Super Mario Bros. 2.
Design
The magazine has traditionally been heavily focused on providing video game strategy, as opposed to other video game magazines which often focus a lot on game reviews, previews, and gossip. As the magazine is published by Nintendo itself, Nintendo Power often featured detailed in-game maps which came directly from programmers and companies. As a result, the magazine earned a reputation as being an "insider" source on game info with "official" content that differentiated 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, but still includes game strategies.

In July 2005, Nintendo Power created a new design to appeal to a more general audience, including a new logo and article format. 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).
History
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
, an avid game player himself. 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 their Senior Writer, Alan Averill. Apparently very camera-shy, Alan 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 Alan 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, Alan retired from Nintendo Power to join Nintendo of America's localization department. His true image was never revealed. A more recent running gag for the magazine is the inclusion of a photo of Mr. T in the Player's Pulse section.

During the early 1990s the magazine used what was a unique and very expensive promotion; they gave a free copy of the new NES game Dragon Warrior to every new subscriber.

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, 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). Currently, there is no comic featured in Nintendo Power.
[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Nintendo Power ]

Games - Nintendo Power

Design

History

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