Nintendo Power's Final Cover

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Posted by timothy on Saturday December 1, 2012 @06:19PM from the centerfold-is-a-doozy dept.

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.

19 of 79 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

the good news: by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-01 18:24 · Score: 2, Funny

gent, swank, penthouse, hustler, and barely legal are still published.
1. Re:the good news: by Grayhand · 2012-12-01 18:49 · 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.
2. Re:the good news: by jhoegl · 2012-12-01 19:38 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  What? You dont get them for the articles?
3. Re:the good news: by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 00:35 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  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 Nintendo with (either from being too abused as a child to have such toys, or being such an obnoxious prick due to it to be tolerated spending time at friends who did have one) - Yes we can understand why you would want to put such hell behind you.
  When your life ambition is to become a professional slashdot troll, like harryfeet has been for the past decade, and your only goal is to trash talk everything that others find joy in, it is not at all surprising that you would not shed a single tear for happy memories which you simply do not have.
  Just try to realize that not all of us hate our self and our lives so fully, and actually want to preserve the happy memories of our childhoods. This, is why we feel nostalgia and sadness at it's loss.
4. Re:the good news: by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 01:03 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  You were adopted and your parents never really loved you.
5. Re:the good news: by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-02 01:05 · 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.
6. Re:the good news: by boygerms · 2012-12-02 02:50 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I have a feeling you have never read Nintendo Power.
7. Re:the good news: by larry+bagina · 2012-12-02 05:35 · Score: 2
  
  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. ...
  
  --
  Do you even lift?
  These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
8. Re:the good news: by ildon · 2012-12-02 07:58 · Score: 2
  
  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.
Re:Surprised it lasted... by Meshach · 2012-12-01 18:43 · Score: 3, 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?

--
"Maybe this world is another planet's hell"
Aldous Huxley
Re:Surprised it lasted... by blahplusplus · 2012-12-01 18:51 · Score: 3, 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).
Correction by michaelmalak · 2012-12-01 19:14 · Score: 3, 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 by CodeBuster · 2012-12-01 19:18 · Score: 2

It's so bad!
Why kill it instead of move it online? by _xeno_ · 2012-12-01 19:19 · Score: 4, 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.

--
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
1. Re:Why kill it instead of move it online? by VanGarrett · 2012-12-01 20:10 · Score: 2
  
  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.
  
  --
  Learning about brewing beer, by brewing beer.
2. Re:Why kill it instead of move it online? by _xeno_ · 2012-12-02 10:34 · Score: 2
  
  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 and Microsoft has... uh... whatever this is, I guess. (Does Major Nelson's blog count?)
  Nintendo has, well, nothing. Sure, there's nintendo.com, but that compares more to us.playstation.com (playstation.com redirects me to jp.playstation.com for some reason) and xbox.com. They have no real "community" site, which something like Nintendo Power could fill. It seems strange to not even attempt an online version.
  
  --
  You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
Is it needed in today's world? by joeflies · 2012-12-01 20:28 · Score: 2

While I agree that Nintendo Power played a big part of my childhood, in retrospect, it seemed to be really a gigantic set of ads masked as articles. Every article made every game sound like it was good, with no mistaking the bias behind it. Maybe that was fine when Nintendo Power came first came out, both because the average quality was higher (and also perhaps when I was young and the parent were paying, I was less discriminating on quality). Today, we do have to sort through a boatload of bad games. What's needed is to call out the bad games if they're not pulling their weight. With the price of games today, it doesn't take long for bad purchases to add up quick. While I will miss Nintendo Power, I also miss Atari Age as well New Zork Times.
You cynical bastards can say what you want... by Drakonblayde · 2012-12-01 21:36 · 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.
Re:"In print"? by Psicopatico · 2012-12-02 05:10 · Score: 3, Funny

What is the "print" of which you speak?
It's pretty much like an SMS, but with all the vowels.

--
Mastering the English language is fucking easy: all you have to do is to put an f* word in every fucking sentence.