 | |
 First issue, July/August 1988 | |
| Editor-in-Chief | Steve Thomason |
|---|---|
| Former editors | Chris Slate |
| Staff writers |
|
| Categories | Video games |
| Frequency | 6x annually; monthly beginning January 1991 |
| Format | Magazine |
| Circulation | 475,000 (2012)[1] |
| First issue | July/August 1988; 37 years ago (1988-08) |
| Final issue Number | December 11, 2012 (2012-12-11) 285 |
| Company |
|
| Country | United States,Canada |
| Based in | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Language | English |
| Website | nintendopower.com at theWayback Machine (archived March 19, 2015) |
| ISSN | 1041-9551 |
| OCLC | 760783416 |
Nintendo Power was avideo game news and strategymagazine fromNintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Nintendo of America, then independently, and in December 2007 contracted toFuture US, the American subsidiary of British publisherFuture plc.[2] Its 24-year production run is one of the longest of all video game magazines in the United States and Canada.
On August 21, 2012, Nintendo announced that it would not be renewing its licensing agreement with Future Publishing, and thatNintendo Power would cease publication in December.[1][3] The final issue, volume 285, was released on December 11, 2012.[4]
On December 20, 2017, apodcast version ofNintendo Power was launched, which ran until 2023. It was hosted by Chris Slate, the former Editor-in-Chief of the magazine. The podcast is on hiatus as of 2025.
Nintendo Fun Club News precededNintendo Power as a newsletter sent to club members for free.[5] In mid-1988 it was discontinued after seven issues[6] in favor ofNintendo Power. The new magazine was founded by Nintendo of America marketing managerGail Tilden in 1988.[7] The first issue, dated July/August 1988, spotlights theNES gameSuper Mario Bros. 2. Of this issue, 3.6 million copies were published, with every member of the Nintendo Fun Club receiving a free copy.
From the beginning,Nintendo Power focuses heavily on providing game strategy, reviews, and previews of upcoming games. In mid-1998,Nintendo Power first allowed outside advertising in the magazine, formerly reserved for Nintendo-based products only. 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.
In July 2005,Nintendo Power introduced a new design to appeal to a limited gaming audience, including a new logo and article format. Along with the cosmetic overhaul came a greater focus on Nintendo fans, staff reviews, rumor-milling, and fan service including an expanded and enhanced reader mail segment (known as "Pulse") and a revamped "Community" section.Nintendo introduced a new incentive promotional offer that involved the registration of three Nintendo (or Nintendo affiliated) products through Nintendo.com to receive a free three issue trial subscription toNintendo Power. Later, the magazine changed its focus from game strategies and cheat codes to mainly news, previews, and articles on upcoming games.
On September 19, 2007, Nintendo officially announced that the large magazine publisherFuture US would begin publishingNintendo Power. The company's first official issue was released in October, as issue #222 (December 2007). It was also revealed that circulation would be increased to 13 issues a year, with the extra magazine being a holiday season bonus issue.Nintendo Power stopped making the Bonus issue in 2011.[8]
On August 21, 2012, Nintendo announced that it had opted not to renew the licensing agreement withFuture Publishing and thatNintendo Power would cease publication after 24 years. The final issue would be December 2012. Senior Editor Chris Hoffman stated that his staff would "try to make the last issues memorable". Nintendo reportedly did not actively participate in discussions to continue the magazine online.[9][10]
Nintendo Power officially returned on December 20, 2017 as a podcast; the podcast uses the original logo design.
The magazine was founded by Gail Tilden with support from Nintendo's first Fun Club "President"Howard Phillips, an avid gamer. While the Fun Club News focused solely on games made in-house by Nintendo,Nintendo Power was created to allow for reviews of games produced by those licensed by Nintendo, such asKonami andCapcom.Nintendo Power'smascot in the late 1980s and early 1990s wasNester, a character created by the staff at Work House, Japan who first appeared in the magazine'sHoward and Nestercomic strip. After Phillips left the company, Nester became the magazine's sole mascot. Early issues of the magazine featured a two-pageHoward and Nester comic, which was later replaced with the two-pageNester's Adventures, later reduced to one page, and eventually dropped altogether. Subsequently,Mario replaced Nester as the mascot of the magazine. During the early 2000s, the magazine made another mascot out of its Senior Writer, Alan Averill. Apparently very camera-shy, Averill never appeared in any photos; rather, he was represented by a plush toy of aBlue Slime fromDragon Quest. Fans often clamored to see what Averill actually looked like, but the magazine continued to substitute photos of the toy, and even claimed that Alan was, in fact, a Blue Slime. Eventually, Averill retired fromNintendo Power, joining Nintendo of America's localization department. To this day, most fans have never seen a real image of Averill. The inclusion of a photo ofMr. T in the Player's Pulse section became a running gag in the early half of 2005. Late in the magazine's life, running gags centered onChuck Norris references and jokes at the expense of writer Chris Shepperd.
During the early 1990s, the magazine undertook a unique and powerful promotion: giving away a free copy of theNES gameDragon Warrior (Dragon Quest in Japan) to every new subscriber.[11] TheDragon Quest series had been a huge hit in Japan, and Nintendo had hoped the localized North American release would also be a success and promote the RPG genre. However, the game had not sold nearly as well as Nintendo had anticipated, leaving the company with a large number of unsold cartridges. The promotion both helped the company get rid of the unsold merchandise, and won the magazine thousands of new subscribers.[12] During this time, Nintendo would also sendVHS tapes to subscribers containing promotional videos for upcoming games.[13][14][15]
Following the release of theSuper NES, the magazine featured lengthy, continuous comic strips based onSuper Mario World andThe Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. After these stories ended, they were replaced by similar multi-issue stories based onStar Fox,Super Metroid, and later,Nintendo 64 games such asStar Wars: Shadows of the Empire andBlast Corps. It had several comics based on the animated series ofPokémon andKirby: Right Back at Ya!. Toward the end, it included short excerpts based onCustom Robo andMetal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. It included a very shortMetroid Prime comic, and another story based on thePokémon Mystery Dungeon games translated from the original Japanese version.
Nintendo Power produced a series of strategy magazines calledOfficial Guides from Nintendo Power, beginning withThe Official Nintendo Player's Guide. AfterNintendo Power switched from a bi-monthly magazine to a monthly magazine in May 1990, some issues were positioned as strategy guides for single games replacing the guides. However, only four such issues were produced before Nintendo outsourced production of official guides toPrima Games.
The Nintendo Power Line was a staffedhotline providing gameplay hints aboutNintendo consoles, such as theNintendo Entertainment System.[16] It ran from the publishing of the first issue publication of Nintendo Power in 1988 until June 2010, closing in favor of the Internet.[17] The hotline was revived as automated messages, from November 11 to November 13, 2016, in celebration of the release of theNES Classic Edition.[18]
During 2001,Nintendo Power released a spin-off semi-magazine namedNintendo Power Advance, featuring theGame Boy Advance and its games. The first issue was complimentary for subscribers, and sold at newsstands. Four issues ofNintendo Power Advance were printed, the last of which is a strategy guide forSuper Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2.[19]
With the release ofPokémon for theGame Boy in 1998,Nintendo Power includes six mini-issues ofPokémon Power mainly featuring tips and strategies for the game.
In 1989, a smaller version of the magazine calledPocket Power was distributed at movie theaters showingThe Wizard.[20]
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Nester is themascot ofNintendo Power. Nester was created byHoward Phillips, "President" of the Nintendo Fun Club and a former editor ofNintendo Power, to be the supporting character in his comic strip,Howard & Nester. The comic strips generally advertised new games, often by dream sequences where Nester was actually a given video game character. From 1989 to 1993, TheNintendo Power Awards featured Nester-shaped trophies and were referred to in the magazine as the "Nesters" in reference to theOscars.
In the June 1991 issue (Volume 25), Phillips was written out of the strip after his real-life counterpart left Nintendo to work forLucasArts. The strip was retitledNester's Adventures the following issue and continued publication until Volume 55 (December 1993). Nester, now as a college student, appeared inNintendo Power issue #100.[21] He is seen again in issue #231, the magazine's twentieth anniversary, here a grown man with a son new to Nintendo.[21] Nester's final appearance inNintendo Power is in the final issue, Volume 285, in a comic titled "Nester & Max", where he is seen reading and lamenting the final issue.[22]
Nester is featured in a few video games that were released while the character was in the magazine. His first appearance was as a commentator inNES Play Action Football. Other appearances include the ending ofTo the Earth. Nester is the main character inNester's Funky Bowling for theVirtual Boy, which also introduces his sister Hester. The character of Lark inPilotwings 64 for theNintendo 64 was based on Nester.[23] Several NES games feature the name "NESTER" as one of the pre-set names on high-score lists, or a default character name such as inTo the Earth. The originalNES release ofDragon Warrior references both Howard and Nester through character dialog, however this was removed in the laterGame Boy Color version. He is mentioned in one line of dialogue in the gameStarTropics. ADLC microgame inWarioWare D.I.Y. created byNintendo Power calledFunky Boxing (a loose reference toNester's Funky Bowling) does not have any apparent references to the character, but if the game is opened in the editor, the player's boxer is named "NESTER".[24]
| Nintendo Power | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presentation | |
| Starring | Chris Slate |
| Genre | Video games, entertainment, talk |
| Created by | Chris Slate |
| Developed by | Chris Slate |
| Language | English |
| Production | |
| No. of episodes | 57 (as of May 2023[update]) |
| Publication | |
| Original release | December 20, 2017 |
| Provider | Nintendo |
| Related | |
| Website | http://www.nintendopower.com/  |
On December 20, 2017,Nintendo of America announced the official return ofNintendo Power as a podcast, hosted by former Editor-in-Chief of the original magazine, Chris Slate.[25] In the first episode, Slate states that the podcast was a "passion project" for Nintendo and that he wantedNintendo Power to return. He also acknowledged that the format of that episode was experimental and that the frequency of the series' episodes hasn't been determined.[26] Later in the episode, Slate interviews the developers ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and discusses theNintendo Switch.[27]
On May 12, 2023, an episode based onThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was released. In it, Chris Slate announced that the episode is the final planned one for the podcast. He followed up by stating that there may still be more special episodes later.
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