Nintendo Power is ceasing publication. In related news, yes, up until now Nintendo Power was still in publication.
Nintendo Power has been published continuously for over 24-years. For most of that time Nintendo itself produced the magazine in-house, but starting in 2007 production was farmed out to another company, Future Publishing. Readership has remained fairly strong, but apparently Nintendo is a giant pain in the ass to deal with so Future Publishing is throwing their hands up and walking away. Nintendo has no plans to revive the magazine themselves.
Between the ages 8 and 14 pretty much the only thing I read (that didn't feature Batman) was Nintendo Power, so this is a sad day for me (and I'm sure plenty of other nerds in their late 20s to early 30s). But hey, enough gloom! Recently somebody put the entire first issue of Nintendo Power online, so hit the jump for a trip down memory lane...
via Ars Technica
Nintendo Power #1 via Eoin Stanley
You can read the entire first issue of Nintendo Power in PDF form right here.
Holy s--t, if any younger folks want to know why us old codgers are nostalgic for 80s gaming, this is why. The games covered in detail by this one magazine -- Super Mario 2, The Legend of Zelda, Double Dragon, Contra, Gauntlet, and uh...Wheel of Fortune. Okay, so it wasn't all great. Next issue -- Castlevania, Bayou Billy and Bionic Commando!
For those who don't want to wade through an entire kids magazine from 1986 (for shame) here are my five favorite pages from Nintendo Power #1...
Mario 2 was never my favorite, but I bet my opinion would have been different if its box art looked like this.
More insane Mario 2 art. They're at the Olympics...for...some reason? I love how this has obviously been colored in with magic markers.
Pretty much everything about this foldout poster is great. Flying hot dog! Cup full of refreshing mercury! The Bat signal! The guy inexplicably belting a homer with a giant piece of licorice!
Oh Nester -- you ignorant little turd.
You heard it here first! Ninjas and Kung-fu Masters are no longer heros [sic] to Japanese players! American born sword and magic games are making one great hit after another in the eastern country of Japan!
Wait a minute...what the f--k...Mike from Growing Pains and D.J. were related?!
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Don’t forget the exploding baseball in #3. Never knew that about D.J. and Kirk Cameron. R.I.P., NP, still teaching me important facts from beyond the grave.
Seriously, two-and-a-half decades later this magazine is full of codes and s–t that blow my mind. There was a SECOND QUEST in Punch-Out? And King Hippo was the first guy you fight? Tooo crazy.
Without this magzine I would have never beat Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles… who the hell am I kidding? I never beat it even with the stupid guide.
Rest in Peace
The Last Shred of My Childhood
d. August 21, 2012
“Darn Thunderbird. I’m probably the only kid who never beat Zelda II” – April 14, 1991
Redshirt’s 1st Broken Controller
d. April 14, 1991
“Hey. Its not my fault you suck!” – Last Words
Loved this magazine as a kid. Looking back, it sounds like it was written either: 1) by an eighth grader; or 2) in Japanese and later translated back to English.