# The last breath of Nintendo Power



## Walker D (Aug 21, 2012)

Seems like the  magazine that started pumping us on the world of video games back in the 80"s is not relevant anymore in the eyes of Nintendo.
Nintendo is not renewing its licensing, as tweets from NP indicate ....

Well, kinda bad


Original text from Joystiq:



> Nintendo has chosen not to renew its licensing agreement with Future Publishing (the company that currently produces Nintendo Power) and has no intentions to take over the publication itself, according to insider sources speaking to Ars Technica. A now-deleted tweet from NP staff suggested this was accurate.
> 
> Reportedly "difficult to work with," Nintendo is said to have taken no interest in working with Future on expanded online initiatives to strengthen the Nintendo Power brand. Editors and staff members were told that the magazine would be shut down sometime last week and have since begun transitioning to other Future publications, according to Ars Technica's source.
> 
> We've reached out to Future Publishing and Nintendo for comment. Originally launching in 1988, Nintendo Power was run in-house by Nintendo until the property was licensed to Future in 2007.


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## MelodieOctavia (Aug 21, 2012)

The Nintendo Power I know and love died a long time ago.


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## CrimzonEyed (Aug 21, 2012)

TwinRetro said:


> The Nintendo Power I know and love died a long time ago.


This.
nintendo power have been dead for me for about 10 years or so. (last one I read was around 90 or something)


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## Hero-Link (Aug 21, 2012)

> CVG says final decision hasn’t been made for Nintendo Power, small chance of digital release



By: Nintendo Everything

maybe it will be digital from now on


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## Tom Bombadildo (Aug 21, 2012)

Nintendo Power was alive? Here I thought it died a while ago. Huh.


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## Thesolcity (Aug 22, 2012)

Suprgamr232 said:


> Nintendo Power was alive? Here I thought it died a while ago. Huh.



It did, and we need to let the cancerous growth that replaced it long ago die quietly.


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## RemixDeluxe (Aug 22, 2012)

With this said when will the last issue be made? My subscription doesnt end till November.


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## PyroSpark (Aug 22, 2012)

Does that mean my 50+ issues are going to be worth money in 10-20 years? Like a rare comic? And not like beanie babies?


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## BORTZ (Aug 22, 2012)

Thesolcity said:


> Suprgamr232 said:
> 
> 
> > Nintendo Power was alive? Here I thought it died a while ago. Huh.
> ...


Actually thats pretty accurate.


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## gamefan5 (Aug 22, 2012)

Wait it just died now?
Lol I srsly thought it died ages ago. XD


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## Another World (Aug 22, 2012)

i subscribed to the fan club magazine and got the 1st issue of nintendo power for free. i loved it, it was the biggest thing back when it started. nintendo power has been a great magazine for children. it covers the systems their parents deem "safe" to buy them (ds, wii, 3ds) and does so in a way that does not offend. i know a few family members that are going to be upset over this news.

R.I.P. Nester!

-another world


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## Rasas (Aug 22, 2012)

PyroSpark said:


> Does that mean my 50+ issues are going to be worth money in 10-20 years? Like a rare comic? And not like beanie babies?


It might take a while I know a Nintendo Power #1 still isn't worth much but that might change later down the road when people want to relive the past. It might just stand still who knows.... Plus it probably will have a small group still collecting them so the outlook isn't to good.


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## Chanser (Aug 22, 2012)

So just ONM left.


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## Another World (Aug 22, 2012)

> Does that mean my 50+ issues are going to be worth money in 10-20 years? Like a rare comic?



you might get $1-2 more an issue if they are in near mint condition and if you have a early run (say #1-20 or #10-20). when they are 60 yrs old, in the same condition, then perhaps the first 10 issues will be worth up to $10 over their cover price. its not like its a rare magazine, but i'm sure most kids didn't read it once and then bag and board it. condition is everything.

-another world


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## RemixDeluxe (Aug 22, 2012)

RemixDeluxe said:


> With this said when will the last issue be made? My subscription doesnt end till November.



Anyone?


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## freaksloan (Aug 22, 2012)

I only on issue #3 of a two year subscription.


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## DeMoN (Aug 22, 2012)

Awesome, I'm assuming there will be no refund or other compensation for subscribers.

Halfway through a 2-year sub. Not as screwed as the guy above me, but still, around $18 down the toilet.


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## The Milkman (Aug 22, 2012)

I knew it! I knew it so deeply that I didn't even bother to renew! After they stopped doing simple things that you would expect a magazine to do (Contests, Quizes, Demos and DVDs, hell they even took away the damn poster!) the NP I had loved back in the GCN era was not going to see the end of this gen. I'm gonna miss them though, about 70 or 80 issues I got on my shelf.


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## KingVamp (Aug 22, 2012)

Hero-Link said:


> > CVG says final decision hasn’t been made for Nintendo Power, small chance of digital release
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Make them downloadable e-books and they got themselves a deal.


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## DSGamer64 (Aug 22, 2012)

Well, considering I haven't seen a Nintendo Power magazine in any store, including Chapters/Indigo for years now, it doesn't surprise me. And with digital media, it would be considerably more environmentally friendly and cost effective to stop printing it and go digital distribution, especially with e-readers on the rise. Hell, Nintendo could make an app for the 3DS to have specially designed editions of the magazine on it if they wanted to.


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## stanleyopar2000 (Aug 22, 2012)

I remember when games were so fucking hard and difficult, you HAD to buy Nintendo Power to figure out what to do


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## frogboy (Aug 22, 2012)

Man, there goes the only magazine I even bothered to buy...


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## LightyKD (Aug 22, 2012)

WHAT THE HELL? With the Wii-U gamepad coming along, NOW would have been the perfect time to take the magazine digital.


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## Gahars (Aug 22, 2012)

Nintendo Power: Not so powerful after all.


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## Walker D (Aug 22, 2012)

I see no need to Nintendo stop supporting it
the magazine is not the one it used to be ...but the best fix is really kill it once for all ?

I think it could be relevant to Nintendo as a support media ...with a new console near release, it would be useful

Meh  ..but if they don't bother fixing it, then I think its better like that :/


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## Hyro-Sama (Aug 22, 2012)

I'm sure in 20 years or so the magazines will be collectable. It's understandable that Nintendo ditched them, especially with social networking, Nintendo Official Site. etc.


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## Prime_Zero (Aug 22, 2012)

Thats so sad... I have no idea what Nintendo power has been up to, as it died for me over ten year's ago when store's in my area stopped carrying it? granted I tryed other gaming magz but really none were ever as good as it Nintedo Power. And yes they did eventually sell them in my area again but by then I was using the net lol. Though I have to say with the internet being what it is today compaired to the 90's and early 2000's its not much of a suprise its finaly stopping production. I mean why pay for what you can get for free after all...  Im sure there sales as well as the sales of other gaming magz has gone and is still going down... but thats a guess, ive no source to back it up as time to lazy to find some.

Luckly I still have all my old Nintendo powers in a box in my closet, though not in the best shape, this being  even more a reason to treasure them. Perhaps one day I will show my grand kids them so they can see how we got gaming info back in the olden days before the internet lol... oh god I feel old now 

Just a sign where all getting old I guess, or perhaps the miyans were right and the world is ending and this is one of the signs?


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## Vampire Lied (Aug 22, 2012)

Sad, but NP has been crap for a long time.


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## stanleyopar2000 (Aug 22, 2012)

gotta get the POWWWAAHHH!!


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## chris888222 (Aug 22, 2012)

Well, I hope they go digital. Maybe make an app for android and put it on newsstand on iOS.


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## Psionic Roshambo (Aug 22, 2012)

chris888222 said:


> Well, I hope they go digital. Maybe make an app for android and put it on newsstand on iOS.



Or like some one else said go digital on the Wii-U, that hand held touch screen would be nice for sitting and reading about the games, as a bonus they could embed some streaming video's. Sort of a jazzed up Nintendo Power. 

I still have like the first 2 or 3 years of Nintendo Power in a box somewhere and I have my Donkey Kong Country VHS tape around somewhere too. (I think they sent it to Nintendo Power subscribers at the time to hype up the game.)


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## ouch123 (Aug 22, 2012)

I stopped reading Nintendo Power after the old staff left. Seriously, the new staff was pretty terrible. Who rates a game poorly because it's a port or because it doesn't expand the brand? Do those have *any*thing to do with how good the game itself is?


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## Celice (Aug 22, 2012)

Yeah, I remember that DK tape  And they had a few other ones too, like one with early Jet Force Gemini footage... that was awesome back then.

But I just think the technology has made the magazine irrelevant, for the costs involved against a dwindling profit. And personally, pretty much all gaming magazines seem pretty bland and empty compared to ten, fifteen years ago. I stopped reading them around 2005 once (most) magazines turned bare.


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## Lastly (Aug 22, 2012)

Just subscribed two weeks ago...
....
...
..
.
..
...
....
Why haven't my compensation in my pocket yet?


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## GreatZimkogway (Aug 22, 2012)

ouch123 said:


> I stopped reading Nintendo Power after the old staff left. Seriously, the new staff was pretty terrible. *Who rates a game poorly because it's a port* or because it doesn't expand the brand? Do those have *any*thing to do with how good the game itself is?



Most of GBAtemp.


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## KingVamp (Aug 22, 2012)

People are showing support on twitter with #KeepNintendoPower. To the people who want Nintendo Power to live.


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## Guild McCommunist (Aug 22, 2012)

I've never really seen the interest of gaming magazines in a modern age. You can get most of the news earlier online anyway and most of their other stuff is always rather shit. Just the same type of reviews you can read online for free and some other boring stuff.


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## chris888222 (Aug 22, 2012)

Guild McCommunist said:


> I've never really seen the interest of gaming magazines in a modern age. You can get most of the news earlier online anyway and most of their other stuff is always rather shit. Just the same type of reviews you can read online for free and some other boring stuff.


This. 

There are various sites to read the LATEST and BEST news of every game console out there.


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## rad140 (Aug 22, 2012)

To me, NP died when Future became responsible for it years ago (or earlier, depending on your point of view).

RIP NP. Your legacy will be remembered.

It's kind of sad that Future owns pretty much every tech magazine out nowadays, and they're all kinda crap.


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## Law (Aug 22, 2012)

Yeah, most mags published by Future are all pretty terrible. If only Nintendo had kept doing it in house. Ah well.


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## Hadrian (Aug 22, 2012)

They did publish stuff before anyone else, they had a lot of exclusive news first. However as soon as someone got an issue, that news was on the net straight away.

Still meh, I read some issues online and it had nothing else. The personality of it was fairly bland and the reviews were hardly trustworthy. Some magazines are still worth getting, just that some seem to think all people want in a mag is news and and latest reviews. People require more if they pay for something, they want well written articles that you may not get online.  That is something I like about Retro Gamer magazine.


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## pasc (Aug 22, 2012)

Well, I never actually read a NP, however screenings of those magazins always floated around where I used to read.

And I gotta admit, it was always quite informative.

Screw you internet, this is one time I don't like you for what you did. (but its ok, since you are still 99% alright afterwards)


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## Izen (Aug 22, 2012)

Loved NP. Didn't know it got taken control of by Future until now, though I noticed it's attitude change a bit a couple years back. Hey, here's hoping the last issue is insanely awesome.


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## KingVamp (Aug 23, 2012)

DeMoN said:


> Awesome, I'm assuming there will be no refund or other compensation for subscribers.
> 
> Halfway through a 2-year sub. Not as screwed as the guy above me, but still, around $18 down the toilet.





> Nintendo Power’s last issue will be the December 2012 issue, which will be mailed to subscribers in late November and sold on newsstands starting December 4.
> 
> If you are a subscriber and your subscription extends past the final December 2012 issue, you will receive a refund or credit card credit of the remaining value of your subscription. If you reside in the US or Canada, your refund will arrive within 4–6 weeks after the December 2012 issue; for customers outside the US and Canada, your refund will arrive 6–10 weeks after the December 2012 issue.


Link

So, pretty much your assumption is wrong.


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## GreatZimkogway (Aug 23, 2012)

Guild McCommunist said:


> I've never really seen the interest of gaming magazines in a modern age. You can get most of the news earlier online anyway and most of their other stuff is always rather shit. Just the same type of reviews you can read online for free and some other boring stuff.



Unrelated: Holy shit Guild changed his avatar.  I don't think I've seen it change since I lurked here years ago.

I actually didn't know it wasn't Nintendo-run anymore.  Explains why I found it to be a crappy magazine just like GameInformer...


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## TyBlood13 (Aug 23, 2012)

I actually liked the magazine, my subscription end in December, right when the last issue comes out.


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## FAST6191 (Aug 23, 2012)

Re: Copies of the magazine being worth something. Given we are approaching the two decade mark since the end of some of the Amiga magazines and longer for some of the older commodore ones and looking at some of those.... obviously it depends on the buyer and condition but where I would not plan on getting rich you might be able to get your car fixed or cover a bill although I should mention it is not like it was that rare/select like some of the spectrum/commodore/atari stuff. This said unless you otherwise have storage I doubt there is much point in speculating in them.

As others said though dead tree has to bring something really special to the table and given adverts and such have been able to fund "proper" journalists for online sites which have the added bonus of instant updates, inline video, massively high res pictures and more I do not see it happening any time soon. Certainly I can see the appeal for reference of sorts, as a "coffee table" sort of thing and in general as a sort of lifestyle magazine thing but the days of it being very much worth it.

As for the "you had to get it to complete the game" stuff no comment but those waxing nostalgic about it all might well be interested in reading Cannon Fodder 2: The Untold Story.



GreatZimkogway said:


> ouch123 said:
> 
> 
> > I stopped reading Nintendo Power after the old staff left. Seriously, the new staff was pretty terrible. *Who rates a game poorly because it's a port* or because it doesn't expand the brand? Do those have *any*thing to do with how good the game itself is?
> ...



Forgive me if I am misinterpreting things but
"it doesn't expand the brand"- if you meant expand Nintendo's brand then sure that is the foundation of fanboy but if you mean expand the brand of the franchise then stagnation is not commendable. My usual examples here would be pokemon or to be slightly less contentious/flamebaity then megaman battle network/star force- bar some token additions and absolutely minor refinements both are essentially the same game and given others improve gaming in general that is not ideal.

As for ports lazy ports trouble me, "pointless" ports trouble me and ports with nonsense crowbarred in (see motion controls) but if indeed the "oh it is a port therefore sucks" mentality was in effect I suppose that would be evidence of dead tree stuff not being worth the effort. Of course I was around for the "'tis pointless" conversations when the WiiU port (of old game) lineup during the last e3 so I should note that at least.

Edit- forgot to mention my history.
Never got it during the NES days and think I might have read some during the N64 days (it was about this time the more technologically inclined people were setting up modems for the first time so internet was not everywhere yet) when friends ended up with copies.


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## Species8472 (Aug 24, 2012)

Read this topic and a couple things poped into my head. Issue 50's cover (Link's Awakening), and trading issue 92 (4 different covers) with a friend that also got the magazine. He recieved the rarest cover in the mail while I recieved the most common. Since he didn't take care of his issues and I took care of mine we switched copies.


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