Topic: Nintendo Power Set to Stop Publication

[the asylum]

Nintendo staunchy refusing to work with modern technology.

In other news, water is wet.

[Drizzt]

Man I just renewed my subscription. Anyway R.I.P. Nintendo Power, you provided tips and info to gamers in a time where gaming info was scarce and near unobtainable. Thanks for the memories.

[NeoStar9X]

It was going to happen eventually but still sad. I am still subscribed. Stopped around the PS1/N64 era. Then bought issues here and there that seemed intersting. I resubscribed  and started reading again a few years ago because I wanted more fair Nintendo Wii coverage. Wasn't getting it from sites like GameSpot or IGN. That it was independent of Nintendo, well somewhat,  and had good coverage and writing helped convince me to give them a shot and was really enjoying it.


Shame but not surprising Nintendo was hard to work with. If Future had it's way I wouldn't have been surprised to have seem them to rework the magazine as an app on iOS and Android the way some magazines have gone. Would have loved to have read NP on my Kindle Fire. Nintendo Power even reworked as a pure internet site could have been Nintendo's version of the PlayStation Blog while still having reviews had Nintendo re-embraced it.  That's your community interaction along with the Nintendo Directs. 

[NWR_Neal]

If anybody wants to contribute to a Nintendo Power feature we're putting together, PM me with your thoughts. Keep them in the range of a few paragraphs, though it can be as short as one paragraph.

[GrabMyBoomstick]

I can guarantee you that no one is more upset by this than me. I was a HUGE NP fan as a kid. I had a subscription from 89 until about 94 or 95, then decided out of the blue to start subscribing back around 2008. Sure at 33 years of age now, I always felt a little funny about subscribing but what can I say, the nostalgia simply overwhelmed me. Nintendo Power was the only physical magazine that I still had delivered to me house via snail mail (I've long gone digital with everything else for years now). But this is such a huge disappointment. Sure I figured Nintendo Power would eventually go digital, but I never thought they would just up and call it quits. Then again I can understand Future US's position as having a "difficult time" coming to terms with Nintendo. My hats off to Chris Hoffman, Phil Theobald, Steve Thomason, Cody Martin, Justin Cheng and especially NP's EIC, Christ Slate for all their hard works over these last few years. I hope they all land on their feet (sounds like some of them will immediately) soon. I actually have a rather sizeable collection of Nintendo Power's from over the years. Glad I held onto them all now.

[greybrick]

Without fail, picking up an issue of Nintendo Power made me immediately feel as if I was at home, in my beanbag chair with my GameBoy in my lap.


I had to take a walk at work when I heard the news.

[StrawHousePig]

Awww, dammit. I have a kid that's just about ripe for a Nintendo Power subscription. Now how am I supposed read them when he's not looking?

[Padawan of Windu]

I am beyond heartbroken.  I've been depressed all day.  Nothing has excited me in the afternoon so much as finding a new Nintendo Power in the mailbox.  And that's been happening since I was 4 years old in 1988.  And I have waited for it every month with the same joy and glee I had back then.  I won't even read previews of the articles or screenshots online, as I want to experience them for the first time in the magazine.  I hope it can be saved, or Nintendo is taking it back over as publisher.  I really, really do.  Isn't there something we can do?  join with Operation Rainfall?  Have a subscription drive? Write letters? Send art and stories?  I just...want to do..something. It's like a parent told me they're moving away, and never coming back. = (  For now, I'm going to do a memorial painting, and send it in to them with a letter, and pray that I finally get one of my letters/art printed in the magazine I've loved so much.

[red14]

... huh. Funny how I never decided to get a single issue. There's alot of things I've missed out on in life.. and that'l probly never change....

[Michael8983]

Print magazines are obsolete and it's just a matter of time before all those other gaming publications mentioned end as well (and it can't happen soon enough IMO).  It's non-sense for them to blame Nintendo for being difficult and not adapting to future technologies. Nintendo HAS adapted. We have The Nintendo Channel which has replaced Nintendo Power for game news and tips and Club Nintendo which sends out the posters and other merchandise Nintendo Power subscribers used to get. There are hundreds of sites that offer game reviews of course. It's the magazine publishers who are stuck in the past, not Nintendo.


Still, I grew up with Nintendo Power and it's sad to hear a little piece of my childhood is dying. But honestly this should have happened AT LEAST five years ago. Who knows, maybe as a tribute they could start calling it "The Nintendo Power Channel".

[Chozo Ghost]

What makes this a big deal is that every other video game magazine has a blatant anti-Nintendo bias. Nintendo Power was the only magazine which was fair and balanced. Now its gone, and all that's left is magazines for anti-Nintendo fanboys.

In another thread I said NWR should pick up the reigns and start a new Nintendo magazine, and I was serious about that. Start a kickstarter if you have to, but make it happen.

[S-U-P-E-R]

What makes this a big deal is that every other video game magazine has a blatant anti-Nintendo bias.

Yeah, but so does reality

[readnbead]

Dodongo dislike :-(

[Sundoulos]

I probably haven't subscribed since the mid 90s, but I'm sad to hear that the magazine is going.  I always loved the SNES-era Mario, Zelda, Metroid and Starfox manga that were included at the time.  Howard and Nester were fun, too, at least when I was a kid. 

[sladeadams]

Silver lining here is, no more collecting. I can save money again.

[broodwars]

What makes this a big deal is that every other video game magazine has a blatant anti-Nintendo bias.

Considering that apparently Nintendo refuses to work with anyone in the press, if there was a "blatant anti-Nintendo bias" (& I don't think there is one, certainly not to the extent you do) I could completely understand it.  Nintendo these days thinks the only way it can control the message is by ignoring the press and releasing Iwata Asks & Nintendo Directs.

[TJ Spyke]

How do they not work with the press? Basically all they don't do is pay for game "journalists" to go on trips. Not getting previews of games coming out in a year or more is not justification to hate on them like so many do. At the bare minimum, they are cynical towards Nintendo and do stuff like assume their games will not be as good. It's one reason I stopped listening to the GameScoop podcast.

[broodwars]

How do they not work with the press? Basically all they don't do is pay for game "journalists" to go on trips. Not getting previews of games coming out in a year or more is not justification to hate on them like so many do. At the bare minimum, they are cynical towards Nintendo and do stuff like assume their games will not be as good. It's one reason I stopped listening to the GameScoop podcast.

Or maybe people assume their games "won't be as good" because they haven't been as good this generation. Just sayin'. 

And if you want an example of how they don't work with the press, just look at this very story.  The article explicitly says that Nintendo was difficult to work with.  Dr. Metts on RFN has even said that Nintendo has slammed the door shut on dialogue between themselves and the press in favor of these Iwata Asks.  With the way this industry is set-up, how is the press supposed to cover Nintendo when they can't get interviews; they can't get previews; they usually can't get digital releases for review at all without paying out-of-pocket; and Nintendo is notoriously strict on embargo dates for reviews?

All of these things are issues that have been raised on this very site by RFN or other notable sites like Giant Bomb and IGN.

[NWR_Neal]

As the person who deals with Nintendo PR on a constant basis (and have been the NWR contact with them for about 3 years), I can say that while things can be difficult and frustrating (Iwata Asks have supplanted most developer interview possibilities), they're not impossible to work with.

I think you can easily extrapolate where troubles would lie by looking at things like their slow movement towards online gaming and struggle with digital releases.

[Anth0ny]

It was inevitable, but it's still sad. Back in the day, Nintendo Power and EGM was my only real link to the greater world of video games. Those magazines sold me on a ton of games, I would read them cover to cover. Features full of gorgeous artwork, full game maps, cheat codes! And who can forget the Player's Guides?



So good. They don't make 'em like this anymore.

End of an era. RIP Nintendo Power.

[Kairon]

Anth0ny, did you get the LTTP Players guide? Or the Earthbound Players guide? Those were SO.UNIMAGINABLY.AWESOME.

[S-U-P-E-R]

Really old people might remember how godlike the Final Fantasy 1 guide was.

[Chozo Ghost]

I don't think there is one

I realize this is somewhat subjective, but only to an extent... I've read in Game Informer magazine where they say things like "the Wii is irrelevant" despite how many millions of units its sold, and when they frequently don't even mention when a multiplatform game is available on the Wii even if it is. They also give low scores for Wii games, and they openly criticize graphics which isn't fair because the Wii can't do HD graphics. That's like criticizing a poodle for not being a Rottweiler, or something. If they were reviewing an old 16 or 8 bit game they wouldn't slam it for lacking modern HD graphics. They would just judge it for what it is, but they do do that with the Wii. And I've read many of their articles about the upcoming Wii U and they don't really seem very enthusiastic about it, and they've cited Pachter and other analysts who are saying it will be a failure. So they don't seem to be giving it a fair shake. I don't see them doing the same thing with the PS420.

[tendoboy1984]

How do they not work with the press? Basically all they don't do is pay for game "journalists" to go on trips. Not getting previews of games coming out in a year or more is not justification to hate on them like so many do. At the bare minimum, they are cynical towards Nintendo and do stuff like assume their games will not be as good. It's one reason I stopped listening to the GameScoop podcast.

Or maybe people assume their games "won't be as good" because they haven't been as good this generation. Just sayin'. 

And if you want an example of how they don't work with the press, just look at this very story.  The article explicitly says that Nintendo was difficult to work with.  Dr. Metts on RFN has even said that Nintendo has slammed the door shut on dialogue between themselves and the press in favor of these Iwata Asks.  With the way this industry is set-up, how is the press supposed to cover Nintendo when they can't get interviews; they can't get previews; they usually can't get digital releases for review at all without paying out-of-pocket; and Nintendo is notoriously strict on embargo dates for reviews?

All of these things are issues that have been raised on this very site by RFN or other notable sites like Giant Bomb and IGN.

You do realize that Nintendo has been this way for decades, right? They have always been an incredibly secretive company, and they rarely talk about their games outside of development.

[broodwars]

I've read in Game Informer magazine where they say things like "the Wii is irrelevant" despite how many millions of units its sold, and when they frequently don't even mention when a multiplatform game is available on the Wii even if it is. They also give low scores for Wii games, and they openly criticize graphics which isn't fair because the Wii can't do HD graphics. That's like criticizing a poodle for not being a Rottweiler, or something. If they were reviewing an old 16 or 8 bit game they wouldn't slam it for lacking modern HD graphics. They would just judge it for what it is, but they do do that with the Wii. And I've read many of their articles about the upcoming Wii U and they don't really seem very enthusiastic about it, and they've cited Pachter and other analysts who are saying it will be a failure. So they don't seem to be giving it a fair shake. I don't see them doing the same thing with the PS420.

Oh geez....where to begin  ...might as well break this whining, desperate nonsense down.  I'm going to preface this by saying that since you didn't set a date on any of this stuff you've "seen", I have to assume you've "seen" it fairly recently, within the last year.

I've read in Game Informer magazine where they say things like "the Wii is irrelevant" despite how many millions of units its sold

The Wii is irrelevant in the grand scheme of the industry at this point, and it has been since Nintendo and 3rd parties alike decided to abandon it last year.  I like Xenoblade and I'm trying to like The Last Story at the moment, but overall there's very little new worth talking about with the Wii and in terms of core gamers (who are the ones reading the magazine) statistically-speaking no one's still playing the Wii.  Before I hooked the thing up again for The Last Story, the only use mine was seeing was when I loaned it out to my best friend to play Virtual Console games on.  The Wii is dead, and Nintendo has clearly moved on.  It is irrelevant.

and when they frequently don't even mention when a multiplatform game is available on the Wii even if it is.

Often times, the Wii version of a multiplatform game is substantially different and often it's reviewed separately.  Judging by the sheer amount of editorial incompetence I regularly see online from major publications, I'm sure the Wii version is simply not listed by mistake. That's something that's easy to do when certain games are released on a large number of platforms.  Hardly a conspiracy.

They also give low scores for Wii games

The Wii's library has largely been **** from any reasonable point of view, especially from 3rd parties.  There have been bright spots every once in a while, but the Wii earned its reputation as the shovelware console for good reason.  Considering you're one of the most vocal people here when it comes to how badly 3rd parties have developed for Wii, I'd think you would know this already.  I still see reviewers line up left and right to kiss Nintendo's ass on just about every game for the sake of nostalgia, so your "low scores" can only be for 3rd party games.  You know, the ones you regularly complain about?

and they openly criticize graphics which isn't fair because the Wii can't do HD graphics. That's like criticizing a poodle for not being a Rottweiler, or something. If they were reviewing an old 16 or 8 bit game they wouldn't slam it for lacking modern HD graphics.  They would just judge it for what it is, but they do do that with the Wii.

Being on a technologically inferior platform doesn't give Nintendo or 3rd party developers an excuse to be lazy and deliver substandard product.  Believe it or not, the Wii is considered to be in the same console generation as the PS3 or 360.  Or is that only something you want to remember when you're bragging that the Wii outsold every other console this generation?  The PS3 and 360 are its competition, and the Wii is judged accordingly, not just when it's convenient for you.  Besides, being on a less-capable console does not mean games have to look ugly and lazy, and yet so many on the Wii do.  There is much to be said for making do with what you have.  Artistic design matters, and on that count the vast majority of Wii developers (including in many cases Nintendo) FAILED by not designing their games with art styles that the Wii could make look good.

Wii games weren't usually criticized for not "looking like HD games."  They were criticized for looking ugly.  When developers put the time into creating games with unique art styles, such as Zack & Wiki; Madworld; Skyward Sword; Kirby's Epic Yarn (which, I remind you, won GameTrailer's "best graphics" award the year it released); Donkey Kong Country Returns; Muramasa: The Demon Blade; Super Mario Galaxies 1 & 2; etc. the games were all widely praised for how great they looked on Wii.  But the Wii's limitations meant developers had to put effort into making their games work within the limitations of the Wii's hardware, and most chose not to.

I especially find your complaint that the Wii "isn't judged for what it is" amusing considering just how many people here have complained about the "good for a Wii game" phrase.

And I've read many of their articles about the upcoming Wii U and they don't really seem very enthusiastic about it

Actually, I've seen journalists/reviewers from Gametrailers and Giant Bomb explicitly praise Wii U exclusive games like Zombi U; Rayman Legends; and Project P-100.  Those 3 have received a fairly warm reception in general, actually.  But the Wii U is frankly not an exciting console to most people, and what little of a tech advantage it has over the existing HD consoles is not evident just yet.  Nintendo has also refused to announce anything newsworthy about the console such as price or technical details.  Stop the presses, folks!  It plays multiplatform games I and probably most game journalists can already play on the HD consoles we already own (with some games already having been out a year).  Nintendo's own Wii U launch software isn't particularly interesting: a Pikmin game that even the NWR folks here have said is good but isn't that new of an experience; yet another New Super Mario Bros. game; and a mini-game collection.  Oh boy!  After 6 years of the Wii being plagued by a wave of mini-game collections, CAN I play another one?!   

The Wii U has the potential to be an interesting, excitement-driving console just like any other. But it doesn't have the software yet to deserve that level of hype.  If it actually gets games worth salivating over, the salivating will come.

and they've cited Pachter and other analysts who are saying it will be a failure.  So they don't seem to be giving it a fair shake.

Actually, Pachter has said that he thinks the Wii U will be successful, but nowhere near to the degree Wii was because the casuals have moved on to other devices like IOS devices.  Now, something he has said is that the diehard Nintendo fans are zealous/gullible enough that they'd buy a cardboard box for the price of the Wii U if it had the Nintendo logo on it.  And considering some of your posts, I'm not sure he's wrong in your case.

As for this "fair shake" business, have you been in a coma for the last couple of years? Every new piece of traditional gaming hardware has met a great deal of skepticism lately.  When the 3DS released, analysts were skeptical that the market hadn't moved on to IOS devices.  When the Vita released, it got the same treatment, made even worse by the PSP's poor showing in NA and the 3DS' failure to succeed early on.  It's natural that the Wii U would receive similar treatment, as will all future devices as long as console sales continue to decline and IOS/online free-to-play continues to gobble up the market.

I don't see them doing the same thing with the PS420.

That's because we don't know ANYTHING about the hypothetical PS4 or Xbox 720.  There is no release date.  There are no announced games in production.  There are no screenshots.  There is NOTHING but speculation.  Rest assured, if the market does not pick up considerably by the time those consoles are announced; dated; and priced, skepticism will be dealt to them as well (especially if the Wii U under-performs since the big hope right now is that "new hardware" will revitalize the console market).

And with that, I am done with this conversation.  My patience for this matter was already low to begin with, and now it's at an end.  I doubt anything I've written will make a damn bit of difference to the persecution complex of the typical fanboy.