Nintendo Power Magazine to Cease Publication

[Jeffhog]

Source

Gamers of a certain age likely remember the days when their main fix of information about new and upcoming video games came in the form of the monthly

Nintendo Power

magazine that was delivered directly to their mailbox. That experience is set to become yet another relic of a past era, as Ars Technica has learned that Future Publishing is planning to stop publishing the magazine.

Nintendo Power is one of the longest-running game magazines in the country, having been published continuously since the summer of 1988, when it started as a bi-monthly outgrowth of the previous Nintendo Fun Club newsletter. Nintendo produced and distributed the magazine (with articles that were often just thinly veiled marketing copy) from 1989 through late 2007, when it started contracting the brand out for a more independent angle from tech-and-game-focused Future Publishing.

But our source says that Nintendo, which was always "difficult to work with," was uninterested in renewing that contract or in taking part in a number of digital initiatives that Future saw as necessary for the long-term health of the brand. He added that Nintendo doesn't seem interested in taking over direct control of the magazine again (Nintendo and Future representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story).

Nintendo Power editors and staffers were told of the magazine's impending shuttering last week, the source said, and are currently being transitioned to work on other Future properties, including GamesRadar and MacLife magazine. The move should not affect Future's other gaming magazines, which include official periodicals for the PlayStation and Xbox brands, as well as Best Buy's @Gamer.

It's unclear exactly how many more issues of Nintendo Power are planned after the recently published August issue (its 281st), or how current subscribers will be compensated. Nintendo Powerenjoys a total monthly readership of 475,000, according to Future press materials.

Nintendo Power's shuttering comes during a time of continuing struggles for the US magazine industry, which saw overall circulation numbers

decline 10 percent in the first half of 2012. Gamers have increasingly come to rely on online sources for more timely and less space-limited gaming coverage, leading the venerable GamePro magazine to stop publishing late last year after 23 years in print.

There is at least one bright spot in the world of printed game magazines. Game Informer rose to become

the third most popular magazine in the country this year, with nearly 6 million subscribers that were mostly gained through its point-of-sale relationship with mega-retailer GameStop.

Well... damn. D': I love NP...

Good night, sweet prince.

[Jin.]

Never read it. Belgium.

[Endy]

[Wraith]

No. NO.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

DAMN IT. EVERYTHING I LOVE IS DYING.

[MegaMan_EXE]

The end to an amazing magazine. Then again, I don't read many magazines since there's the Internet.

I still wish that Nintendo Power still would be like it was back then, giving game tips, and maps. But, it's just news and reviews.

Well, can't say I'm upset.

[Solkia]

Wow. I knew gaming magazines were dying more and more frequently, but shit... I never thought Nintendo Power would bite the dust.

[\gunther]

I'm gonna cry.

[Liliana Vess]

Saddening, but with the increased prevalence of the internet, inevitable I suppose.

No. NO.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

DAMN IT. EVERYTHING I LOVE IS DYING.

I never read the magazine myself, but knew people who did. My, err...condolences?

[The Hoenn Kid]

Damn. Like pretty much everyone else has said, not surprising given that they offer nothing that the internet can't beat them to or offer 2 seconds later for free but I just love finding an old games magazine and reading it, especially when it has a game that you were really excited for at the time.

Edited August 21, 2012 by The Hoenn Kid

[Blue Blood]

What a damn shame. I've never been much of a magazine reader, but I hate to see anything die at the hands of the digital age.

[Your Vest Friend]

Not got too much to relate to since I never grew up with it. It looks like ONM took to the digital medium better though, hence why they're not currently suffering the same fate as far as I know.

[TheOcelot]

Makes we wonder how much longer magazines like GamesMaster will last in paper format.

[Emperor Robrainiac]

.... Nintendo Power... is over?

Real damn shame, that was one of my favorite magazines. Screw you internet, you ruin everything! ;_;

Edited August 21, 2012 by Lyra Heartstrings

[Winston]

No, please! I love you Nintendo Power, without you, what am I going to do?!

[VO.SUPER]

So they're not even moving over to internet publications? Damn shame I say.

[Law]

http://nooooooooooooooo.com/button.swf

But it was bound to happen sooner or later.

[KHCast]

Nintendo power is dead but game informer still stands...

[Barry the Nomad]

Wait, so that means Sonic will have a magazine while Mario will not? I guess the one positive is that SEGA fans will have something new to gloat about.

[Tori Himemiya]

That sucks.

We had some good times NP. It was fun while it lasted.

Remember when NP called Tails a Mutant Squirrel? Yeah that was pretty funny.

[POWERLINE]

A fantastic magazine in its heyday.

- a really brilliant lookback. Edited August 22, 2012 by POWERLINE

[The Kid]

What? Nooooooooooo! I love that magainze. I wonder how many more issues there are going to be? I just renewed my subscription a month ago.

[Tails spin]

To be truthfully honest I only looked towards the magazine for the news I wanted to see. Such as any info on Mario, Sonic, DK. Plus the reviews of the games I like. Other than that I just leave it on the news stands.

[Your Vest Friend]

And what's peoples' beef with magazines anyway? Is it that they take up too much room? Is it because they gather dust? Because if dust is the issue, fear not. According to Back to the Future Part II, we will have dust-repellent paper by 2015! Just be patient, goddamn it!

It's probably because of the fact that most news that gets out now can be read instantly online, thus rendering physical medium pretty moot in regards to it. It's not like newspapers which are pumped out daily.

Plus, not embracing the digital world hurts it as well.

[Ekaje]

Not that sad. Gaming magazines in general aren't really worth buying anymore because of the internet. Plus it had gotten less interesting to read, not sure if that was because of staff changes or because I got older.

Edited August 21, 2012 by Ekaje

[Tails spin]

Not that sad. Gaming magazines in general aren't really worth buying anymore because of the internet. Plus it had gotten less interesting to read, not sure if that was because of staff changes or because I got older.

It not only you. I still have a nintendo power somewhere in my stash of stuff, the issue had Diddy Kong Racing as the cover. It had loads of maps and tips. Now a day's I only see letters from the fans. an infograph of a character, interviews, previews and reviews. not much else to it. so its not really a lose to me at least.