The Evolution of Nintendo Power

Editor’s note: The gaming-magazine business has always been interesting to me (it doesn’t hurt that I’ve spent a third of my life in it). The evolution of Nintendo Power specifically is even more fascinating, having gone from a hardcore fave to a magazine that has to cover the casual and family-friendly games that define current Nintendo platforms.

Nintendo Power is surviving in this tough magazine market, with a reported circulation of 350,000 (compare to roughly 500-600K for EGM while I was working there). But will the Wii’s mainstream success ultimately help it? Or send it to its doom? -Shoe

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This has been something that has been bothering me for some time now — Nintendo Power, a magazine that I have grown up with, isn’t nearly as interesting as it once was.

I’ve been a subscriber of Nintendo Power for 10 years now, and either my expectations have increased or the games the magazine staff writes about have gone down the drain. Just compare the covers from their early days. They’ve gone from Mega Man, Mario, and Metroid back in “the good ol’ days” to Sonic and His S*** Friends, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Whatever, and Generic Minigame Ripoff Party!

Clearly, Nintendo Power is not to blame. The supply of hardcore games on Nintendo consoles have since slowed from the days of GoldenEye 007 and Super Mario 64. So who is the target demographic these days for them? Children who use the Wii as a primary console and idolize everything Sonic and Pokemon?

I think that’s safe to say. Here’s a fairly reliable look at Nintendo Power’s demographic (at least online), whether intended or not:

Whether the Nintendo Power staff is to blame or not, for the past several years the publication has failed to jump out of the pages the way EGM did, both aesthetically and in terms of writing personality. Although the games covered aren’t particularly interesting by any stretch of the imagination, the writers don’t seem to be very interested themselves in selling or convincing their audience that a particular game will be fun. (Maybe after all the movie-licensed cash-ins, it’s slightly harder to be optimistic about games.) It seems as though they approach each magazine as an arduous task, loftily critiquing games in order to avoid hate mail or controversy.

I’ve noticed since the redesign, Nintendo Power never seems to step out of its boundaries. It always strictly covers games, with a miniscule piece about video game art toward the back. Now, I’m not asking for a Maxim-style magazine that tries to appeal to all 17-30 year-old males…stuffing women, cars, and video games into one gigantic disaster. But I would enjoy seeing some intellectual pieces that aren’t inextricably cranked out each month, with some thought, perspective, insight, and maybe even a little personality — kind of like Robert Ashley’s articles in EGM or what we see from The Official Xbox Magazine.

I’ve come to the unbelievable conclusion that Nintendo Power is no longer for me. When Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is featured as the cover, I must say goodbye — as much as that hurts after spending 10 years with the magazine. Sorry Nintendo Power — but you are not what you once were.

So does anyone here either still subscribe to Nintendo Power or consider ending your subscription?