The Nintendo Power "revolution"

[lendelin]

Yesterday I got the recent NP, and I was surprised. After almost 17 years of difficulties to get the mailing label off w/o damaging the cover, NP finally uses glossy paper for the cover like GI or EGM which makes it easy to remove the label. The paper quality inside of the mag is unchanged.

But the big news is that NP seems to get a serious facelift from the next issue on. The glossy cover paper seems to be the introduction of a completely new layout.

On the last two pages there is Mario pictured revealing to one fourth the cover of the next issue. The traditional 17-year-old NP logo with the stripes is gone, and the cover resembles covers of GI or EGM.

I think we'll get a completely different NP, a modernized one, and a highly suspect a very different layout of the mag.

It was about time. Finally the games and interviews will be presented in a more appealing way, and I hope screenshots of games will be big enough so a magnifying glass is no longer needed.

It will be a small part of the image change N has to go through. Good for N, good for us gamers. N HAS to stay around in the game industry for the competition and variety in games sake.

[gamegirl79]

I have the most recent issue of NP also and I do like the new glossy covers. Snazzy!

I am excited about the upcoming changes, not just to the NP mag but the company as a whole. I believe that Nintendo is finally starting to realize what they need to do to be a strong competitor against Sony and Microsoft. Even though most of it is just rumors at this point, the Revolution sounds very promising.

[Lady Jaye]

However, I still think that there should be a retro section in NP. It'd probably be stuff that you and I already know, but to the average kid reading the mag, it could show the evolution of some of the games they've always known... and discover other stuff they didn't know (although I doubt they would ever get back on the PlayStation question, since it was one of those turning points that I'm sure they'd rather forget).

In a way it's too bad that they'd ditch the old logo (after 17 years!) but then again, the stripes logo... that's so 80s!

[imanerd0011]

However, I still think that there should be a retro section in NP. It'd probably be stuff that you and I already know, but to the average kid reading the mag, it could show the evolution of some of the games they've always known... and discover other stuff they didn't know (although I doubt they would ever get back on the PlayStation question, since it was one of those turning points that I'm sure they'd rather forget).

In a way it's too bad that they'd ditch the old logo (after 17 years!) but then again, the stripes logo... that's so 80s!

I agree. It seems that every issue someone writes in and asks for a Retro section, and NP usually says they are "thinking about it, or it's in the process". I think it would be cool if they would have a retro section, or maybe an interview or two from some of the old NP councelors.

[Jive3D]

Hell, we could write up a great retro section - even though we would be confined to only Nintendo products -

I think EGM does it - but I think NP could use a 'on this day in Nintendo history' and have How Mario was made, or the story behind the big deal behind Tetris debuting with the Gameboy and all the exclusivity they had with tetris at the time or the reasoning behind Super Mario USA & Super Mario Bros. 2, or better stuff that I can't think of right now.

[NintendoMan]

Hey lendelin, I was going to write this basically same exact thread right before I saw you write it.

It's funny that you mention the whole getting the mailing tab off the cover without damaging the issue. It's no problem to get it off, you just have to start on one side slow, VERY SLOW.
OR, wait a couple of weeks then do it, the sticky stuff wears down and the tab will basically just pull off in a few seconds. This is surprisingly a very big deal for me, because since I, and most of us, collect these issues and of course want them mint. WITH NO RIPS on the cover. A dream of mine would be if Nintendo sent out their mags in a sealed bag, like some mags do, with the adress label on the outside! But this of course would only be a dream.

I definately don't mind the new changes to the magazine. One thing NIntendo does need to do, is make the articles more presentable and more interesting to read. Seriously though, some articles if even they were VERy interesting, I could see how people might skip over them because they are presented very boring. (If that makes sense)

[Jorpho]

Meh. Nintendo went through a "revolution" seven years ago and I've stayed away from it since.

(Ads, I tell you! Shameless, shameless ads! Why, why, why?!)

[lendelin]

However, I still think that there should be a retro section in NP. It'd probably be stuff that you and I already know, but to the average kid reading the mag, it could show the evolution of some of the games they've always known... and discover other stuff they didn't know (although I doubt they would ever get back on the PlayStation question, since it was one of those turning points that I'm sure they'd rather forget).

In a way it's too bad that they'd ditch the old logo (after 17 years!) but then again, the stripes logo... that's so 80s!

I agree. It seems that every issue someone writes in and asks for a Retro section, and NP usually says they are "thinking about it, or it's in the process". I think it would be cool if they would have a retro section, or maybe an interview or two from some of the old NP councelors.

I agree and second the retro-section with you and Jive3D. Strange that GI does it, but NP which has the long history of videogame characters and series on its side, didn't do it.

To be fair, NP tried something like that in the mid 90s when 'old' NES games where presented and even delivered walkthroughs for them. (I remember StarTropics and Crystalis) But the section was the prisoner of the strategy guide approach for games which was the main credo of NP.
A more distant, rationalized view which doesn't emphasize the game content, but the history of games and their development conditions would be nice.

To have on two or four pages covering developers of older games, the history of a series and many other topics would be great. I expect something like that in the new layout.

[lendelin]

It's funny that you mention the whole getting the mailing tab off the cover without damaging the issue. It's no problem to get it off, you just have to start on one side slow, VERY SLOW.
OR, wait a couple of weeks then do it, the sticky stuff wears down and the tab will basically just pull off in a few seconds. This is surprisingly a very big deal for me, because since I, and most of us, collect these issues and of course want them mint. WITH NO RIPS on the cover.

I've been trying to get them labels off since 1989. ...and SLOW, VERY VERY slow, too. The glue they used was just terrible. One of the reasons I always had two subscriptions (still have two) I hate imperfections, and still today every little color damage on the cover disturb me.

...and for me it is a big deal too because I have a mint collection of NP in my closet, all the issues never touched and look fresh from the printer. (192 issues, holy cow, where have all my years disappeared?)

[Gzilla23]

If they do a retro section I wouldnt be opposed to some old school stratedy guides. That would be great. There are still a lot of old games that are very very hard...to me at least

[calthaer]

The whole thing's an advertisement, anyways. I just hope they keep coming up with some good promos like those awesome e-Reader cards they had a year or two back - instead of that lame DS ad they included in this glossy issue. Put an e-Reader card on that card instead of those stupid cut-out...what were they, trading cards?

[PDorr3]

hopefuly they will put in more worthy posters that deserve to be hung up, most of the time its some crappy disney game or a movie liscenced game.

[joshnickerson]

I just hope they keep coming up with some good promos like those awesome e-Reader cards they had a year or two back

Every time I open a new issue I keep hoping to find an e-Reader card that'll unlock all the stuff still hidden away in Super Mario Advance 4.

[DragonMaster Sam]

I got my new issue of Nintendo Power just the other day, and I think the glossy look is a cool idea. Definitely gonna read up on the E3 material, and I really can't wait for issue #200 when it comes out. If issues 50 and 100 were big, I'm sure the bicentennial mark will be huge.

By the way, I renewed my subscription, and went with the "Legend of Zelda" shirt.

[§ Gideon §]

... I hope screenshots of games will be big enough so a magnifying glass is no longer needed.

Erm... This is one thing that I'd actually be worried about. I'd rather have a magazine that relies more on solid content than big screenshots.

[lendelin]

... I hope screenshots of games will be big enough so a magnifying glass is no longer needed.

Erm... This is one thing that I'd actually be worried about. I'd rather have a magazine that relies more on solid content than big screenshots.

Well, solid content and high-quality screenshots do not exclude one another.

For a couple of years now I noticed that the quality of the screenshots isn't good, to say the least. Fuzzy sometimes, not crisp, and overall too small; a bad way to give the reader an impression how the game 'looks.'

Great third party games, albeit a bit late on the GC and sooner released on other platforms, were neglected and not effectively presented. Instead of previews or extensive Pokemoooon news, the mag should start to focus more on the games already released or about to be released.

NP needs to go in the direction of GI, address a more mature audience, and at the same time use less space for previews than GI...then it will become a great mag again; something very different which NP was at the end of the 80s to the mid 90s which was the right mag layout at the right time.

[zmweasel]

Instead of previews or extensive Pokemoooon news, the mag should start to focus more on the games already released or about to be released.

Thing is, game publishers loooove previews. That's why most current video game magazines are filled with multi-page previews and 200-word reviews. Previews deliver maximum hype with miminum criticism, and are much more effective at selling games than reviews.

I don't consider it a good or a bad thing, incidentally. The only real difference between gaming magazines and other entertainment/hobbyist magazines is that the former start building up the hype farther in advance than the latter.

And I don't see Nintendo giving more Power-placement to third-party Revolution titles, presuming there'll be any. (It's a moot point for now, anyway, since third parties have all but abandoned the Cube.)

-- Z.

[Jorpho]

Aye, I grow so weary of previews. It seems that one could spend more time reading about a game that hasn't been released yet than one could spend in simply playing it.

[gamegirl79]

hopefuly they will put in more worthy posters that deserve to be hung up, most of the time its some crappy disney game or a movie liscenced game.

The latest issue of NP has a pretty cool Castlevania poster in it with anime-looking characters. I believe a couple issues back there was a nice Zelda poster in there as well.

I love looking at the posters in the very old issues of NP!

[jdc]

We can get magazines with monthly Xbox and PS2 demo discs. It's about time that Nintendo got with the program and started doing a monthly Cube demo disc as well. I buy many games purely because a demo appealed to me enough to buy the game.

Not to mention the fact that I never miss buying an issue BECAUSE of the free demo discs.