Nintendo Powers' final issue comes full circle.

Nintendo Powers' final issue cover is here and it is oddly nostalgic.

Here's both the first and last cover image of Nintendo Power.

Goodnight, Sweet Prince. :(

Even as a guy who never subscribed, this is sad.

The poster's no longer free?

*sigh*

RIP Nintendo Power, you were always good to me for the few years I subscribed.

Lame.

Goodbye, Nintendo Power. You were the best.

I remember all of those old issues of Nintendo Power. Great times indeed.

It was my favorite gaming propaganda publication for many years. It had a good run, and I'll miss those old, simpler days.

Sad to see such an iconic part of Nintendo go away.

As a former subscriber, I am sad to see NP go. I really enjoyed my time with it... but all good things must come to an end.

A very fitting ending cover. Well done NP.

I've only ever read one gaming magazine in my entire life - a random issue of some official playstation mag. The only thing I can remember about it was that it made the audacious claim that the ps1 was more powerful than the N64.

So um... I don't know how that relates to this, but there you go!

That is great. The people who worked there must of enjoyed their jobs.

@Joeyoe31 said:

Lame.

You're so edgy and cool.

I loved what Nintendo Power issues I read when I was about six.

Somehow, I kind of knew this is what the final cover would end up being. And it's still adorable.

What's the story on the color of Mario's hat in issue 1?

I have around 100 issues of Nintendo Power sitting in a box somewhere, I should find them...

Nintendo Power was there early on in my gaming obsession. My subscription has long since run out, but I just always assumed that Nintendo Power's presence in gaming was a given. Sad to see it go.

this really is sad to me. In the n64 days, maybe into the GC days, i had a subscription to NP and always enjoyed them. It is a shame, but like all good things, they eventually end. Nintendo has reverence and respect for it's material and that is something I really like about nintendo. I hope they stay alive for generations to come.

RIP NP

Oh man. I know it was basically a magazine entirely devoted to advertising Nintendo products, but the kid in me is super sad right now :(

I was thinking of picking this up.

@Grimluck343 said:

What's the story on the color of Mario's hat in issue 1?

I have around 100 issues of Nintendo Power sitting in a box somewhere, I should find them...

Mario's colour scheme was originally that, but they changed it sometime later.

@Landon said:

@Joeyoe31 said:

Lame.

You're so edgy and cool.

Sorry bruh, meant it was lame that Nintendo Power was ending. Didn't mean the topic was lame.

I still don't understand what Nintendo refused to move the magazine staff onto an online presence (or made it a thing to go with the WiiU - their new console that uses a tablet controller). I remember seeing an interview with one of the writers where the tone (although could have been due to editing) implied that he was a bit disappointed in Nintendo for not working with the magazine enough to keep them running in some form.

Great cover though - as someone who never owned it since I'm not from the US, it always seems to be brought up with quite a bit of childlike nostalgia from people (which I always found quite sweet).

Aww.

@Dixavd said:

I still don't understand what Nintendo refused to move the magazine staff onto an online presence (or made it a thing to go with the WiiU - their new console that uses a tablet controller). I remember seeing an interview with one of the writers where the tone (although could have been due to editing) implied that he was a bit disappointed in Nintendo for not working with the magazine enough to keep them running in some form.

Great cover though - as someone who never owned it since I'm not from the US, it always seems to be brought up with quite a bit of childlike nostalgia from people (which I always found quite sweet).

Yeah. Honestly I have no idea what NIntendo is doing these days.

I mean, I would probably have subscribed to Nintendo Power in a heartbeat if they had any good games. I remember when I got my wii, (first day it was out) I was a little giddy about returning to Nintendo for the first time since the SNES. I would have loved to go back to reading nintnedo power. But unfortunately.. Nintendo just doesn't make enough decent games to warrant it. My wii spun like 8 disks total and then collected dust for 5 years.

When I was a little kid, Nintendo Power was awesome. I used to love reading it, I'd even read the walkthrough sections for games that I never was going to buy. When I got older though, years after my subscription stopped, I saw the at that time current incarnation of the magazine and it looked bad. They didn't seem to have any of the great material they used to - it seemed like it was almost all ads. Still, I feel bad that they are stopping NP. I used to have posters lining my bedroom wall from that magazine as a kid.

:_(

I'm going to try to buy this one. Haven't bought a Nintendo Power in years.

It's tragic that one of the original staples of the gaming media has finally ended, but it should've stopped years ago. I mean, I subscribed to Nintendo Power for like 4 years and still have a ton of issues in my closet, but once I discovered what the internet was and realized that the Wii was kind of a bummer, I outgrew my use for state-sponsored propaganda. I mean, a 20 page special on New Super Mario Bros U? That's what they're closing out on? Oh well. It was useful for what it was.

Nintendo power was the first magazine I subscribed to. Looked forward to it every week. Haven't gotten it in a long time, but this seems like a fitting note to end on!

Just realized that none of the magazines I subscribed to as a kid are still around in their old formats. GamePro, PC Gamer, Nintendo Power... that's weird.

It would be great if there would be a map of all the levels in the mag. for old time sake.

Is it in stores yet? If so how much?

@Dixavd said:

I still don't understand what Nintendo refused to move the magazine staff onto an online presence (or made it a thing to go with the WiiU - their new console that uses a tablet controller).

Nintendo seems to be in a weird state of denial about the importance of the internet, this is true. Nintendo Power, however, hasn't been published by Nintendo since 2007, so it might not have been their decision to keep it a print-only publication.

@Hizang said:

@Grimluck343 said:

What's the story on the color of Mario's hat in issue 1?

I have around 100 issues of Nintendo Power sitting in a box somewhere, I should find them...

Mario's colour scheme was originally that, but they changed it sometime later.

Wait. Are you sure about that? When has he ever had a blue hat? In the beginning he looked like he does today but then in SMB he got a red suit and blue shirt, then they swicthed back in SMB2 (except for on the cover of the game for some wierd reason) and then I believe Mario always since SMB3 kept his blue outfit with red shirt and cap. I don't think I've seen him with a blue cap.

I remember how his color switch confused me when Super Mario Bros. 3 came. Even though he had the blue dress in SMB2 he still was drawn with red on the cover, the comics and the TV-show. And that were where I saw him the most. So for me Mario began with a red suit and then the blue one became a reality post-SMB3. It took a while to get used to.

EDIT: I looked it up. He had a blu cap in Mario Bros. BUT only ont the cover, not in the game so... does that count? Still feels lika weird design decicsion from Nintendo Powers since that cover was made after Super Mario Bros. 2 was realeased. Oh well...weirder stuff has happened.

Wish i was subscribed longer than I was. My brother for my birthday got me a subscription and it came with the......Master Quest Zelda or Zelda Collection disk, can't remember which one. But I remember looking foreword too each month getting the magazine and just reading and looking at the pictures. I didn't have money so I couldn't resub but it was a fun year. Good memories.

I think that's about the best final issue cover they could have made.

Either that or another severed Dracula head.

Also, this does sadden me. Even though I unsubscribed to Nintendo Power years ago, it's still sad.

Man, that is kind of heartbreaking to look at. I grew up reading Nintendo Power; receiving an issue in the mail was usually the highlight of my month when I was younger. I still remember the time I sent in a poorly drawn depiction of Ken firing a Hadoken; it didn't make it into the magazine, but I got a letter and a t-shirt which I ended up wearing all the time.

@Dogma If you check the screenshot on their wikipedia page you can see Mario has a blue cap in game as well. I never subscribed to Nintendo power but I remember borrowing them from my local library, I even loved reading stuff in the older issues. It's sad to see them go, I think I'll grab it just for the sake of having it. Can I find it in the grocery store magazine sections?

Going out in style. I almost want to buy a copy just to have one, and of course it shall stay in mint condition.

Man, Nintendo Power was my childhood. From issue one until I lost touch with it in highschool and eventually drifted away from Nintendo entirely as my tastes diverged. Wicked sad to see it ending even though it hasn't really played a role in the hobby for me in ages.

R.I.P. Nintendo Power.

I wonder where I can find one. I'd love to have this.

Single tear.

@Ducksworth said:

@Dogma If you check the screenshot on their wikipedia page you can see Mario has a blue cap in game as well. I never subscribed to Nintendo power but I remember borrowing them from my local library, I even loved reading stuff in the older issues. It's sad to see them go, I think I'll grab it just for the sake of having it. Can I find it in the grocery store magazine sections?

Huh weird. It seems that the arcade version has the blue cap (as showen in the screenshot you refer to) but not the NES version. It's still werid that they went with such a old version of Mario's design though.

I may want to get this magazine even though I haven't kept up with Nintendo's products lately. I used to read Nintendo Power back from the Gamecube. 
 
But man that Cover art, its some of the best magazine covers I've seen in a while.

Fuck the Internet.

I want that last issue! I still have that original Nintendo Power issue. Would go great with it.

I think I might buy this. I was subscribed to Nintendo Power for like 5 years and I am definitely sad to see it go.

I have a lot of fond memories of Nintendo Power back in the NES and SNES days. It really fell off after the N64 era, but I almost blame Nintendo more for that than anyone actually at the magazine.

I definitely need to see if I can track down a copy of this to keep with the boxes of old issues that I'm still dragging around every time I move.