The first cover of Nintendo Power featured a clay sculpture of Mario from Super Mario Bros. 2. As Nintendo admitted later, the colors red and blue were accidentally reversed.

Nintendo Power Magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine from Nintendo. The first issue published was July/August of 1988 spotlighting the NES game Super Mario Bros. 2.

History

Nintendo Power began as the several page long Nintendo Fun Club Newsletter, but quickly changed to its current magazine format. The magazine was edited at first by Fun Club "President" Howard Philips, an avid game player himself. Nintendo Power's mascot in the late 1980s and early 1990s was Nester, a comic character created by Philips. After Philips left the company, Mario became the new mascot.

Player's Guides

Nintendo Power has also produced another series of strategy magazines called the Player's Guide. The first Player's Guide was simply called the "Nintendo Player's Guide," featuring dozens of different NES games. It was quickly followed by a code/password book and the "NES Game Atlas," a more comprehensive version of the original Player's Guide. Today each Player's Guide published features one specific game. The concept is now emulated by other publishing companies such as Bradygames or Prima for Nintendo and other video game consoles.

Milestones

Here is a list of milestones Nintendo Power has had over the years:

• First issue: Volume 1 - July/August 1988
• Game Boy introduced: Volume 8 - September/October 1989
• First of four strategy guides: Volume 13 - June 1990
• "Now Playing" column debuts: Volume 18 - November 1990
• Super NES introduced: Volume 25 - June 1991
• First Super NES game cover, Super Mario World: Volume 28 - September 1991
• Super Power Club launched: Volume 41 - October 1992
• First Bonus Issue: Volume 44 - January 1993
• Final NES game cover, Battletoads & Double Dragon : Volume 49 - June 1993
• 50th issue published: Volume 50 - July 1993
• Nintendo Power celebrates 10 years of the NES: Volume 78 - November 1995
• Nintendo 64 introduced: Volume 85 - June 1996
• First Nintendo 64 game cover, Super Mario 64: Volume 88 - September 1996
• Final Super NES game cover, Donkey Kong Country 3: Volume 90 - November 1996
• Pokémon debuts: Volume 98 - July 1997
• 100th issue published: Volume 100 - September 1997
• Nintendo Power celebrates it's 10th anniversary: Volume 110 - July 1998
• Game Boy Color introduced: Volume 114 - November 1998
• Game Boy Advance introduced: Volume 132 - May 2000
• "Nintendo Online" column debuts: Volume 135 - August 2000
• GameCube introduced: Volume 145 - June 2001
• Final Nintendo 64 game cover, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2: Volume 146 - July 2001
• 150th issue published: Volume 150 - November 2001
• First GameCube game cover, Super Smash Bros. Melee: Volume 151 - December 2001
• Nintendo Power celebrates it's 15th anniversary: Volume 170 - July/August 2003
• Nintendo DS introduced: Volume 181 - July 2004

See also

• Nintendo
• Nintendo era
• Nintendo Entertainment System
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System
• Nintendo 64
• Nintendo GameCube
• Game Boy
• Nintendo DS