Every issue of Nintendo Power magazine is now available for fans to re-experience and enjoy, thanks to one resourceful fan who uploaded them all online. Nintendo's popular strategy magazine first launched in July 1988 with an iconic image on the cover that featured Mario and King Koopa in clay form. Those monthly issues became more than just a source of information on the latest game. They ended up as collector's items for many eager gamers who wanted to keep and collect every single issue to re-read or even display for years to come.
Nintendo Power wasn't always a magazine; it began its life as a simple newsletter known as "Nintendo Fun Club." Club members received it for free, and it only lasted seven issues until it was replaced by the magazine version. The video game publication was in circulation and published for 24 years. Nintendo announced in 2012 that Nintendo Power's run was ending, and its final issue would be issue 285, which was published in December 2012. The news was met with sadness by fans.
Avid Nintendo fan and Reddit User Gumball1989 shared that they had painstakingly downloaded all 285 issues of Nintendo Power and re-uploaded them to Archive.org as a complete collection. According to the resourceful gamer, they needed help from others to source the final two issues missing from the overall Nintendo Power collection. The final issue of Nintendo Power sports an iconic cover that pays homage to the very first issue.
Before the final issue's release, Nintendo Power itself even sent out a heartfelt goodbye letter to its readers. This particular magazine is one of the longest video game magazines ever published in the United States and Canada. The two issues Gumball had trouble sourcing were issues 208 and 285. According to replies from Gumball to other gamers, they headed on over to the subreddit thread DHExchange, where other helpful fans helped them secure the missing issues.
The longtime Nintendo fan stated they have always loved collecting older gaming manuals, searching for them, and digitally uploading them. Regarding Nintendo Power, Gumball admits it was difficult to put them all together in one collection. They could only find scattered collections at first. The magazine may be a piece of gaming history now, but it was reborn as a podcast back in 2017. Hopefully, this project doesn't upset Nintendo which is known for already being protective of its IPs. Either way, creative fans like Gumball are breathing new life into NintendoPower's legacy and preserving the life of physical media.