Tendo City

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/11/fi...ll-circle/

Now that's an amazing final cover. Here's hoping they interview the cast of Full House again.

I have that first issue. I haven't received Nintendo Power in a long long time, since the N64 days in fact, but I want this final issue to go along with my old wrinkled first issue. I hope the poster has a map of the Zelda Skyward Sword overworld on the flip side.

Anyway, what to do from here? I really don't feel too sad about the magazine's end. It's time has come. There's no reason for a paper based magazine like that to exist any more. However, Nintendo could go digital, and the best place to start would be the Wii U and 3DS. The Wii U community is an amazing concept which needs to get back ported to the 3DS. Once that's done, "Nintendo Power" becomes a central tower in that community. I envision "letters to the editor", preview columns, a showcase of fan art (the community is already a big showcase for fanart, but it doesn't stick around forever, an online Nintendo Power presence would keep it around), staff and player reviews, submitted tips and tricks, and even contests.

Then there's the other part of Nintendo Power, which is their guides and maps. These can be the part that people are charged to get. Due to it being online, these can be full guides for the big name games. Users can request the guides they want to see most, and they shall receive. The guide can be displayed on the bottom pad via the "home" interface in such a way as to not interfere with what's currently on the screen (even allowing the game to keep going while in that home screen), which would easily simulate one of the advantages of a magazine. Heck, let players pull up side by side pages and maps to compare and contrast, and even scribble extra notes of their own. Go all out!

Along those lines, Nintendo has a vast back catalog of Nintendo Power issues and guides at their disposal. Let's make these all available for purchase. Or, alternatively, sort the articles based on the games they are about and include all their material when someone purchases the game from the virtual console store.

This could be huge if done right, and would make Nintendo Power a truly community experience and a pillar of the Nintendo experience once again.

You don't feel sad? I definitely do. Sure, the paper magazine can't have up-to-date information, but there's nothing like reading things on actual paper... the internet can't compare. Sure, I haven't mostly subscribed to NP -- I subscribed for two years in the mid '90s, then one year a few years ago when I got a $5 yearly subscription -- but I did read it for many years because the town library at home got the magazine, so I just got it from the library and read that. I haven't been reading it as much this last decade, in part because the magazine is more for kids than for all Nintendo fans, but still, the ones I did read were alright. It's too bad it's gone... I would like to think that there's still a place for magazines today. I love the internet, but reading stuff on a webpage is just not the same.

And on that note, I saw a copy of this last issue in the supermarket today, so I picked it up. It's apparently already getting hard to find. It does come with a poster; it's of all of the NP covers. Nothing on the back. Still though, nice inclusion. And of course the magazine cover reflects the first issue, and the contents have a bunch of retrospective stuff and such.

What exactly do you mean when you say "there's nothing like reading something on actual paper, the internet can't compare"? I have never understood your attachment to the material you get the information from. Isn't the information the only thing that matters?

I mean, isn't a tablet SO much more convenient and easy to use than a book, and with a much higher data ratio per square inch? For my part, paper dries out my hands. I've been looking forward to the digital evolution of reading for decades now and its finally here. I won't have people like you bemoaning something like this unless you give me SOME logic behind it. I mean, isn't my picture of what could change for the magazine a great one? Secondly, would you have been the sort of person who thought the printing press would destroy the value of writing?

It's well known that ABF is a neo-Luddite.

Yeah, prices seem to be going up.

Great Rumbler Wrote:It's well known that ABF is a neo-Luddite.

Change is bad and scary!

But seriously, reading stuff on a screen is nothing like holding an actual book. It's not just that.

While it makes complete sense for all media to go digital, and inasmuch as technology continues to get better with each passing year, there is a sense of nostalgic melancholy that comes with seeing different media die off.

I love Netflix and Redbox, but I yearn for the days of Blockbuster. Was Blockbuster better? No, absolutely not. But I have many memories of it. It makes me sad to see movie stores and the like going out of business, and I feel guilty because I, like everyone else, had stopped giving them my business.

Anytime I have to do a research paper for grad school, I visit the campus library and check out books to use as sources. Sure, I use the databases as well, and it is much more convenient, especially knowing that a database will always be there no matter how many people are looking at it, whereas physical books come in limited quantities, not to mention books don't always age well. Still... there's just something about the look, the feel, and even the smell of the pages of a book. Maybe it's an English major thing to find appeal in the smell of a book...

Sometimes I just want to get out of the house and go to a store, you know? Get out a little, feel the fresh air, interact with people. E-Commerce has removed the human aspect of... well, commerce. It removes all need to ever leave my house except to go to work or school--and even schools are going digital as of late.

Again, technological advancements aren't a bad thing and I don't try to reject them. I don't buy CDs anymore and prefer to use an iPod. I'm sure Kindles are nice, though I have yet to purchase one. I no longer buy DVD box sets, my greatest material joy of the previous decade; instead, I opt for purchasing shows on iTunes, Amazon, or Hulu, and that's only if they're not already available streaming on Netflix. Naturally, there is an inclination to do what is most convenient and pragmatic, and in this case it's the electronic storage of your favorite shows, albums, games, and books, because let's face it: we're all running out of shelf space for physical copies.

And yet, I miss being able to take my fiancée to F.Y.E. just to browse, or hanging out with friends at the mall back when it still had stores that we like. Now we just sit around watching Netflix or playing PS3 and Wii games. Not that there's anything wrong with this, but... eh. The times, they are a changin'.

On topic: I am moderately saddened to hear of Nintendo Power's demise as I do have nostalgic memories of the magazine. I checked the website's back issues and they seem to only go back to 2009, which is hardly nostalgic. I wouldn't mind owning issues from the 90's and reliving the days when my favorite games growing up were brand new. Have I mentioned how nostalgic I am?

If you want to interact with people, buy a loaf of bread and feed ducks at the park old timer.

Do you guys think that in maybe 10 years we won't even have DVDS & Bluerays anymore? I think the demise of print Newspapers will be even more significant historically, Its inexpensive nature is what's keeping it alive for now but its end is foreseeable just like celluloid film.

Quote:Do you guys think that in maybe 10 years we won't even have DVDS & Bluerays anymore?

Sure, streaming media is already becoming a big deal. Physical media will probably still exist in ten years, though.

Streaming is a big deal, but will never replace some form of real ownership. The big problem with stuff like Hulu and Netflix is how temporary their movie selection can be. Even if they solidify more deals, there's no promises any of that will be there years hence. As such, I don't see Blu Rays lasting for 10 years, but I do see permanent digital purchases staying around for a long time as an alternative to streaming.

(Notably, the extended bluray editions of Lord of the Rings actually require you to switch disks, like it was a VHS or something. The big offender appears to be the PCM quality commentaries, which this particular release has a LOT of. If they just scaled the commentary sound quality back a lot, they might have been able to fit the extended editions on one disk. Really no reason they couldn't have anyway, the extended editions aren't THAT extended (no Tom Bombadil).

Ultraviolet is this attempt at a standard method of buying digital movies. I have yet to bother with that. The digital restrictions are just too high. If they scale it back a bit, it would be a lot better. As it stands, I'll just be ripping my Bluray movies if I want a digital copy.