Are Nintendo Power magazines worth collecting?

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Comments

  • It's a little hard to find them in good shape, as in no missing pages/posters/cards. Actually it's hard finding them at all...I've only managed to stumble across two in the wild since I bought a bunch of them off someone on here.
  • I am collecting all SNES and N64 related issues... maybe delve in GBA/GCN issues as well. I'd love the full set but I don't know if it would be worth it to me. I certainly think they have value to the right person though. If people can give value to cardboard boxes, then I think people can give value to magazines as well. It doesn't matter if all the info is available online or not, I think they're fun to read!
  • I love collecting old gaming magazines and preserving them (bag & board). Brings back so many great memories of my childhood!
  • Haven't gone out of my way to collect them, but when I see them at HPB for $.50 a pop, I pick them all up. Last time I checked I had well over 100 including the first and final issue.
  • Originally posted by: pegboy

     
    Originally posted by: TexasRangers

     
    Originally posted by: pegboy



    Actually going back and reading them I'd say hell no, they were written for little kids, you aren't going to find anything useful in there from a critical or objective point of view.

    Newsflash: Most Nintendo games were made for little kids too.  Kids were the magazine's audience.



     

    Yeah...thus my commrnt.  Your "newsflash" is about 25 years too late, but thanks for the effort.



     



    Owning/collecting them meant a whole lot more before the internet, just for stuff like reviews, codes and tips, if you needed them, as with most gaming magazines.



    No doubt they were probably focused on selling. I dunno guys, the magazine being exclusively or solely geared for little children is debatable.



    After going through a few of them, it seems as if see they aren't purely and exclusively made for little kids. So while no doubt you can see a lot of stuff that is geared towards kids and teens, hard to say if it's all purely geared towards little kids. 





     
  • I buy them when I find them in the wild if they are 2$ or less.
  • I'm missing 1 of the 285.



    I like them but I get a hell of a deal to start me off a year or so ago. About 200 issues along with 20+ players guides for 100 bucks.
  • Necro bump. I'm about a dozen volumes away from a full set. Well, at least volumes 1-285, anyway.



    Apparently there's way more than 285 when you take into account the different variations. The last 50 issues or so were available as both "subscriber editions" and "regular" editions. And there were two different versions of #1. And there's a Pokemon issue from May 2007 that has two different Pokemon covers as well.



    I wonder how many other variations there are?



    285 volumes

    1 volume #1 variant

    1 volume #215 (May 2007) variant

    52 Subscriber edition variants (volume #234 - #285)



    Total: 339 



     
  • As someone who used to have every issue from the start in 1988 to sometime in 1994, but hastily and stupidly threw them away when I moved out of my parents' house and now regret it terribly, I can tell you yes they are worth collecting.  MASSIVE nostalgic value in those magazines, and its my greatest regret in this collecting hobby.



    But as for someone who did not originally have a subscription, it might not be the same for you.  If I still had them today I don't think I'd find much use from them.  They would probably just serve as shelf pieces in my collection and to occasionally look at and remember my childhood.

     
  • Nintendo Power is awesome, I don't actively seek them out but if I see them out at a store I'll pick them up if I don't have that issue.
  • I remember having a few issues of NPM back in the day, but my parents never had enough money to get me a subscription. Now that I'm a "big kid" and can spend my money on whatever I want, I'm buying them all.



    I'm really enjoying reading them. It's fun to take a walk down memory lane and recall the things that were popular at the time. My favorite parts of the early volumes are the discussions and advertisements for licensed merchandise. Some of those clothing and accessories pieces - wow!



    I'm going to keep my collection readily available so my kids can use the mags' tips and tricks for various games as they play them. I have one of each popular console in my collection these days with Everdrives in most everything, so the kids have the majority of the NES, SNES, N64 catalogs to play with  
  • I like the first 75 or so issues. After that I can take it or leave it.

  • Originally posted by: smalltownguy2



    Necro bump. I'm about a dozen volumes away from a full set. Well, at least volumes 1-285, anyway.



    Apparently there's way more than 285 when you take into account the different variations. The last 50 issues or so were available as both "subscriber editions" and "regular" editions. And there were two different versions of #1. And there's a Pokemon issue from May 2007 that has two different Pokemon covers as well.



    I wonder how many other variations there are?



    285 volumes

    1 volume #1 variant

    1 volume #215 (May 2007) variant

    52 Subscriber edition variants (volume #234 - #285)



    Total: 339 



     



    The Star Wars N64 issues, #92 & #120 each had 4 different covers


  • Originally posted by: smalltownguy2



    Necro bump. I'm about a dozen volumes away from a full set. Well, at least volumes 1-285, anyway.



    Apparently there's way more than 285 when you take into account the different variations. The last 50 issues or so were available as both "subscriber editions" and "regular" editions. And there were two different versions of #1. And there's a Pokemon issue from May 2007 that has two different Pokemon covers as well.



    I wonder how many other variations there are?



    285 volumes

    1 volume #1 variant

    1 volume #215 (May 2007) variant

    52 Subscriber edition variants (volume #234 - #285)



    Total: 339 



    There's a few more variant covers you're missing.  See this list we made here:



    http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=92951



    You'll see a couple issues with four variant covers..... 
  • In the late 90s there were also variants for several years for a subscription running out, "THE END IS NEAR RENEW INSIDE" is actually printed on the corner of the cover, it is not an extra attachment.



  • I thought they would be a cool way to look up hidden gems but Nintendo Power reads like propaganda and it's clear its main function was as an advertisement. Even the worst games are called masterpieces.
  • I personally am not interested in collecting them, but I'm glad some of you are! NP is a big part of Nintendo's history. I wish I hadn't thrown all mine away years ago   I'd love to thumb through the Fun Club Magazines again, as well as some of the early NP issues.
  • Too much space. I have the odd issue from my brothers subscription growing up
  • I got 1-100 completed with a mint number 1 framed.



    It was awesome for a while getting them, but in reality its kinda just meh on the shelves. Thats where they sit. I dont really read them anymore, nor does anyone else. The games get used. The NP's? Not so much. Its cool to open one up and look through there and get a good laugh once a while.



    I dont know, its kinda whatever to me. 



    Also, if you move a lot it is a PAIN IN THE ASS to move that many magazines.
  • Yeah. There were only a few issues of Nintendo Power I wanted to seek out. I still have the issues from when I was a kid (Issues 9-70 something I think), but picked up minty fresh number 1, 4, 100, and the final issue.



    Where I am actively trying to complete a collection is the Nintendo Fun Club News. The "experiment" for Nintendo Power, so to speak. Only 7 issues were made, I believe, with issues 3-7 having full color covers. Issues 1 and 2 didn't really have a cover.



    I'm happy to have in my hands minty copies of Issues 3 and 6 with Zelda I and Zelda II on the cover respectively.
  • collections is worth it and is awesome, same reason people go for the whole licenced sets is why youd go for all the powers. are there lame issues? sure... are there lame games? yes.. set is awesome. looks great on a shelf and is a huge part of nintendo history, plus all the pack ins and posters are so unique and cool
  • If you have to ask, the answer is usually no.
  • I've got issues 1 - 150ish? I like them, and it's still fun to thumb through them occasionally.
  • They make fantastic reading material in the commode too
  • Quesyion to ask: Do you like to read them? If so, they are worth collecting. We "collect" books we like to read, magazines are no different.
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