Nintendo Pulls the Plug on Nintendo Power

As a journalism major with a focus on magazines and feature writing, I often pop into the magazine isle of the grocery store or book store. I remember the days when Game Informer was sold in all local stores, when all three major consoles had their magazine on the racks and when the video game section rivaled the wedding section. Now, finding a variety of video game magazines on the shelf is rare.

This week, the our options just became more limited.

According to IGN and G4, Nintendo is stopping production of it's official magazine Nintendo Power. Like the Official Xbox Magazine and Playstation the Official Magazine, Nintendo Power was not only an exclusive news source for the company, but also an easy marketing tool.

via Nintendo Power

Nintendo was the longest running official gaming magazine of the big three. The magazine was originally published by Nintendo, but those responsibilities were handed over to Future Publishing in 2007.

What could this mean for the rest of the video game magazines? Much of print media is already on it's last threads. Game Informer doesn't offer a print version on the shelves. Other gaming publications like GamePro have already called it quits, so who will be next? Will publications be purely online like IGN or will the print publications simply die out? As much as I love IGN, no one likes a monopoly.

On a positive note, Dark Horse Comics announce last week that it is releasing an official english copy of the The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. This book was released for the 25th anniversary of the Zelda series in Japan and is finally making it's way to the US. It will include information about the entire series including the popular timeline that puts every Zelda game in order.

via Dark Horse

It will be released January 29 and is available for preorder now for $20.99 on Amazon.

What are your thoughts on Nintendo Power closing? Will you miss it?

Yours truly,
HavokRose

Magazine Clipping Art

Over my spring break, I got a little crafty. Sometimes it's hard to find the perfect mashup of your favorite games/movies/books/cartoons, so I decided to make one of my own.

I am a diehard Moonie (Sailor Moon Fan) and Zelda fan, so I decided to bring those two loves together in this unique piece of art: 

I made this little beauty out of magazine clippings that gives it a unique shine and texture. I absolutely love how it turned out. While I was at it, I made this one for my boyfriend: 

Interested in making your own magazine masterpiece? Here's how you do it: 

1. Sketch out a draft of the image you want to make. But keep in mind, curves can be difficult if they are small and take more time to fill in. 

2. Layer the scratch sheet on top of the card stock and retrace the image, making sure you press hard enough so there are imprints on the car stock. 

3. Trace the imprints with your pencil. 

4. Look through your magazines and find colors to fill in your picture. Then, cut them out.

5. Try to find patterned colors as well, such as fluffy pillows for white or a fading background. Patterns will give texture to your pictures. 

6. Begin gluing your clippings onto the card stock. If you have a lot of background area, try covering that first, but try to keep some space around the drawn image. You'll fill those spaces in later.

7. After filling in the details (Like I did with the moon and triforce), fill in the blank spaces with the background color. For curves and straight lines, try to cut background pieces to help form the borders of the image to make clean edges and smooth curves.

 8. Once the image is filled in, add details. I cut out stars with my mom's precision scissors. Adding words also make for a nice touch. 

9. After adding the details of your choosing, find a frame, put in your masterpiece and hang it up. 

10. Take a picture of it and post it here. I'd love to see what you create! 

Yours truly, HavokRose