Since all Nintendo Power issues were revealed as available to read online, it took not even a month before they were taken down. The original upload to the Internet Archive was made possible by one fan who had access to all 285 issues of Nintendo Power. It appears that Nintendo itself may not have admired the dedication.
The official North American branch print magazine for Nintendo, Nintendo Power made its debut in 1988. It delivered the latest news on what the video game company was up to as well as game strategy manuals and reviews. Fans of Nintendo game franchises could see what was coming up and interact with the community in the pre-internet era. However, like so many print copies of pop culture news, as the internet started to play a bigger role in news and community forums, Nintendo Power was no longer needed. Sadly, the last issue of Nintendo Power was released in December 2012.
Though the fan project had been made simply as support for Nintendo, it was hastily taken down. It didn’t come as a surprise to most fans as Nintendo is famous for strictly protecting its intellectual properties. As the issues have simply disappeared from internet archives, the fan project’s link provides possible causes that may not have been caused by Nintendo.
However, due to previous takedowns of Nintendo Power issues, the main cause of the recent removal is most likely due to a request from the company. Previously, Nintendo of America released a statement to Polygon saying that it must “protect its characters, trademarks, and other content.” It also went on to reaffirm that “the unapproved use of Nintendo’s intellectual property can weaken [its] ability to protect and preserve it, or possibly use it for new projects.”
Nintendo fan reaction to all 285 Nintendo Power issues disappearing from the Internet Archive has been negative. One user on TechDirt emphasized that Nintendo has no website dedicated to preserving “this culture,” and “it’s a net loss for culture, all because Nintendo just can’t stop being Nintendo.”
Being a fan of Nintendo can definitely have its ups and downs. Nintendo’s unnecessary takedown of such a nostalgic piece of history with decades worth of material for loyal fans is further evidence of its seemingly strange pettiness when it comes to its copyright. Though it seems as if Nintendo has ripped something away from the fandom once again, at least they have the Nintendo Power podcast to enjoy. Who knows, maybe the Nintendo Power magazines will be revived by the company again in the future.
Source: TechDirt