Official Nintendo Magazine

Official Nintendo Magazine

Cover of Official Nintendo Magazine UK issue 70, released in June 2011
Editor	Neil Long (UK), Damian Francis (Australia)
Categories	Video games
Frequency	13 times a year (UK), 12 times a year (Australia)
First issue	16 February 2006 (UK)
Company	Future plc
Country	United Kingdom, Australia
Language	English
Website	Official Nintendo Magazine

Official Nintendo Magazine, or ONM, is a British and Australian video game magazine which covers the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Wii video game consoles released by Nintendo. Originally published by EMAP^{(OCLC 52080622)} as Nintendo Magazine System, the magazine first covered the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy consoles, and was later renamed to Nintendo Magazine, Nintendo Official Magazine then, briefly, Nintendo Official Magazine UK. Under these names, it was published by EMAP for twelve years,^[1] before the rights were sold to its current publisher, Future Publishing.^{(OCLC 46390444)} The first issue by Future Publishing was released on 16th February 2006. The Australian version is a follow up of Nintendo Magazine System, not to be confused with the UK publication.

History

Mean Machines, a long-standing British games magazine, split into two separate magazines, focusing on the two then-major video games console companies; Sega and Nintendo. The Sega-based magazine retained the original title, Mean Machines Sega, while the Nintendo magazine was named Nintendo Magazine System. The first issue of Nintendo Magazine System was released on 1 October 1992. Its name was later changed to Nintendo Magazine, Nintendo Official Magazine then Nintendo Official Magazine UK, before its publisher was changed from EMAP to Future Publishing. After this change, the magazine was renamed to its current name, Official Nintendo Magazine, and received a new set of staff. Its numbering was also reset. It reached its 50th issue on 20 November 2009.^[2]

On 15 December 2008, the first issue of Official Nintendo Magazine for Australia & New Zealand, a monthly video game magazine based on Official Nintendo Magazine, was published by Future Publishing. It is the second officially-endorsed Nintendo magazine released in Australia and New Zealand, succeeding the Australian Nintendo Magazine System, which ceased publishing in 2000.^[3]

In early 2011 four guest-bloggers were appointed, Colette Barr, Marti Bennett, Chris Rooke and John Vekinis. These bloggers provide a fresh perspective to Nintendo related news and events.

In March 2011, the UK magazine underwent a change in the style and layout of the contents in the magazine, while adding new features. The first issue released in this format featured a "3D without glasses" cover for the launch of Nintendo 3DS.

The staff seem to like cakes (like NGamer) and have actually had one sent in and they made the letter with it Star Letter in issue 68.

Sections

Each month the Official Nintendo Magazine includes the following sections in both the UK and Australian editions:

• Welcome - A brief summary of the Issue by the editor; Also features the contacts.

• Contents - The articles are broken down into categories. E.g. A review of a Wii game will go under the category Review and sub-category Wii.

• Select -
  • General - News about new games, interviews, video game movies etc.
  • Number Crunch - The Month's news in numbers.
  • Global - Nintendo related news from around the world.
  • Opinion - A member of the staff will give their opinion on a subject or matter that has either recently occurred or is a strong controversial issue among gamers. E.g. UK Issue 53 is about Cel-shading.
  • To Do List - The highlights of the next four weeks.
  • Hotlist - The greatest happening of Nintendo this month
  • The ONM 10: A top ten, subject changes each month.

• Feedback - A section showing the best letters, emails and forum posts of the month. A star letter is picked and a prize, currently a DSI, is given to the sender. (Forum posts are not in AU/NZ edition)
  • In a Word - Peoples emails, letters and forum posts are replied to in a single word. (Forum posts are not in AU/NZ edition)
  • My Collection - A short interview with a Nintendo related collection owner.
  • The Gallery - Pictures that are sent in by readers.

• Features - Articles about exciting and interesting subjects (E.g. Easter eggs, 50 greatest..., Myths, "The Making Of...", etc.) exclusive to the issue.

• Previews - A preview is similar to a review, except a preview is more about what they think the game will turn out to be like rather than what it is actually like.

• Reviews - An in depth look into the latest games and how good they are. The score is given in percentages and a summary is given along with the good and bad points of the game.
  • Round up - A quick summary of the worst of the month's games.
  • Download - Short reviews of downloadable WiiWare and DSiWare games.

• Directory -
  • Game Guides - Guides, walkthroughs and hints to games.
  • Replay: A look back at an old retro game.
  • Rated Wii - The top 20 Wii games. Features a "don't forget" game as well as High Five, a top five list, and Settling Scores where a reader complains about a certain game score.
  • Rated DS - Top 20 DS games. Also features a High Five, "Don't forget" game and Settling Scores.
  • Rated Wii Virtual Console - The top 25 Virtual Console games. Also features a High Five and "Don't Forget" game.
  • Rated WiiWare - The top 15 WiiWare games. Features a "Don't Forget" game.
  • Rated DSiWare - The top 15 DSiWare games. Also features a "Don't Forget" game.

Additional UK sections

In addition to the above sections, the UK edition also includes:

• Feedback
  • Top tweets - The best Twitter posts.
  • Text the Editor - The best texts sent to Neil Long the Editor.
  • Web Forum Poll - A poll from the online forums. A forum member gives their opinion on the poll.
  • Cover Versions - The best of the month's reader covers taken from the online forums.
  • Golden Goombas - Awards for threads on the online forums. E.g. Most Ambitious Thread, Most Disappointing Threads, etc.

• Directory
  • Challenges - Leaderboards and top scores.

• Back Page - The content on the back page has changed over time , including feaures such as:
  • Nintendo A-Z - A list of notable events , games & products produced by Nintendo , each of which that started with a particular letter of the alphabet . Each issue the letter would progress through the alphabet ( One issue all the products on this page would begin with A & the next month with B etc. until issue 26)
  • Warp Zone - This page featured images & a description of parodies of games , such as "Noel Bubbles" (A parody of DS game Soul Bubbles, with celebrities of the name Noel, including Noel Edmonds, Noel Fielding and Noel Gallagher) & "Tony Hawk's Bride" ( A parody of poorly reviewed Wii game Tony Hawk's Ride) & many others .
  • Puzzle Page - This includes Nintendo-themed puzzles such as crosswords , word jumbles & spot the difference .
  • Final Countdown - This was used from issue 67 onwards. This is similar to the ONM Top 10 feature, which stopped in issue 66.

The scoring system

The Official Nintendo Magazine uses a percentage scoring system. The system is as follows:

• 0-19% = Unplayable
• 20-49% = Poor
• 50-69% = Average
• 70-84% = Good
• 85-89% = Excellent
• 90+% = The ONM Gold Award

The top rated game so far is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D tied with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, with a 98% rating, given in the July 2011 issue. Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess were all given ratings of 97%.

The Gold Award

If a game gets a score of 90% or more than it will get 'The Gold Award'. Games themselves often use the logo associated with The Gold Award on their covers for promotion (such as the European edition of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker).

Forums

The ONM UK forums were created in 2006 and have since become one of the most popular websites for dedicated videogame fans. ONM AU/NZ does not have a forum. In 2011, they were updated along with the magazine to make a cleaner, easier to use website.

Other

The team has a recurring hatred of Ninjabread Man, Tingle and Hull.^{[disambiguation needed ]}

The lowest-rated game in the magazine's history is Discolight developed by Kasaa Solution for DSiWare, gaining a measly score of 2%. The highest rating ever given is 98%, shared by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

See also

• Nintendo Power (US)
• Nintendo Magazine System (Australia) (defunct)
• NGamer (UK)
• Nintendo Dream (Japan)
• Nintendo World (Brazil)

References

1. ^ "Article on NOM's change of publisher to Future Publishing.". ds-x2.com. http://www.ds-x2.com/index.php?id=4605. Retrieved 2007-12-01. 
2. ^ http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=13410
3. ^ http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=201697&site=cvg

External links

• Official UK website
• Official Nintendo Magazine for Australia & New Zealand website
• Reviews Archive
• Official Nintendo Magazine Covers
• Free Gifts Archive