From Game Set Watch: At its peak, NP was the premier outlet through which gamers got their info and strategies. For a time from its inception to around 1995, having a game make the cover of NP was a major advertising coup for whatever third-party publisher managed the feat, because full coverage in the mag had a direct effect on sales of the sort that good reviews in Famitsu are purported to have over in Japan.
Its total circulation was in the millions until the N64 era proved harsh for Nintendo (and the Internet made traditional tips-n-strategy mags obsolete), and few game mags ever did more to define the tastes of a generation of console owners. Even now, the mag remains pretty unique in the marketplace, with a very singular approach to coverage, interviews and game-preview coverage you don’t see anywhere else, and a general feeling of “fullness” (sorry to be vague here) even though it’s the same number of pages as any other game mag these days.
Not bad, really, for what’s supposed to be a glorified company newsletter. I hope that Future is able to keep the tradition of excellence going.
Kevin Gifford, who wrote the above, was also a guest on Infendo Radio #60 to talk about the relevance of game mags today. Listen to it now.