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''Official Nintendo Magazine'', or ''ONM'', was a British video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the
Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
,
Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...
, Wii, and
Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...
s released by
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
. Originally published by
EMAP Ascential (formerly EMAP) was a British-headquartered global company, specialising in events, intelligence and advisory services for the marketing and financial technology industries. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was ac ...
as ''Nintendo Magazine System'', the magazine first covered the
Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
,
Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
and
Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
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, before the rights were sold to the publisher,
Future plc Future plc is a British publishing company. It was started in 1985 by Chris Anderson (entrepreneur), Chris Anderson. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1985–2012 The company was ...
. The first issue by Future plc was released on 16 February 2006. The magazine then ran for eight years and eight months, concluding with its 114th issue, released on 14 October 2014. The similarly-titled Australian version was a follow-up of '' Nintendo Magazine System''; it is not to be confused with the UK publication.


History

''
Mean Machines ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game journalism, video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. History In the late 1980s ''Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generatio ...
'', a long-standing British games magazine, split into two separate magazines, focusing on the two then-major video games console companies:
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
and Nintendo. The Sega-based magazine retained the original title, ''Mean Machines Sega'', while the Nintendo magazine was named ''Nintendo Magazine System'' (NMS). The first issue of ''Nintendo Magazine System'' was released on 1 October 1992. Its name was later changed to ''Nintendo Magazine'', ''Nintendo Official Magazine'' (NOM) then ''Nintendo Official Magazine UK'', before its publisher was changed from EMAP to Future plc. After this change, the magazine was renamed to its current name, ''Official Nintendo Magazine'' (ONM), and received a new set of staff. Its numbering was also reset. It reached its 50th issue on 20 November 2009 and its 100th issue in October 2013. 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 plc. It was the second officially endorsed Nintendo magazine released in Australia and New Zealand, succeeding the Australian '' Nintendo Magazine System'', which ceased publishing in 2000. Issue 60 and the final issue for ''Official Nintendo Magazine for Australia & New Zealand'' was published in December 2013. In early 2011, four guest bloggers were appointed: Colette Barr, Marti Bennett, Chris Rooke, and John Vekinis. These bloggers provided their 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 is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...
. A new version was introduced in November 2012, with the release of the Wii U. The following year, the magazine celebrated its 100th issue, with cover art drawn by
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, video game producer, producer and Creative director#Video games, game director at Nintendo, where he has served as one of its representative directors as an executive since 2002. Widely regarded as one o ...
. The magazine came to a close with its 114th issue (released on 14 October 2014).


Closure

On 7 October 2014, Future confirmed that the magazine would come to a close with its 114th issue, which was released on 14 October 2014. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the website (including the forums) would be closed 11 November 2014. On 15 October 2014, former moderators of the ONM forums set up a replacement site for the forthcoming closure of the forums. One such community was Super ONM, now merged with similar ex-Future community ''GRcade'', formerly of ''
GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and ''Computer ...
''. Nintendo will now be focusing on its Nintendo Direct, Live Treehouse and other methods to communicate with their fans.


Sections

Each month, the Official Nintendo Magazine included the following sections: *''Welcome'' – a brief summary of the issue by the editor; also features the contact details *''Meet the Team'' – an introduction to the different members of the publishing team *''Contents'' – the articles were broken down into categories (e.g. a review went under the category Review). There is also an A–Z of games features in the issue. *''incoming'' **''The Big Story'' – An overview of recent Nintendo news **''Mouthpiece'' – an interview, usually with someone relating to a game in the issue (e.g. in issue 105, an interview with the composer of '' Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze'') **''World of Nintendo'' – Nintendo-related news from around the world, including 3DS and Wii U charts *''Next Month'' – a preview of the next issue *''Nintendo Shopping Channel'' – picks of eShop and the nintendo online store *''MiiVERSE'' **''Mii Plaza'' – funny Miiverse posts **''Connect'' – letters, emails, Twitter and Facebook posts. Also includes a small transcript of the podcast. **''ONM Rant'' – a somewhat controversial opinion, debated by forum users **''Network'' ***''ONM Game Night'' – a review of the online features in a game ***''DLC of the Month'' – reviews of recent DLC's **''Smash Update'' – a round-up of recent Smash Bros news, along with opinions via Miiverse *''Feedback'' – a section showing the best letters, e-mails and forum posts of the month. A star letter is picked and a prize, is given to the sender. (forum posts are not in AU/NZ edition) **''In a Word'' – readers' e-mails, 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..., "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 or bad 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 or the most minor releases. *''Continue'' **''The Making of...'' – an interview with some of a recent game's developers **''Rewind'' – a look back at a classic game **''Time Capsule'' – 10 games around a certain theme (e.g. Christmas levels etc.) **''Classic Moment'' – a look back at an unforgettable moment in a classic 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 **''The Best of...'' – the top 27 games, also features "In the Mood for..." ***''Wii U'' ***''3DS & 2DS'' ***''3DS & 2DS eShop'' **''FAQs...'' ***''3DS & 2DS'' – also includes a guide on 3DS System Transfer **''Legends'' – A mini-review of a popular game ***''Wii'' ***''DS'' **''The Back Page'' – often includes a somewhat humorous article (e.g. Nair-tendo)


Scoring system

The Official Nintendo Magazine used a percentage scoring system. The final system used was: *0–29% = Toxic *30–49% = Troubled *50–69% = Flawed *70–79% = Bronze *80–89% = Silver *90–100% = Gold The highest rated games ever were '' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D'' tied with '' The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword'', which both possessed a 98% rating, given in the July 2011 issue and June 2010 issue respectively. ''
Super Mario Galaxy is a 2007 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third 3D platformer game in the ''Super Mario'' series. As Mario, the player embarks on a quest to rescue Princess Peach and save the universe from Bowser, af ...
'', '' Super Mario Galaxy 2'' and '' The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess'' were all given ratings of 97%. The lowest rated games were the
DSiWare This is a list of games and applications, collectively known as DSiWare, for the Nintendo DSi handheld game console, available for download via the DSi Shop and unplayable on earlier DS models. An update released for the Nintendo 3DS in June 20 ...
games Discolight and Flashlight, which were given scores of 2% and 3% respectively.


Forums

The ONM UK forums were created in 2006. 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. The forums closed 11 November 2014. The Moderating team set up a forum to replace this, called Super Online Nintendo Messageboards. (It was abbreviated as either S ONM or Super-ONM. However, the abbreviation was changed to dodge infringements of any trademark registered for the former magazine).


See also

*''
Mean Machines ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game journalism, video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. History In the late 1980s ''Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generatio ...
'' (UK, defunct) *''
Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...
'' (US, defunct) *'' ''Nintendo Magazine System'' (Australia)'' (defunct) *'' Nintendo Gamer'' (UK, defunct) *'' Nintendo Dream'' (Japan) *'' Nintendo World'' (Brazil)


References


External links


Official UK websiteSuper ONMArchived Official Nintendo Magazines
on the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

Archived Nintendo Magazine system magazines on the internet archive
{{Authority control Future plc 2008 establishments in Australia 2006 establishments in the United Kingdom Computer magazines published in Australia Defunct computer magazines published in the United Kingdom Video game magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct video game magazines Magazines established in 2006 Magazines disestablished in 2014 Magazines about Nintendo Video gaming in the United Kingdom Defunct video game magazines published in the United Kingdom