Press Pass: An Interview With Nintendo Power's Chris Slate

8/14/2008 10:28 PM | 0 Comments | Page 2 of 3

CG: Do you feel the newly redesigned and Future-led Nintendo Power has erased the magazine's historical image as a direct Nintendo advertorial? Or do you still struggle with people's conception of what Nintendo Power is?

Slate: Well, we haven't really redesigned the magazine since it came to Future, although we have tweaked some things here and there over the past year. I was lucky in that the previous NP editorial team (which included current staff superstars Steve Thomason and Chris Hoffman) had already worked very hard to give Nintendo Power a credible editorial voice, especially with regards to review scores. This is an official magazine with a closer relationship to the platform-holder than an unofficial one, so it's understandable that some people may never look to us first for the most critical, opinionated editorial. At the end of the day, though, the proof is in the pudding -- as long as we keep things honest, readers won't have any reason to be unhappy.

CG: I loved the Nester comic in the August issue. Any chance he could be coming back regularly? If not, is there any chance the game-specific comics from years past will make a return?

Slate: I'm glad that you enjoyed Nester's return! We had a tremendous response from our readers about the comic, so I feel kind of bad to tell everyone that it was a one-time event. As a Nintendo child of the '80s, bringing Nester back was my one big wish for the 20th Anniversary issue and the artist (Ryan Kinnaird), the NP staff, and Nintendo really pulled together to make it happen. We don't have plans to do any other comics either, but I suppose that I would never say never.

CG: Why hasn't there ever been a GameCube/Wii demo disc with the magazine? Are there any efforts to change this in the future? If so, what's the hold-up?

Slate: I can't speak for Nintendo when the magazine was published there, but here at Future we've simply been focused on getting up to speed with creating the magazine and making it as good as possible. That will continue to be our focus, but as to whether or not something like a disc would ever be a possibility, I honestly can't say.

CG: Your big reveal of Mega Man 9 was leaked onto the Web before it hit the newsstands. What can be done to stop these kinds of leaks?

Slate: Well, of course we love to be the ones to spring surprises on our readers -- and we certainly don't condone anyone scanning or reproducing the magazine without our say so -- but realistically, leaks like that are inevitable. It's a result of the times we live in; people communicate and share information in ways that we're still getting used to. I don't worry about it. As long as Nintendo Power is given credit for breaking a story -- and as long as we're writing compelling articles and putting together a good magazine -- I'm sure that we'll continue to keep readers happy and maintain a strong audience. If anything, the constant buzz that we've been able to generate online with our exclusives is great publicity for us.