If you played video games in the ‘80s and ‘90s, you may have subscribed to Nintendo Power at one point or another. Among other things, the magazine provided previews, reviews, and walkthroughs of all the big games on every Nintendo console from NES to Wii U. Nintendo stopped publishing the magazine in 2012. But now, five years later, Nintendo Power is back — in the form of a podcast.
Former Nintendo Power editor-in-chief Chris Slate hosts the podcast. He worked on the magazine during the Wii era and is the current manager of corporate communications for Nintendo of America.
In the debut episode, Slate talks with a number of people who work at Nintendo. He discusses the making of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with producer Eiji Aonuma and director Hidemaro Fujibayashi. They talk about the game’s tone and how a motorcycle ended up in the most recent downloadable expansion.
Other interviewees include Kit Ellis, co-host of the YouTube show Nintendo Minute, and Damon Baker, who’s responsible for helping indie developers get their games on Nintendo platforms.
The Nintendo Power Podcast seems to have a leg up on similar podcasts in that it has better access to the people who make Nintendo games. It’s not easy even for major gaming outlets to score an interview with the director of Zelda, especially considering a translator needs to be involved.
That said, the Nintendo Power Podcast is still a work in progress. There’s no set schedule for when new episodes will release. Slate says even the format is still experimental. But if you’re a Nintendo fan, whether you grew up poring over every issue of Nintendo Power or not, you might want to give it a listen.
