You’ve stumbled onto something with the Nintendo Power reader’s picks. To answer your question, the point system for those polls is indeed votes. Nintendo Power ran contests every month, and to enter you had to fill out this postcard in the magazine that asked you to vote for specific games. That’s how Nintendo Power got people to vote – by enticing them with an entry into a contest.
Despite what the psychotic “hardcore” like to believe, the best-selling games were in fact voted the best games by readers. Hmmmmmm… I wonder why. And the games that the “hardcore” proclaim to be hated (Zelda II, Mario 2, Metroid II, etc.), were loved DEARLY by gamers at the time.
What’s even more fascinating is that the very early issues of Nintendo Power had three separate categories for best games. I believe one category was from retailers (it was called retailer picks or something). Another was pro’s picks, I think (probably votes from Nintendo staff members, such as their game counselors), and the third might have been reader votes. Something like that.
The Top 20 you posted from the SNES era was their standard format for quite a while. I specifically remember it during that time, and the N64 era as well. Goldeneye, for instance, would simply not drop out of the Top 3 for months – no, years, I think. Fits in with its sales for sure.
You said you’d like to have access to these. I do own every issue of the magazine, but I think this scan archive might be easier:
http://community.retromags.com/files/category/1-nintendo-power/
Another thing to note is that Nintendo Power also ran NPD charts too (perhaps starting in the N64 era). I remember Metroid Prime charting for several months after its release. This is good information to have.
I encourage you keep digging through those and issues and posting your thoughts. Jump in that DeLorean and take us on a trip. It’ll be tons of fun. Shall we jump back to 1988 (when Nintendo Power started) to begin with?
I downloaded the first issue of Nintendo Power and laughed as I went on my way to the Community Picks page. Notice how at the table of contents it highlights DOUBLE DRAGON… GAUNTLET… CONTRA… WHEEL OF FORTUNE and JEOPARDY! Hahahaha. Today, our hardcore friends would sputter with rage that game show games would be on the same page as Gauntlet or Contra. But back in those times, games were games. And game show games certainly had their place as they were family friendly activities (not Contra but why should everything be like Contra?).
I love the ‘ads’ Nintendo put in (which are Nintendo ads). When you connect the TV to a NES, why the TV creates a vortex into the space time continuum and all the family members, including the family dog, are blown away by its awesome power. I really miss things like that. Today, ads are so boring. These power ads served an important part in empowering the gamer. You don’t get blown away by a vortex while watching a movie, do you? Of course not. This only occurs when you play Nintendo.
And I like how Howard Philips at the end has a copy of the Nintendo Power magazine in his open briefcase while he wears a suit with dress shoes. He is implying that Nintendo Power is ‘top secret’ information, adult information, IMPORTANT information. I just love it.
OK, so to the Community List. As our emailer says, it is actually three lists. Players Picks, Pros Pick, and Dealer Picks. In other words, Popular Pick, Nintendo Staff Pick, Top Sales Pick.
Interesting, those little pics they have on the list. In the 80s, I was the first pic. In the 90s, I was the second pic. And then in 2000s, I’ve become that business man pic playing the games.
Looking at the Dealer Picks, RC Pro Am is on top. This is mid 1988. We have our usual classics we expect to be up there, a surprise being Kid Icarus. Didn’t our critics tell us how bad that game is? Yet, it is in the top ten of the best seller’s list that month (or two months). I can see why Ice Hockey sold so well because that is really, really good game (It’s a Nintendo made game where you can choose different classes for your players like a fat guy or skinny guy and they skate all differently. Really fun.) I forgot about Top Gun (crappy game, but sold because it looked cool and had the movie license) and Goonies II. Hmm, my memory was that Goonies II was a really good game, but I should replay it to find out. Maybe another day. Rad Racer was a really good game as well.
Slalom is at the bottom. Shame. Good game. Note how well Mario Brothers (the original) is selling which is good since it was a 1983 game (five years old). Popeye is a really interesting game everyone should play if you haven’t seen it. It is a Miyamoto made game he made after Donkey Kong. We never see it today because it was a licensed work (Nintendo doesn’t own Popeye).
Note the games that are on the pros list but not in the dealers’ list? Very telling. Although at this time, it may be that those games are older and the newer games are dominating the dealers list. But looking at the dealers list, there are some very old games up there.
Notice how the Players’ list looks more like our list today out of all three of them.
I scrolled up and went, “Oh, there IS a Top 30.” Cool stuff.
1) Legend of Zelda
2) Punch-Out
3) Metroid
4) Super Mario Brothers
5) Kid Icarus
6) R.C. Pro Am
7) Ice hockey
8) Rad Racer
9) Top Gun
10) Double Dribble
The descriptions can be hilarious.
For RC Pro Am: “It’s been a while since Nintendo had a car racing game.” What other car racing games? Hahahaha.
For Rad Racer: “‘Rad Racer’, with its powerful 3d racing scenes, keeps up its popularity.”
hahahahahaha
For those who don’t know, Rad Racer came with 3d glasses in the box (the type of 3d movies in the 60s). There was a mode of Rad Racer that visually blurred everything and, if you wore those glasses, everything would be in ‘powerful 3-D’. No one cared. In Rad Racer 2, all the 3d stuff was taken out.
You see, reader. Even back then, I had to deal with the 3d nonsense. I’m sure when Square released it (Yes, it is a Square game, the same company who would make Final Fantasy not much later), they said: “NOW’S THE TIME FOR 3-D!”
PS- Check out Page 102. Look at who got the top score for Super Mario Brothers. It is the same Cliff Blezinski who worked at Epic. Before gaming had ‘leaderboards’, we had them in the 80s with Nintendo Power. Everything that the Game Industry says is ‘new’ and ‘never done before’ has been done before.
PS Plus- I’m dying at the Letters Page. They remind me of my blog site with the emails. Did you read that letter from the Legend of Kage guy? “Legend of Kage is the best game” and “Yoshi is evil” hahahahaha. In another letter, a grandmother writes about how she bought a NES (*cough* told you the Expanded Audience was done with the NES *cough*). The Rygar mail (I instinctively write ’email’. Been a long time since I wrote the word ‘mail’) says Rygar is so awesome because the characters are ‘animalized’. Really? Animalized? That Metroid letter is so good, I’m going to have to show everyone.
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