Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
Nintendo Power Issue #111, dated August 1998, arrives at a genuinely interesting moment in the Nintendo 64's lifecycle. The console had launched in North America in September 1996 and by mid-1998 was in the thick of its most productive creative period — The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was still months away, and the N64 library was being filled out with a mix of first-party Nintendo titles and third-party adaptations. Bomberman Hero, developed by Hudson Soft and released in North America in August 1998, was one of the more anticipated third-party N64 releases of that summer — a full 3D evolution of the Bomberman franchise that represented Hudson's attempt to bring its flagship character into the polygon era. Nintendo Power devoting its cover to Bomberman Hero in the month of the game's North American launch is a document of how the magazine functioned as the primary promotional and informational vehicle for Nintendo's retail ecosystem in the pre-internet era. For collectors tracing the complete run of Nintendo Power magazine issues, the late-1990s N64 era represents one of the most actively collected stretches in the publication's history.
The included poster and the bundled Official Nintendo Player's Guide extend the collectible value of this issue considerably beyond the magazine itself. Nintendo Power's pull-out posters were a core part of the magazine's identity and reader appeal throughout its run, and issues where the poster remains intact command a consistent premium over those where it has been removed. The pairing with an Official Nintendo Player's Guide — separately published strategy booklets that Nintendo distributed through various retail and subscription channels — makes this a more substantial gaming artifact than a magazine alone. August 1998 also places this issue squarely in the late summer gaming season, when Nintendo Power's coverage was building toward the holiday release window that would include Ocarina of Time and other landmark N64 titles. For collectors building out a 1998 gaming and magazine archive, this issue documents a publication and a platform both operating at peak engagement with their audience.
About the Publication
Nintendo Power launched in July 1988 as Nintendo of America's official monthly magazine, serving simultaneously as a promotional vehicle for Nintendo products and as a genuine gaming resource for its readership of children and teenagers. Its editorial format combined game previews, walkthroughs, tips and strategies, reader mail, and pull-out posters in a package that was specifically designed for the Nintendo console ecosystem. At its peak circulation in the early-to-mid 1990s it was one of the most widely read gaming publications in North America, and its status as the official Nintendo publication gave it privileged access to release information and game content that independent gaming magazines could not match. By 1998 it remained the authoritative first-party source for Nintendo platform coverage, even as the internet was beginning to offer competing information channels.
Key Highlights Inside
- Cover feature and in-depth coverage of Bomberman Hero for Nintendo 64, published in the month of the game's North American release — making this issue a contemporaneous primary document of one of the N64's notable summer 1998 third-party releases.
- Includes a Bomberman Hero pull-out poster — a signature Nintendo Power format element whose collector value is significantly higher in copies where the poster remains fully attached and unfolded.
- Bundled with an Official Nintendo Player's Guide, a separately produced strategy resource that adds direct utility and collectible value beyond the magazine itself.
- Published during the N64's most creatively productive period, in the months leading up to the November 1998 release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time — a broader editorial context that gives late-1998 Nintendo Power issues particular interest for N64 collectors.
- Note: Specific additional game coverage, reader features, and supporting content beyond the Bomberman Hero cover story have not been independently confirmed from the listing and are not detailed here.
Condition & Rarity
This issue presents in Good condition, with minor wear consistent with its age and creases noted on the front cover — a common finding for a magazine that was actively read and handled by its original audience. A protective plastic sleeve has been applied, appropriate for long-term preservation. The creases are worth assessing carefully from photographs, as their location and severity affect display condition differently than interior page wear. The included Official Nintendo Player's Guide should be evaluated as a separate component — its condition, completeness, and whether it is the guide specifically associated with Bomberman Hero or another title are details worth confirming from images. For Nintendo Power issues from the N64 era, the poster's status is the single most condition-sensitive variable: copies with the poster intact and unfolded are substantially more desirable than those where it has been removed, and that distinction drives meaningful price differentiation in the collector market for this title.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
Late-1990s Nintendo Power issues from the N64 era are among the most consistently pursued in the magazine's back catalog, particularly those covering landmark releases or arriving with intact posters and bonus materials. The broader Nintendo Power archive at OriginalMagazines.com is the right place to explore what's available across the full run of this essential gaming publication. Collectors working through the late 1990s gaming landscape more broadly will also find the 1998 magazine collection worth browsing — it's a pivotal year in video game history, and the print record from that period captures the excitement of a platform and an industry both hitting their stride.