Nintendo Fun Club
Nintendo Fun Club was a video game newsletter about the Nintendo Entertainment System and its games edited by Howard Phillips and published by Nintendo of America from first quarter of 1987 until July of 1988 when the publication became Nintendo Power.
The newsletter was free to join, although newsstands could sell each issue for $2.50. It began with on a quarterly publishing cycle, but after the first year it switched to a bi-weekly cycle. The first issue was a only a couple pages and printed on lower quality paper using black and magenta as colors, but, by the fourth issue, Nintendo had already pushed the magazine to 30 pages and made it full color. After only seven issues were printed, the newsletter's surge of subscribers caused Nintendo to switch to a traditional magazine that readers would have to buy, Nintendo Power.
The Nintendo Fun Club was advertised with NES products, including in the game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!. When Little Mac tells his boxing coach Doc Lewis that he has been hurt by his opponent, Doc responds with the less than helpful advice, "Join the Nintendo Fun Club today! Mac!" This lead cartoonist Zac Gorman to come up with a rather hilarious comic pointing out the ridiculousness of, not just the advice, but the entire game's premise.
Because my brother and I didn't get our NES until around 1988, we missed out on the Nintendo Fun Club, but, as an adult, I find a lot of joy reading through the old issues.
Issue List
Volume | Cover Game | Release Date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Super Mario Bros. | 1987 Spring | PDF (Low-res) |
2 | The Legend of Zelda | 1987 Summer | |
3 | The Legend of Zelda | 1987 Fall | PDF (Low-res) |
4 | Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! | 1987 Winter | PDF (Low-res) |
5 | R.C. Pro-Am | 1988 February | PDF (Low-res) |
6 | Zelda II: The Adventure of Link | 1989 May/June | PDF (Low-res) |
7 | Sports Games | 1989 June/July |