While searching for a way to get out of journalism and make some real cash, Gamasutra discovered a listing on the Nintendo corporate job board for someone to be the Licensing Manager for Nintendo Power. The job would entail being in close contact with new publisher Future Publishing.

Future publishing already handles the official Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox magazines in the UK, and handles the Official Xbox Magazine in North America. This is obviously all part of Nintendo's corporate restructuring which saw the retirement of George Harrison. Future has no comment to make at this time, but expect an announcement real soon. This stays in line with reports from May that Nintendo Power employees were told to look for new work by September.

It's inconceivable to us why Nintendo doesn't offer demos for its Wii games. Besides being a cool freebie to entice people to buy a system, easy access to demos leads to better sales of full games. Sony and Microsoft figured this out years ago, offering PlayStation, PS2 and Xbox demo discs with their official magazines and, later, downloadable demos for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Nintendo still hasn't caught up on this important front.

So it's heartening to see the Big N mulling over demo availability in the new issue of Nintendo Power. According to a scan provided by a GoNintendo reader , the latest Player's Pulse contest poll asks readers how interested they are in Wii game demos, how they would like to receive such demos, and whether they would be willing to pay extra for them.

While downloadable demos for full Wii games might be tough to cram onto the Wii's puny 512MB of built-in memory, a demo disc in Nintendo Power seems like an idea whose time has come ... ten years ago! And while we're at it, how about some try-before-you-buy demos for the Virtual Console too, eh Nintendo? We're growing increasingly impatient here.

[Via WiiFanboy]

That countdown at www.smashbros.com just concluded, revealing ... absolutely nothing, and we don't mean absolutely nothing in a GTAIV-trailer-crashed-our-servers way. The page simply reads "starting today (Japan time)."

What's starting today? Since they're not saying anything, we'll turn to our friends at Nintendo Power, who happen to be really close friends with Nintendo. The "Don't Miss Calendar" in the latest issue -- #217 (pictures prove it's real) -- trumpets "Sakurai delivers the blow by blow." They continue, "Beginning May 22nd, Super Smash Bros. Brawl director Masahiro Sakurai will post a daily blog on smashbros.com regarding the title's progress and any other topics that tickle his fancy. Rumor has it that he'll be revealing Fabio as the next playable character."

IronSword cracks aside (and that is a good one), is Sakurai's blog what all this hubbub was about? Sounds like it to us. Hopefully his first post, which should show up in the next 23 hours, will shed some light on why a title that Kojima described as "very complete" wasn't on this morning's release calendar.

[Thanks, hvnlysoldr]

It's a great time for people who can't get enough of beloved mascots that also happen to be two-dimensional. First we get Super Paper Mario last month, now a new issue of Nintendo Power -- which is really close friends with Nintendo -- is listing the N64's Paper Mario among its 'top picks' of upcoming Virtual Console games. We would have done that too if we had known it was coming! Cheaters.

Beyond our frustration at not knowing all the secrets of Shigeru Wonka's factory, we're just happy to see some fresh N64 releases coming to the VC. This would be just the fifth title from 64 since the Wii was launched last November.

Nintendo Power magazine may soon be no more. According to IGN, sources close to the publication have highlighted "massive layoffs" and that employees are being told to look for new work by September.

Gaming-centric print magazines have been on a steady decline, thanks in large part to the prominence of video game websites. Nintendo Power has been in publication since 1988 -- it's nearing its 19th anniversary in July -- making it one of the longest-running game magazine ever.

If Nintendo Power is closing down or restructuring, how will that affect Reggie's idea for turning its archives into a Wii Channel? Regardless of whether or not this rumor turns out to be true, we'll still take this time to direct you to the first-ever issue of the magazine in PDF format.

Joystiquery
AOU 2007: Cave's Muchi Muchi Pork shmup released (from its sty)
Today's most inspiring game video: the 1000 Mii March
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: XL edition

News
Blue Dragon anime coming to TV Tokyo
Lord of the Rings Online a contender?
Halo 3: Fall 2007
Oops: Game Informer says Mercenaries 2 Xbox 360 exclusive
Decrypted Blu-ray & HD-DVD movies on PS3, no disc necessary
Micro Center's Xbox 360 Pres. Day sale
The Geordi LaForge future in gaming is now
Salt Lake City mall shooter didn't own video games
Hard questions: Wii novelty and drought in effect?

Rumors & Speculation
Microsoft strongly considering a Xbox 360 price drop?
Next Wii channel could be 'Nintendo Power'

Culture
Growing old and bored with video games
Rumor: Alien Hominid HD on XBLA next week
The art of High Delivery
Criticism of racial stereotyping in games
Gaming's Kobayashi Maru and how to enjoy it
Sharing the love of gaming

Plucked from Nintendo's brain trust and tucked into the tail end of MTV's recent interview with Reggie Fils-Aime is the latest Wii channel concept: Nintendo Power. "We have a tremendous amount of old Nintendo Power content ... that we could present to consumers," Reggie told MTV.

The interview (the one where Reg dodges the "Where's Metroid?" question) doesn't delve further into the thought, leading us to believe the digital archive is a ways from fruition. Still, coupled with Virtual Console, a back catalogue could provide a valuable resource for those digging around for tips and strategies -- or just general information about games of yesteryear. And, of course, Nintendo is never one to underestimate the nostalgia factor, always eager to find another familiar to resell to old-timers -- that's assuming the archive would be pay-to-view. Would you subscribe (again)?

[Via Supercabra]

Codename Revolution has the scoop on Nintendo Power's January issue. Highlights include:

• Wii Play confirmed for January (North America); bundled with Wiimote
• The BIGS (2K/Big Castle) will feature online play; not scheduled for release until Q3 2007
• WarioWare: Smooth Moves to feature 'pass-the-Wiimote' 12-player multiplayer and Mii integration
• Interview with Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi: "For me, the Wii controller doesn't yet connect with the core gameplay of Castlevania. I definitely don't want to make a game with gimmicky controls where you swing the controller like a whip..."
  

The December 1991 issue of Nintendo Power was recently unearthed, revealing eerie similarities between lil' Jimmy Peterford's "ultimate game system" fantasy and Nintendo's forthcoming Wii. As it turns out, Peterford nailed the Super Mario Galaxy name and likely came within a few dollars of the actual Wii launch price with the $259.95 figure he offered up. But the connection between Peterford's seemingly innocent wish and Wii doesn't end there...

According to a recent Nintendo Power interview with Takashi Tezuka, New Super Mario Bros. for the DS will feature the return of the beloved koopalings. This welcome addition should significantly boost the game's boss element. Tezuka also confirmed that Bowser and Toad would make appearances. As for the green dinosaur, since the game is a throwback to the NES Super Mario Bros., "Yoshi doesn't really fit," says Tezuka.

Tezuka also noted that the game will be set in the Mushroom Kingdom and that there will be no boss battles in 2-player mode, no WiFi connectivity, and no microphone functionality. Finally, when questioned about the possibility of a console-bound Mario side scroller, Tezuka replied, "The probability is not zero, but no further comment at this point." Then he just laughed.

[Thanks, Ahms]