Camp Hyrule Interview: Nintendo Power Krew

Camp Hyrule, an online virtual camp held by Nintendo every year, is under full swing. Every year, Nintendo invites people to take questions from the campers. We had featured here at QJ transcripts of the chat with the Nintendo Senior Online Producer, Senior Vice President of Operations for Digipen, George Harrison, and the NOA Localization Staff. Now, we continue our Camp Hyrule updates with an interview with the NP Krew aka the talented (but not as talented as moi) writers of Nintendo Power Magazine.

For those overseas, Nintendo Power is the official magazine of Nintendo. Although there are a lot of responders again, it’s a bit more organized than the Treehouse interview. They were a bit slower so not as much got asked, unlike that crazy George Harrison review in which Harrison used his Jedi PR abilities…

Click “Full Story” for the transcript. Please excuse gramattical errors as well as typos. It is a live chat.

Camp Hyrule, an online virtual camp held by Nintendo every year, is under full swing. Every year, Nintendo invites people to take questions from the campers. We had featured here at QJ transcripts of the chat with the Nintendo Senior Online Producer, Senior Vice President of Operations for Digipen, George Harrison, and the NOA Localization Staff. Now, we continue our Camp Hyrule updates with an interview with the NP Krew aka the talented (but not as talented as moi) writers of Nintendo Power Magazine.

For those overseas, Nintendo Power is the official magazine of Nintendo. Although there are a lot of responders again, it’s a bit more organized than the Treehouse interview. They were a bit slower so not as much got asked, unlike that crazy George Harrison review in which Harrison used his Jedi PR abilities…

Click “Full Story” for the transcript. Please excuse gramattical errors as well as typos. It is a live chat.

NOA_ANDY: I’m stoked to introduce you to NOAs Chris, Cecil, George, Steve and Pete, the pro players you know and love from Nintendo Power Magazine. Welcome guys!
NOA_GEORGE: Allright. Let’s go. I’m all hopped up on sugar and ice cream.
NOA_CHRIS: Hey all!
NOA_CECIL: Hey!
NOA_STEVE: Howdy
NOA_PETE: What’s up!
NOA_CECIL: FYI: This is Andy Myers
NOA_CECIL: I’m not actually Cecil the Paladin
NOA_ANDY: So let’s get started!
NOA_STEVE: And this is Steve Thomason
MARIOKARTMAN3737: Hey NP crew! Why are you guys jealous of Chris’ mad writing skillz? Jokes aside, How do you decide who gets to write which reviews? Please don’t tell me a dance off.
NOA_STEVE: Have you seen the movie Gladiator? It’s a lot like that.
NOA_GEORGE: fight to the death usually
NOA_STEVE: Exactly
NOA_CHRIS: Dance of.
NOA_CHRIS: off.
NOA_CECIL: Mud wrestling
NOA_STEVE: Ewwww
NOA_GEORGE: Steve likes to review all the baby games
NOA_CECIL: Who isn’t jealous of Chris, by the way?
NOA_PETE: I’m D3PA, all the way!
NOA_CHRIS: Actually, we can’t even pretend like it’s a cool process. We just sit around in a room and yell at each other.
NOA_STEVE: No, we usually have civilized discussions over which writer would most like to review certain games or has the most interest in that particular franchise, genre, etc.
NOA_GEORGE: something like that
GHOSTPIKMIN: Which one of you replies to the mail in the Pulse section?
NOA_CHRIS: I do.
NOA_STEVE: A monkey
NOA_PETE: I do.
NOA_CECIL: Stumpy
NOA_GEORGE: an infinite number of monkeys
STUMPY: *Neigh!
NOA_STEVE: No, if it was an infinite number of monkeys you’d think they could come up with better material.
JORDANM85: I was wondering if Nester will ever make a return to Nintendo Power? He would make a great mascot for the magazine. I’d love to see a monthly continuing comic, even if it was only one page a month… And are there any plans on bringing back comics like the old Mario and Zelda ones from the 90s? Maybe some new Mario adventures? Thanks, and keep up the good work guys.
NOA_GEORGE: Nester hit the skids in the 90s
NOA_CHRIS: Good grief. Howard Philips, is that you?
NOA_GEORGE: I htink he’s selling socks in a mall now
NOA_CHRIS: And besides, who needs a mascot when we have Pete?
NOA_GEORGE: We do have the Pokemon comics right now
NOA_GEORGE: You read them backwards
NOA_STEVE: As for comics, aside from the occasional thing like the Pokemon one we’re doing now, I doubt they’ll become a regular feature in the mag again
LUIGI361: It’s a great honor to be chatting with you guys. ^____^ Why do you use Chuck Norris jokes so much?
NOA_STEVE: Monkeys love Chuck Norris
NOA_CHRIS: I’d answer, but you’re probably dead for even questioning him.
NOA_PETE: Are you kidding? Next question!
NOA_CECIL: Because we are afraid of him
NOA_STEVE: He killed Nester, you know.
NOA_PETE: Because he can instantly roundhouse kick all 320 of you in the face.
NOA_CHRIS: Ah, he’ll be gone soon. He’s just burning the last 15 minutes of his glory. Too bad it had to be in NP.
GOLFER1023: What kind of pressure do you feel having to have a whole issue out every month?
NOA_STEVE: It can be pretty arduous. That’s why we explore new ways to hurt Chris every month. It’s a release.
NOA_CECIL: It depends on the month, really. Some are crazy due to game embargos and such. It’s always a pretty big challenge, though.
NOA_CHRIS: It’s particularly tough on me since I get beat up by Steve every month.
MIKEMN: What multiplayer games do you guys play against each other, and who usually wins?
NOA_CECIL: A couple of us play Smash. (You’re going down later, Pete!)
NOA_STEVE: We play Madden quite a bit during football season.
NOA_PETE: Smash bros. all the way.
NOA_CECIL: NHL Hitz 2003…seriously
NOA_PETE: Cecil: We’ll see about that…
STORMTROOPER88888: Who is better at SSBM?
NOA_STEVE: Andy
NOA_ANDY: wh-wha?
NOA_PETE: Is it wrong for me to say Pete?
NOA_ANDY: Pete’s the master w/ Jumpman.
NOA_GEORGE: I’d say Pete
SLSSNAKE626: When you guys are reviewing a a game for the magazine, how much time do you typically have to play it before the review is due? Does playing the game knowing you have to review it and pick up on flaws it ever hamper the actual game experience at all?
NOA_GEORGE: It varies. But we’ve been trying to play through the entire game.
NOA_CHRIS: We try to beat every game we play, as long as its beatable.
NOA_CECIL: We try to review games honestly, by playing through them all the way just like we would at home.
NOA_STEVE: Playing them for work and under deadline can take away some of the enjoyment, though, yeah.
NOA_CECIL: Right now, for instance, I’m playing through Baten Kaitos Origins. I’m commited to beating it, but it’s a monster!
NOA_CHRIS: Playing a game to be mindful of flaws is terribly hard. I’d prefer just to look past them, but that would be a pretty big disservice.
SKIRAT1107B: I’ve noticed that every issue of Nintendo Power there is a discussion taking place about something announced in gaming. And I also remember that around the holiday season a video podcast episode was made. Do you think that any future discussions could take place in podcast form, as it’s much easier and more entertaining to listen to a discussion rather than read it….
NOA_CECIL: ASk NOA Rufus–he’s done our podcasts in the past
NOA_ANDY: Rufus! Rufus!
NOA_RUFUS: Retired
NOA_PETE: In print form, there’s a lot less cursing…
NOA_CHRIS: You wouldn’t wanna listen to us more than you have to, anywaysÑSteve sounds like a cross between Steven Hawking and Stumpy.
HE110: What was the hardest game you played?
NOA_CHRIS: All platinums on Blast Corps was brutal.
NOA_PETE: Cecil: How about Super Monkey Ball Adventures?
NOA_STEVE: Super Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts
NOA_CECIL: Final Fantasy IV Advance sticks out right now. Most of the game isn’t that hard, but the final boss . . . daaang!
NOA_CHRIS: Well, when you’re as good at vids as we are, they all seem easy. It’s like the matrix.
NOA_PETE: I think the boss of pictochat is ridiculous.
NOA_CHRIS: But not the The Matrix games. Those weren’t hard.
JSR: Hey guys. What are your thoughts on the downsizing of E3? Will it make your jobs easier since there won’t be a week of non-stop gaming mayhem?
NOA_STEVE: Yes! I’m pretty ecstactic
NOA_CHRIS: It will be teh awesome. I really don’t think fans who don’t attend will notice that much of a difference. There will still be tons of gaming news coming from the show.
NOA_CECIL: It’s hard to say without seeing what the “new E3” is like first hand, but I think it will be good for the industry
NOA_STEVE: E3’s a lot of fun, but it’s been increasingly more difficult to do our jobs as it keeps getting more and more crowded.
NOA_PETE: Well, since I’ve never had the honor of going to the “old-school” E3, it makes me a little sad, but overall I think it’s good for the industry.
NOA_CHRIS: Waaaa pete.
STUMPY: *neigh
MARIOLOVER4: Hey guys, as someone who’d like to work for a gaming magazine or website someday I was wondering what’s the best way to get into the industry? (college etc)
NOA_CHRIS: Well, Steve’s degree in piano tuning comes in handy on karaoke night.
NOA_STEVE: A degree in any sort of writing-intensive program is a big plus.
NOA_CECIL: Video game journalism is such a focused field. You have to be good at writing and at video games, and surprisingly, there really aren’t that many qualified candidates out there. I’d say focus on the writing, though. College is good.
NOA_STEVE: And practice your skills as much as possible for a fansite, on forums, whatever sort of outlet you can find.
NOA_CHRIS: Yeah, no offense, but there are a LOT of people that are good at video games. It’s a lot harder to find qualified writers.
THISGUY3: HI! I want to know whats going to be in the next Nintendo Power XD
NOA_STEVE: Chuck Norris
NOA_STEVE: That’s not true, actually. I think the next issue is Chuck free
NOA_CECIL: Big awesome FInal Fantasy III cover story, that may or may not have been written by Andy Myers
NOA_STEVE: We’ve got stuff on the Wii versions of Trauma Center and Call of Duty 3
NOA_CECIL: Nice and meaty community section
NOA_CHRIS: Plan on some PokÂŽmon Mystery Dungeon stuff. We’ll be trying to answer some of the outstanding questions about the game.
NOA_PETE: Scratch and Sniff stickers of Wario’s Waft.
NOA_CECIL: Lots of previews
NOA_CHRIS: We’re pretty pumped right now ’cause there is a lot of stuff to talk about.
TORCH665: How come you guys don’t have any female writers?
NOA_STEVE: We’re scared of girls
NOA_STEVE: No, it’s just a coincidence.
NOA_CECIL: It just worked out that way, really. Hopefully, we’ll have some ladies on staff in the future.
NOA_GEORGE: No reason really. There have been several women writing for the magazine in the past.
NOA_PETE: They would always win the dance-offs. And then they would get all the good reviews.
NOA_CHRIS: Actually, Steve, it’s the other way around.
HOTARU-NEKO: Hey guys! and woah, hey Stumpy! With all the awesome Games you guys cover each month how on earth do you guys choose what game will get the cover shot?
NOA_CECIL: Mud wrestling
NOA_CHRIS: Usually Steve calls Sega.
NOA_GEORGE: Nintendo exclusivity figures in to the decision.
NOA_STEVE: We try to pick a subject that we think our readers will be interested in and that allows us to tell a story that you won’t find anywhere else.
LTS_BRO: I’m a big fan of your Legacy Games section, where you showcase older games. I have a quick suggestion for one. Gradius.
NOA_CECIL: That’s a great suggestion!
NOA_STEVE: Yeah, we’ve received a ton of great suggestions for the Playback section. We’ll try to get to all of them eventually.
NOA_CHRIS: It’ll prolly happen. We have about a bazillion games lined up for that page, and it’s a place that everyone wants to write to.
NOA_CECIL: We are excited about it too, and we’ll keep doing ’em as long as you keep reading ’em
NOA_CECIL: That’s the column that everyone fights over
ZELDA_MASTER101: What does your average day consist of?
NOA_CHRIS: I’m pretty sure this was covered in an earlier Pulse . . .
NOA_STEVE: See Pulse in volume 204 for a detailed description
NOA_CECIL: Lately it’s been playing Baten Kaitos Origins around the clock, with an occasional break for Hot Pockets
NOA_CHRIS: The other Chris waits for Pete to inevitably doze off, then tries to cut his beard.
NOA_PETE: Nooooo!
MACE_STARIDER: Would you guys consider adding a monthly list of your top ten favorite/recommended games? The sales charts aren’t much help when it comes to deciding what games to buy (Dora the Explorer at #1?) I remember you used to do something similar, and I miss it.
NOA_STEVE: We’re currently rethinking that page.
NOA_CHRIS: Hey Mace, long time. Yeah, that’s one page that needs some tweakin’, for sure.
NOA_GEORGE: That’d be a good idea for the Review Archives
NOA_STEVE: Would you guys rather here our top 10 most anticipated games, the readers’ top 10 most anticipated games, or both?
NOA_CECIL: Agreed about the sales charts. Why isn’t anyone buying Super Gunstar Heroes and Drill Dozer?!?!
NOA_STEVE: hear
NOA_CHRIS: I’m the map, I’m the map, I’m the map.
NOA_PETE: I agree, it’s kinda lame sometimes.
MEGAFREAK400: Hey guys. My question is if you plan on adding any new additions to nintendo power any time soon Oh, and PS keep up the good work, Your articals are funny, especialy mr. T, which I hope to see more of ^_^
NOA_PETE: Oh, boy. You just made Chris Hoffman’s day.
NOA_CHRIS: I don’t think we’ll be adding new stuff to NP, but we like to rotate certain columns in and out. You might see something you haven’t seen in a couple months.
NOA_CHRIS: We’ll prolly be adding some new voices pretty soon, too.
NOA_STEVE: We’ll have lots of new Wii coverage, of course, but I don’t think we’re planning any new columns, if that’s what you mean.
NOA_ANDY: OK, we have time for about two more questions …
NOA_CECIL: thweet
CRITIELIWOOD: Hey everyone! With everything that you do, what do you do after work? Where do you guys hang?
NOA_CHRIS: Again, Dance-off.
NOA_CECIL: I hang out with my wife and brand-new baby
NOA_GEORGE: Biker bars
NOA_STEVE: We meet up with the local mayor/vigilante and take to the mean streets of Redmond, pile-driving punks into the concrete and eating turkeys out of garbage cans.
NOA_CHRIS: Actually, we don’t see much of each other after workÑwe all live pretty far away from each other so it’s kinda difficult.
NOA_PETE: I sometimes try and get myself away from games. Things like Wakeboarding and Snowboarding are what I’m in to.
NOA_ANDY: OK, one more …
RIDDLER_ROB: Hey Guys. I’m a huge Final Fantasy fan, but unlike other FF fans, I was a bit disapointed when they revealed that FFIII will be remade in 3d. For the longest time, I’ve wanted to play the original game, translated. Anyway, you guys loving games and all, have you ever been disapointed with a remake?
NOA_CHRIS: Not off the top of my head. You shouldn’t be disappointed with this game, eitherÑit’s going to be awesome.
NOA_CECIL: I’ve played through most of the DS game, as well as some of the original–and let me say, it’s awesome. Square did a great job with the remake. It feels like the original, even though the graphics are much better
NOA_STEVE: I thought Metal Gear Solid for GCN was disappointing. Some of the cutscenes went a bit overboard.
NOA_CHRIS: I’m not sure why you’d want to play a blocky, poorly localized, unbalanced game in favor of something like this remake.
NOA_STEVE: Don’t worry, FF III is pretty awesome, though.
NOA_CECIL: I was a little disappointed with the Resident Evil DS remake.
NOA_CHRIS: Although the hallway “fight” with Ninja is pretty cool, tho’.
NOA_PETE: Yeah, that’s a tough one. Normally those arcade compilation games bore me, but that’s usually because they feel so old.
NOA_ANDY: OK, thanks a lot you guys for taking the time to visit Camp Hyrule!
NOA_CHRIS: Thanks everyone!
NOA_CECIL: Thanks! You guys are awesome!
NOA_STEVE: Bye everyone. Thanks for reading NP!
NOA_ANDY: See ya across the hall!
NOA_CHRIS: Bye, Pete’s beard!
NOA_PETE: Thanks a lot for stopping by!
NOA_GEORGE: Adios. Thanks.
NOA_ANDY: L8r