As the world moves further and further away from print media - embracing the seemingly boundless possibilities of the digital space - I always found the arrival of my monthly Nintendo Power to be something of a comfort. It was a tangible, highly nostalgic blast from my gaming past. A staple I always thought would be there, sitting in my mailbox, just as it used to sit in my parents’ mailbox when I was a kid.

Today news broke that publication of Nintendo Power will soon come to an end. There’s still no word on how many issues remain for the magazine, which published its first edition in 1988 - but in any case, IGN is sorry to see it go. It’s a sad day for the industry, and the end of a childhood staple for many gamers like myself. The cool covers , the helpful guides, the free copy of Dragon Warrior - Nintendo Power held a special place in the gaming world, and its presence will be sorely missed.In honor of the magazine so many of us waited on pins and needles for the mailman to bring, we’re looking back at Nintendo Power’s legacy by sharing some of our favorite memories. So here’s to 24 years of good times - and to the sad realization that now we’ll never get our fan art published.Thanks for everything, Nintendo Power. You will be missed.

I remember waiting for the arrival of Nintendo Power with bated breath - tagging along on the mail run in hopes it would produce a new set of freshly printed pages to eagerly flip through, wondering what cool secrets or gaming tidbits the next issue had in store. I’d read each one cover to cover, drinking in all the pictures and words from the publication that actually seemed to understand what everyone else in my life failed to grasp - that video games were the most important thing in the world. I remember feeling so special for getting a Pokemon card of Sabrina’s Abra or a new poster to cherish. I remember freaking out at each hint of a new game or system, and re-reading certain issues over and over again until the pages were worn. For me, Nintendo Power represents a special part of my childhood - a precursor to my interest in the then relatively unknown business of video game journalism. Through all of the publication’s ups and downs, I could never bear to let that subscription lapse. I’m sorry to see Nintendo Power go - I’ll miss seeing it appear in my mailbox, and I’ll cherish all the memories it’s given me for the past couple of decades.-Audrey Drake, Nintendo Editor

Nintendo Power was my favorite thing to read growing up. Sure, I had my fair share of preferred books and other publications that I often looked to as a child, but Nintendo Power managed to encapsulate everything I loved about games and summed up everything I should be excited about in both the near and far-off future. Yes, Nintendo itself owned the magazine, and yes, everyone knew that it was a marketing tool for Nintendo that couldn’t necessarily be brutally honest about the products it was talking about. But in the pre-Internet days where Nintendo commanded the imaginations of folks around the world, that was – for whatever reason -- totally okay.The demise of Nintendo Power disappoints me because its legacy in our young industry is so significant. But for those of us who grew up reading about the NES and SNES in its colorful pages, Nintendo Power will continue to live on as that singular powerful tool that convinced an entire generation to fall in love with videogames. And I’ll look back at my own collection of old Nintendo Power magazines fondly… even if many of them are cut-up and in tatters due to the fact that I would compulsively cut up and rip out the coolest pictures and advertisements for the walls of my room. If only I had foresight then about what I was doing!-Colin Moriarty, PlayStation Editor

There was a time when my entire bedroom was covered in Nintendo Power posters. Seriously, every inch of wall space. Even the dumb sports games I had no plans to play. I valued those things like nothing else, and I have vivid, traumatic memories of crying for hours after my sister ripped my Super Mario RPG poster.More than anything, Nintendo Power is responsible for how much I love games. I used to read those issues cover to cover, and I probably made my parents spend hundreds of dollars on stamps so I could mail out all of my terrible envelope drawings (I still have the response to one of my particularly bad EarthBound letters). I used to love buying ridiculous toys from the catalog, too. Remember those discount stamps? I used to treat those like they were diamonds.Man, even writing this, I’m getting so nostalgic. Nintendo Power, you will be missed.-Andrew Goldfarb, News Editor

A brief vacation to the East Coast brought me back to the house I grew up in. On a quest to hunt for some Magic: The Gathering cards in the towering storage of my basement, I came across a container too heavy to lift. Prying it open, my original Nintendo Power collection greeted me quietly in the dusty light.While I ache for any publication that meets its end, I take solace in the fact that I could grow up with so many fond memories of my first gaming magazine. The hurried walks back from the mailbox. The long hours in bed savoring every page.Cheers, Nintendo Power.-Ryan Clements, Features Editor

The solid white background, the gold lettering, the words "Biggest issue ever" written proudly across the top, the badass elf dude in green - I still don't know why, but for some reason, the cover of Nintendo Power's 114th Volume is partly responsible for my intense love of gaming. It was the Ocarina of Time issue and something about it had me inexplicably hooked. I'd played the NES Zelda a little, but I was far from a fan at the time, having never even played A Link to the Past. But that cover. It just screamed "epic." It called to me, begging me to read the exclusive Ocarina of Time preview it held within. And boy did I. I pored through that write-up hundreds of times, soaking up every word on every page. I went out and picked up A Link to the Past and beat it three times in a row. I became a die-hard Zelda geek, a trait I still tout proudly to this day. Heck, I probably wouldn't even work at IGN if it weren't for that issue of Nintendo Power. Link, thanks bud. Because of you, I have the best job.-Jonathan Rigg, IGN Daily Fix Writer/Editor

Years and years ago, Nintendo Power showed off pictures of customized Game Boys. Fans had changed the paint, the buttons, even the shapes of their systems. Being a seven-year-old with no idea how to do any of that – but so desperately wanting to – I glued pieces of construction paper and pictures of Aladdin to my Game Boy. It didn't stop it from working, but it did stop me from having friends.I also remember when Nintendo Power first published details about a game called Pocket Monsters in Japan. It was this weird RPG where you captured wild animals and used them to fight. I remember thinking, "Man, it would be great if they ever brought that to America. Too bad it's probably too niche for our audience."-Mike Drucker, START Writer

The Super NES was the first console that I bought entirely on my own – saving any penny I earned. Turns out, I had a little extra, so I bought an issue of Nintendo Power to go along with it. That led to a subscription – a subscription I’d keep for at least a decade – and probably my favorite memory from the magazine, which was this (at the time) totally rad VHS promotional tape for Donkey Kong Country that they sent out to subscribers. It was the first and only time I remember them doing something like that, and it had behind-the-scenes clips, tips and secrets, and tons of gameplay footage in a pre-video game website era. I watched that tape dozens of times leading up to the release of that game, which remains one my favorites to this day. RIP, Nintendo Power.-Joey Esposito, Comics Executive Editor

Nintendo Power was probably the main reason I wanted to work in this industry so it’s sad to see it go: there was no internet back then, so all gaming info came from magazines (shocking!). One of the random things I loved had nothing to do with their gaming coverage: it was their crazy comic section. They had serialized comics for Metroid, Star Fox, Zelda (specifically Link to the Past), and a weird Mario one which involved a birthday cake. The Metroid and Star Fox ones in particular had elaborate backstories that probably made no sense, but I loved them all the same. I still regret that I never ordered the collected series from their catalog (that and the creepy Killer Instinct Fulgore mask. But never mind that). Nevertheless, you will be missed, Nintendo Power!-Mike Pereira, Video Segment Producer

This hits especially close to home for me because not only did I have a subscription from issue #1 back in 1988 when I was a kid, but fast-forward 20 years and I worked at Future and am good friends with all of the editors there. Chris Slate and crew did an amazing job keeping the Nintendo enthusiast torch burning bright after Nintendo decided to stop publishing the magazine themselves, and they are all immensely talented and passionate professionals whom I greatly respect and wish nothing but the best for. R.I.P., Nintendo Power.-Ryan McCaffrey, Xbox Executive Editor

So looking back I completely hate myself for this, but back in the day 9-year-old little Timmy could not have been more excited about Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer. The March 1999 issue had four different covers of podracers that all connected to make one big image. The only problem was the probability of each cover was different, and I got stuck with “Mars Guo.” Yay. Outraged, I traveled long and far to every Blockbuster in my neighborhood until I found a copy with Anakin gracing the cover… then I straight up switched the copies like a boss. Moral of this story? R.I.P Nintendo Power (and Blockbuster).-Tim Gettys, Video Producer

One of my earliest gaming memories is of getting a subscription to Nintendo Power coupled with a copy of the original Dragon Warrior for NES. And what better way to ease a three-year-old into the world of gaming than by giving him a wildly oblique RPG that would go on to make him cry multiple times in frustration? Thanks for helping me become a man, Nintendo Power.-Marty Sliva, 1Up Editor

I vividly remember the first issue I got in the mail. I must have been like six years old, tops, and we got this incredible Mega Man issue with a shiny silver wraparound. It was embossed and I could feel the textures of the art. It blew my mind. It may also have been that issue where I first discovered the mega-cheat for Super Star Wars, which let me play as Chewbacca with a lightsaber in the first level. Amazing. Nintendo Power helped define why I love games, and influenced why I write about them – after all, someone had to be there telling me about Super Mario World. Why couldn’t it be me when I grew up?-Mitch Dyer, Xbox Editor

Obviously any memories of Nintendo Power will tend to be overwhelmed by wonderful nostalgia for the "golden age" of Nintendo - when Nintendo Power wasn't just a magazine, it was a video gamer's scripture. There's the old joke that there's no manual for how to be a parent or how to live life, but beginning in 1988, there was a definitive guidebook for how to be a gamer. I was one of those kids there in the beginning, reading the Nintendo Fun Club newsletter at my friend Eric's house (I couldn't even afford an NES at the time, but I still studied each issue cover to cover in between writing letters to Santa begging for a Nintendo for Christmas.) Finding out that a complete magazine was coming to replace this photocopied pamphlet, this was unbelievable.As great as the magazine was back in the day, however, I think the newer issues deserve some respect and appreciation as well. An end of an era was marked when Nintendo stopped publishing Nintendo Power, but even with less access, Future still gave us a look into the inner workings of this amazing company and its visionary development partners. Those "Power Profiles" interviews were always my first flip-to, as Nintendo Power scored access to designers like Hideki Kamiya, Akitoshi Kawazu, Toshihiro Nagoshi and Makoto Sasaki. These guys aren't household names, but they make the games you know and love, and they should have a forum to speak to fans of their games. Nintendo Power would leisurely shoot the gab with designers about anything that came to mind, and it was refreshing to have such insight into the minds of great game makers.-Marc Nix, Database Manager

My memories of Nintendo Power are very fond. My favorite things were the guides, posters and the shop. The strategy guides were so useful. I remember how they would detail everything for the first level or two and they were very detailed. I saved all of the issues for the longest time (sadly most of them were thrown away when I went to college), and I remember constantly going back to the guides years later. I think the biggest staying power from the magazine had to be the posters, because I would constantly hang them up in my room. I still have the Zelda: Oracle of Seasons poster. Lastly, I will never forget the shop in the magazine. It always had cool toys that I always wanted to buy, but never did.-Alex Solomita, Video Technician

I've had an active Nintendo Power subscription since the '80s. Never missing an issue in over two decades. I never changed the address on the account either – every month, a new magazine has arrived at my parents' house, in my hometown, since I was eight years old. Nintendo Power has been an incredibly important part of my life. Thank you, NP.-Lucas M. Thomas

We shared our favorite Nintendo Power memories, now it's your turn! Help us celebrate the magazine's 24 years of service by sounding off in the comments below.

Audrey Drake is an Associate Editor at IGN and a proud member of the IGN Nintendo team. She is also a lifelong gamer, a frequent banisher of evil and a wielder of various legendary blades. You can follow her wild adventures on her IGN blog and Twitter . Game on!