What is "nintendojo"

Nintendojo (pronounced "Nin'-ten-do'-jo) is a non-profit website that focuses on Nintendo-related subject matter, created and run by fans. Nintendojo is the oldest Nintendo-specific fansite still in existence, having been founded by Peer Schneider in September 1996. Schneider later left the site to become a founding father of IGN Entertainment where he currently serves Vice-President of Content Publishing.

The original mission of Nintendojo was to publish gaming news from Japan, especially as other sites were not providing adequate overseas coverage. Content was later expanded to highlight U.S. and European game titles and news as well, and today most of the site's content is U.S.-specific. Nintendojo has covered three generations of Nintendo products, handheld and console, including Nintendo 64, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Wii. Content includes previews, editorials, and reviews, as well as interviews with developers and publishers. Despite being a non-profit fan-operated site, ND is well-known and oft-cited within the gaming development, publishing, and media community. Nintendojo also is indexed in several aggregate sites, including GameRankings and Metacritic.

Nintendojo has spun off into different websites over the years, including Cloudchaser, Segadojo, and GameBoyDojo. One such spin-off site, Nintendojo France, remains active today.

ND has been the starting point for many other site founders and writers, some of which continue to thrive and flourish today -- IGN and Nintendo World Report, for starters, all have former Nintendojo staffers. Other Nintendojo contributors have gone on to work in the development and publishing industry.

Nintendojo also occupies a place in gaming media lore. At E3 2001, Nintendojo writer Nathan Heckel surprised the Nintendo senior staff by offering up the first question. Heckel's question was spoken in such badly butchered Japanese, however, that it was unintelligible. The confusion and laughter that followed has earned it a place among the more famous E3 press conference gaffes.