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Are Game Guides Dying?

Posted by simoniker on from the alas-poor-official-hints-guide dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for their guest GameSpotting feature discussing whether the print-based game guide is a thing of the past. According to the piece: "As long as there have been games, there have been game guides to help players beat them. Over the years they have evolved into slick, glossy (and thin) books with tons of valuable information and high-quality screenshots and maps... Guides make tough games easier. But are they worth it?" The author references a videogame-store friend laughing: "Why buy a game guide when I can just download the FAQ for free?" Is there any new presentation of paper-based game guides that might make you tempted to pay for them, or are they truly dying out for good?

1 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Why I hate the Game Guides by Goldberg's+Pants · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's just another way to fleece the customers. And the fact is, FAQ's evolve, the printed guides you have to pay $20 for are obsolete by the time you leave the store in many cases.

    When I bought Warcraft 3, I bought the strategy guide as well. Mainly because it was on special, and I've always condemned them, but figured it was about time to see if I was correct in my disgust.

    And I was. The guide is mostly useless. There's guides to the single player games, stats for all the units etc... The ONLY part of the guide that is any use if the 6 pages devoted to multiplayer strategy. The stats are kind of interesting, but as soon as Blizzard released a patch, it's game over for the stats being useful. Now, with Frozen Throne out, the build times and costs have changed, which means most of the guide is now useless.

    On GameFAQ's you can find a wealth of information, and it's fluid. When Blizzard change costs etc... The author can update it.

    Game Guides are a horrible idea whose time is coming to an end thankfully. The question remains though as to whether the game companies will do the decent thing and start providing a decent manual, or if they'll just give up and essentially let the fans write the manuals.

    If you bought any game in the last few years, think back to how many came with a decent manual. Very few I bet.