Poll: Do people still buy strategy guides?

[StigmataDiaboli]

Nope. When I bought ODST the cashier offered me the guide cheaply, and when i replied, 'no thanks. i'll just google it when stuck', he just replied, 'Good call.'

Guides are pointless now with the internet freely accessable. Shame.

 

[Fallingwater]

I bought a 543 page one for Oblivion for $20. I think it was worth it; it's a bit easier to use than most online guides. That, and I can't alt+tab out of Oblivion to check an online guide; my computer is horrible and I can only play Oblivion on the very lowest graphics settings.

I permanently keep on my desk an old notebook computer exactly for this reason. Things got better when I bought the quadcore, which can alt-tab seamlessly out of anything that isn't specifically designed to prevent it, but I still occasionally fire up the old clunker when I need to read stuff for something I'm playing whose programmers had the retarded idea of disabling app switching.

As for the original topic: strategy guides are for the clueless who don't know, want or care to search the net, not to mention for gamers (the definition applies very loosely) who only own consoles.

 

[Jenova65]

I love books so definitely still buy them (for games that I really love) like the limited edition FFXII book which is a thing of beauty!

 

[Iron Mal]

I'll never forget when I saw a guide for Gears of War 2. I almost cried. It's a LINEAR SHOOTER, what could they possibly do? Go down this hallway. Shoot guys. Reach checkpoint. Here Marcus say "fuck". Repeat in next hallway.

I think you're being a bit linear with your thinking here.

You can have walthroughs for linear games, they typically give you hints and stratagies in terms of what to do for the more difficult segments in the game and warns you about the presence of enemies and certain pick ups etc.

I personally don't use stratagy guides although I used to get them (I still have the one for Turok 2 on the N64 kicking around somewhere), these days I'll either ask a friend who's done the game before me or look on the internet if I really get desperate.

 

[Fallingwater]

(I still have the one for Turok 2 on the N64 kicking around somewhere)

Is Turok 2 even solvable without a strategy guide?
I mean, I've gone through some pretty complicated FPS levels entirely on my own, but I never managed to go more than halfway through a Turok 2 level before becoming utterly lost and not knowing where the hell I should be going.

 

[heyheysg]

Maybe only if they have exclusive artwork, that would mean more of an artbook than a strategy guide

 

[Trivun]

I do for Final Fantasy games, because they have so much that it still makes buying the guide worthwhile (because I'm such an FF fanboy though, I actually bought the FF XII guide about a month before I bought the game, just because I wanted the special Limited Edition guide that had this cool massive map of Ivalice - cost the same as the normal guide too ). Otherwise, I just use t'interwebz...

 

[Sigel]

Not often. I think I have only bought two in my gaming lifetime, one for Okami and the other for Rune Factory:Frontier.

 

[ShotgunSmoke]

Nope, if I want to read something more about the game, I just download the PDF.

 

[hermes]

Not since pages like gamefaqs exists...

 

[TheColdHeart]

I have never owned a strategy guide for any game, and now if I need one i'll just get it from the internet.

I suppose if one had really good artwork with it or something I might maybe for that but most stores keep them shrink-wrapped so you cant even flick through the pages.

 

[UpSkirtDistress]

the internet has made such things obsolete for all but people who want to collect them.

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

they are getting to pricey

 

[Kuchinawa212]

I gotta say with cheat and tips type websites there is no reason to spend a good amount of money on a strategy book.

Last one I got as a gift was for halo 3

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Only if I want the guide itself as, say, a collector's item or if it has extra art assets or something in it. (And only for games I really want to have collectables for, for that matter.) I solve my games myself, or by Google if I'm stuck but not tired of the game.

-- Steve

 

[Quadtrix]

No. I avoiding seeking help for a game entirely, unless I desperately need it. Twilight Princess is the only game I've played this gen that I was forced to use a guide on in some areas.

 

[The Youth Counselor]

Not only do I find them to be a scam that Gamestop and EB employees try to pull over me, but I would much rather enjoy the game through my own control.

 

[strangemoose]

not since the internet was invented

 

[RanD00M]

Do they still even make strategy guides?