Poll: Do people still buy strategy guides?

[Volstag9]

i haven't bought any in years

 

[Kriptonite]

I still get them when my grand-mother offers to buy one. 2 reasons. One, don't need the internet. Two, personally, I like to physically have things. But that's just me.

 

[TheNumber1Zero]

I still use them at times.

I actually have plans to get one for a game coming out next month.

 

[Necrofudge]

Never bought one in my life. But I have used them on certain occasions when I was 6 and the internet wasn't out and about with all the alleged "information" and whatnot with gaming. Or maybe it was back then, My computers failed when I was young.

 

[annoyinglizardvoice]

Ocasionally. More likely to if it's got interesting info or cool art aswell as the standard guide.

 

[Runding]

I tend to buy strategy guides for MMO's. I find a lot of useful stat info and such.

I definitely stay away from games that have stories that maybe ruined by the guide.

 

[CRAVE CASE 55]

It's only for games I realy love and it's usualy just a collectors item.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

I used to buy a guide book for every game I bought. Now that the intarwebz is available, I haven't bought any. The only exception was for Pokemon Platinum, but the Pokemon games are SO insanely convoluted and complicated that it's almost a necessity unless you want to spend all your time buried in your PC screen looking stuff up.

 

[Sven und EIN HUND]

Nah. I got strategy guides from the diablo 2 and warcraft 3 battle chests, and once bought a legend of zelda: a link to the past strat guide when I didn't have the internet and I was 10, but that's it

 

[Gutterslime]

I just bought the BIG BlazBlue strategy guide, so yes

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

Nope, that's what the internet is for. Actual players can probably uncover more than some possibly incomplete strategy guide anyway (and there are a few).

 

[Iron Mal]

You're right, you CAN have one, but don't you think it's a bit pointless? Really, I can't see them making a 100 page guide on a shooter as linear as Gears of War 2. Sure, it can give you tips, but there's nothing that you have to figure out in the game. The only thing they can really say is stand here, shoot enemies there, remember to take cover.

All I'm saying is that it would be more useless for this type of game than say, Oblivion.

There is only so much you can write about a linear game but then again that 'so much' is often what a lot of stratagy guides are limited to (most guides have been written for linear games since they are the variety of game that have been around for the longest).

Games like Oblivion and Fallout theoretically have more to write about (seeing as the worlds are larger and more open) but this means they go into less detail (you really expect them to note down the contents of every room in an entire city?) and given the nature of the game they have less call to give you directions (if it's supposed to be open world and free choice then why the hell are you looking for instructions?).

Guides for non-linear games make less sense than one for a hallway based shooter if you think about what you have to inform the player about (like I said before, you're looking too narrowly at this).

 

[Archaon6044]

occassionally. sometimes you just need to have the great and all-knowing tome

 

[Cherry Cola]

I prefer the strategy guides because they are pretty with nice pictures. Also, it's more fun reading a guide in book-form than reading on the internet