Would you like to buy the strategy guide?

So I was in EB games today picking up Dark Souls 2 (yah!) and the guy asks me if I wanted disc protection for 3 bucks. "No thanks" then he asks if I want to buy the strategy guide for it. I was completely shocked... do companies still print hard copy strategy
guides? I bet before I get home tonight there will be a walk through for the entire game with every secret listed. Who is buying these? you?

:)

 

There can be only one!!

[quote user="keefr"]
You get to buy only one game before Christmas, what would it be and why?

[/quote]I intend to buy all the games i want before Christmas, but if i had to choose just one it would probably be XCOM : Enemy Unknown, i chose this because i like strategy games and this is the first full retail turn based strategy game set in a sci-fi universe
available on Xbox360...

 

"Exclusive to PSN for free or you know pay us more on 360" Capcom

It's the only protest that works in this case, don't buy the game if you don't like the marketing strategy.

 

I'm way too antsy to try to flip through pages of a guide. I can barely read in-game dialogue. I need constant action and if I can't figure it out, I just keep trying until I do. I probably miss out on some stuff, but that's okay.

 

Just a money making scheme to cater to the lazy. Whatever happened to playing the game and discovering things by oneself.

 

Why, yes they do. You may not see value in those but some people do and that's why they buy them. Nowadays, I buy strategy guides for the art if it's a game I really enjoy - KH 1.5 HD comes to mind.

 

Last guide I bought was for Final Fantasy XIII hard back. Had it pre ordered along with the game little did I know how little I would need it. Still can appreciate the aesthetics and well layed out and written walkthrough. Had a couple good sections on weapon
upgrading and skill choices which showed up in online wiki guides launch day. Character section with back stories and stats and bestiary was also nice with the full stats. Now I have a tablet along with internet I can find any information I need, but there
is just something about having a physical guide I like.

I honestly was going to grab the Titanfall hard back since it was half off from Best Buy when you bought the game. Map layouts, lore, art, and some lithographs. Not for any strategy I just like when games come with manuals more than two pages. Sold out before
I could checkout.

 

It depends on the game the guide is tied to. The only guides I have used was for Pokémon and they came in handy.

 

The people who buy these guides obviously don't know how find walkthroughs on the Internet. I've noticed lately that the game stores are starting to sell books of art from certain games.

 

There are some great guides out there and some poor ones.

Notable poor ones are the "HALO 3" strategy guide that tells you "Oh yeah, there are some special Skulls to collect but we're not going to tell you where they are".

Notable good ones include the "Too Human" and "Ninja Gaiden II" strategy guides from Prima and the "Bayonetta" and "Dark Souls" strategy guides from Future Press.

If it's by Future Press it's probably a decent guide... actually I just Googled it and it is... so it should be a good looking and useful guide.

It's handy to have it in this format because you can get useful pointers without the spoilers.

 

Strategy guides today are treated more as collector's items. A few people may actually use them to navigate through the game.

Online videos and game-play walk through are more commonly used to aid in finding various objectives and collectibles.

 

I buy collectors guides for certain games. I like them more as collectors items and I like the art in them.

The bayonetta one, is now hard to come by and sells for a crazy price.

Sometimes they are a good read too.

 

I think the last strategy guide I bought was well over a decade ago. If I really get stuck I might Google something on a rare occasion, but for the most part I'd rather figure it out on my own. The satisfaction of figuring it out myself is one of the main
parts that makes a game fun.