It boggles my mind that so many CAGs collect Strategy Guides.

[Mahoney07]

http://www.gamefaqs.com

And with the extra money buy some more games.

[InuFaye]

Some people like to have books.

Whats wrong with that.

[Wlogan31]

Pretty Pictures! Although I kinda tend to agree w/ the OP, I still see why people would like to have them if they had time/money/room for them...

[ananag112]

I have thousands of strategy guides. Most of them I got for pennies or free. I think the most I paid for a guide was like $8.

[ZForce915]

I much prefer to have a guide sitting by me when I'm playing a game rather than going back and forth from the computer. But I also don't pay more than $10 shipped for a guide. I'm still a CAG after all.

[coolsteel]

Between Best Buy, Target and Gamestop clearances it isn't exactly like they cost all that much, resell value is higher on a game with a guide then without. And God forbid someone actually use it to beat a game instead of running to gamefaqs all the time

[botticus]

It boggles my mind that someone could think that those who collect guides don't know about GameFAQs.

[Mahoney07]

Between Best Buy, Target and Gamestop clearances it isn't exactly like they cost all that much, resell value is higher on a game with a guide then without. And God forbid someone actually use it to beat a game instead of running to gamefaqs all the time

I never thought about reselling the game with the guide.

[Warner1281]

1- I much prefer the layout of a strategy guide over a FAQ (pictures included).

2- A book can be used anywhere. A FAQ I need to be at a computer for (or be able to print several hundred pages at someone elses expense).

3- For those of us who collect the guides, at least 90% were obtained for a penny or free. The other 10% we traded for or paid a minimal price for it (ie-$5-10). With the exception of 2 strategy guides, I have never paid more than $5 for a guide.

4- Collecting guides is a bit of an obsession, similar to those who collect games. There's no real rhyme or reason to collecting hundreds of games, but plenty of us do it.

[Strell]

I could eat ramen and get full, but occasionally I like to splurge and get something else.

[Strife025]

I haven't used guides in forever, but I can understand how people would like it. I use my 2nd monitor to play games so I always have gamefaqs up right next to me so it's really easy. I prefer gamefaqs because I can open up multiple tabs with different sets of faqs/guides, and usually multiple player guides are more indepth then the official guide.

But if you play in the living room or something and don't have a laptop I could see how it can be a pain.

[Noodle Pirate!]

I kind of see your point OP, but I collect some guides because I know they have some nice pictures or because its my favorite game. I think I have a total of about 5 guides right now, with about 8 more on my want list. I really don't see myself getting any more after that.

There is also something nicer about using a map in a guide as opposed to someone's vague description on where to go like you get at gamefaqs.

However I see collecting penny guides as nothing but win. I wish I could do it, but I dont have the guts to try and pull it off with the chance the cashier might call me on it. Its nothing but profit on those whether you use them for your own games or sell them on to someone else.

[Pajama_Man]

The things with guides now a days is that with the newer consoles, games are getting patched, balanced, and expanded all the time now so what's inside the printed strategy guide may no longer hold true on release day or subsequence updates.

I'm sure some of the guides still make nice little art books but with all the youtube videos and sites with complete visual walk-through for me there is little reason to bother with printed guides.

Just wondering...

Didn't Square along with Brady/Prima or whomever release a guide where the content was essentially incomplete where you had to go online, subscribe, print and insert the missing pages?

[coolsteel]

The things with guides now a days is that with the newer consoles, games are getting patched, balanced, and expanded all the time now so what's inside the printed strategy guide may no longer hold true on release day or subsequence updates.

I'm sure some of the guides still make nice little art books but with all the youtube videos and sites with complete visual walk-through for me there is little reason to bother with printed guides.

Just wondering...

Didn't Square along with Brady/Prima or whomever release a guide where the content was essentially incomplete where you had to go online, subscribe, print and insert the missing pages?


http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/june03/dumbestmoments/readers/

[goomba478]

My take on it is altogether different: I try to stay away from strategy guides, online guides or any hint/trick sites because I'm a real stickler for trying to beat games without any help. I know it's rather stupid and stuck up in a way, but I have always viewed guides as a sort of cheating method and tried to stay away from them altogether, even though it often means games take a lot longer to finish and are more difficult at times.

Surely someone else has the same view as me? The books are definitely prettier though, so if I was into guides I'd definitely pay a few bucks for them (especially some of those beautiful hardcover ones) but for now I'm sticking to my primitive methods of just grinding it out and beating games one at a time. Interesting topic though OP :)

[zewone]

Me too.

They take up so much room and have very little value (for the most part).

[Ryukahn]

If I had unlimited space and could get guides easily for $1 or less (places around here get cleaned out of clearance/markdowns so fast it's ridiculous) I guess I could see the appeal. Even then I'd probably just get annoyed with them taking up so much space.

[62t]

the only problem is that some guides made a lot of mistakes and usually never get an update.

[kamui34]

http://www.gamefaqs.com

And with the extra money buy some more games.


It boggles my mind someone cannot grasp the concept of collection.

[tehweezner]

My take on it is altogether different: I try to stay away from strategy guides, online guides or any hint/trick sites because I'm a real stickler for trying to beat games without any help. I know it's rather stupid and stuck up in a way, but I have always viewed guides as a sort of cheating method and tried to stay away from them altogether, even though it often means games take a lot longer to finish and are more difficult at times.

Surely someone else has the same view as me? The books are definitely prettier though, so if I was into guides I'd definitely pay a few bucks for them (especially some of those beautiful hardcover ones) but for now I'm sticking to my primitive methods of just grinding it out and beating games one at a time. Interesting topic though OP :)

same here. i'll use an online walkthrough only when i get stuck and/or can't figure something out.

i don't need to have the best gear or find hidden items, i just want to play the game myself and enjoy it. this usually means i miss useful items, side quests or other neat parts of games, but trying to do "everything" diminishes the experience for me.

[goomba478]

Yup yup you got it tehweezner. I'm extremely OCD with things (like keeping my games in mint condition, trying to collect every game in a series even if I don't play them, alphabetizing my collection, etc.) but I'm trying to become less OCD with trying to track every single item in a game, or keep the absolute perfect characters. If I put that much effort into buying a guide and tracking EVERYTHING in the game, then it becomes more of a chore to me than a game and I honestly enjoy it a lot less.

The last time I used strategy guides, were when I was younger and received them from Nintendo Power. I memorized almost every single item location in Super Mario Bros. 3 and that was a lot of fun, but did it make me any better at the game? Not really. That just comes from old-fashioned practice and after that I stopped using any guides for games (especially Mario Games) because it's not really necessary in my eyes. Guides can be really cool (I love fighting game guides for one), but for the most part I'd rather stick with art books =)

[willardhaven]

Fighting games are easier to learn with a guide on your lap instead of Gamefaqs. Game + guide auctions sell for a lot more (especially when the guide is out of print and for an RPG). I think they're fun to collect... I buy RPG guides and the occasional action game guide, they're just fun to read after you beat the game or if you want to know more.

I prefer Brady and Doublejump guides, Brady guides are mostly just eyecandy though.

But yeah, Strell said it best, it's a little something fancy to put next to your favorite games.

[elchbulle]

It boggles my mind that someone would post a topic like this, caring so much about what other people do. Why the shaq-fu do you care if people buy strategy guides?

[zewone]

Defensive.

[the3rdkey]

I have a friend who buys the guide with the game. Then sits there with the guide and reads ahead sometimes when he is bored. I like to try things out myself and if I get stumped... then I travel to the web for a quick and free answer.

[GuilewasNK]

Fighting games are easier to learn with a guide on your lap instead of Gamefaqs. Game + guide auctions sell for a lot more (especially when the guide is out of print and for an RPG). I think they're fun to collect... I buy RPG guides and the occasional action game guide, they're just fun to read after you beat the game or if you want to know more.


Yeah, fighting guides are usually the only ones I am interested in anymore.

[PenguinMaster]

It boggles my mind someone cannot grasp the concept of collection.

The concept of collection boggles my mind.

[the_punisher]

Usually i tend to agree with u OP. However, i HAD to buy the MGS LE guide. $18 shipped was too good to pass up....:(

[urzishra14]

my computer sits on my coffee table (and we also have a laptop).. so gamefaqs is always in my lap or within distance of my TV that I'm playing the games on..

some people ask why i collect basketball trading cards.. i mean they don't "do" anything.. but i mean I have pieces of jersey cards that I really really like.. but yeah..

it boggles my mind that people need instruction manuals and "mint complete" crap.. who cares.. you don't stick the packaging in the PS3 and turn it on.. just the disc..

[InuFaye]

The Packaging thing is an OCD thing that many gamers have.

[SL4IN]

my computer sits on my coffee table (and we also have a laptop).. so gamefaqs is always in my lap or within distance of my TV that I'm playing the games on..

some people ask why i collect basketball trading cards.. i mean they don't "do" anything.. but i mean I have pieces of jersey cards that I really really like.. but yeah..

it boggles my mind that people need instruction manuals and "mint complete" crap.. who cares.. you don't stick the packaging in the PS3 and turn it on.. just the disc..

So you'd be perfectly fine with paying $60 for new disc only games?

[Dyson]

I havent bought a strategy guide since Ocarina of Time, and that was to find those damn spiders.

I usually just play through til I hit a wall then when I've given up load up GameFAQs and continue.

I see the appeal of having the book, but I'd rather save my money

[Strife025]

same here. i'll use an online walkthrough only when i get stuck and/or can't figure something out.

i don't need to have the best gear or find hidden items, i just want to play the game myself and enjoy it. this usually means i miss useful items, side quests or other neat parts of games, but trying to do "everything" diminishes the experience for me.

It's the opposite for me. I'm so OCD when it comes to RPG's, I have to try and complete everything and don't want to miss even one chest with something as trivial as a potion. Part of the fun for me is researching an RPG and making sure I fully understand everything I need to do to get 100%.

Usually I'll browse the message boards for a game a couple days before I play it to find out anything that is vital to completing the game. I absolutely stay away from spoiler threads though since the story is one of the most enjoyable things about a game for me.

[urzishra14]

So you'd be perfectly fine with paying $60 for new disc only games?

heh.. i don't buy new games frequently.. so no.. i wouldn't pay 60 dollars for a game. ever.

usually i only buy used games.. and usually when they hit about 30 dollars at BB or GS or something like that.. but the majority of my game collection comes from pawn shops/yard sales.

well.. you know I wouldn't pay 15 dollars a month just for the priviledge of playing a game.. but Millions of WoW players do.. doesn't make it right or wrong

I have no problem paying 10 bucks for full XBLA games.

but I just put the game cases/instructions in a box and put full boxes of cases into storage.. all my games are in huge disc binders that sit near my system.. i don't have infiinate space so i have to make it as easy for me as possible... the case/instructions are usually meaningless to me.

[kainzero]

http://www.gamefaqs.com
wow!

what a great website!
i can't believe i spent so much time going to best buy and reading strategy guides and then going home to beat the game.

thanks a lot man!

[TC]

I Don't really "collect" games, but I've got around 40 from this and last gen. Probably have the guides to more than half of those.

[Bloodbooger]

wow!

what a great website!
i can't believe i spent so much time going to best buy and reading strategy guides and then going home to beat the game.

thanks a lot man!

^This boggles my mind. I'm so jaded, I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not.

[Josef]

The only reason I do is 95% of mine were had for a penny or less :D

[Jesus_S_Preston]

The only guides I have are for Oblivion and Mass Effect.

[VanillaGorilla]

It's so that, in the rare event that they get real life friends, they can have them over and show off all the neato books they have, and no doubt impress them.

I am not saying anyone on HERE does that though.

[Roufuss]

Thank god there are people that do collect Strategy Guides.

And those people are willing to pay good money for information that is free on the internet.

50 penny guides I got over the years brought in about $700 - $800 worth of cash for me on Ebay. Yay for those people!

Do you know what the best part about guides are? Almost every guide I've ever used for a game, then gone elsewhere to get extra advice (because the guide didn't cover it at all or in depth), has had glaring errors on the information that IS in the guide!

[VanillaGorilla]

Thank god there are people that do collect Strategy Guides.

And those people are willing to pay good money for information that is free on the internet.

50 penny guides I got over the years brought in about $700 - $800 worth of cash for me on Ebay. Yay for those people!
And isn't that why we all got into gaming to begin with, to make shitloads of money? Hell yeah!

[Roufuss]

And isn't that why we all got into gaming to begin with, to make shitloads of money? Hell yeah!

Well, it sure beats throwing them in the garbage. Penny guides were fun to get back in the day, but these days I simply don't have the room for them, I don't use them, and it cost me roughly 50 cents to a dollar for them all.

I got all of them simply because they were a penny.

On the few occasions I did use them, there were horrible errors in them, or the guides were poorly written, so I'm not keeping them around.

I guess, in keeping with the thread, I don't find it odd that people pay $20 or whatever for a guide in the store. I find it odd that people pay $50 and $60 for guides after the fact. You think there would be a time when you say "You know, I don't think $60 is worth it for a Zelda CE guide, that's a bit pricey, I think i'll use GameFAQ's" But hey, different strokes I guess.