This is exactly what I used to think. Nowadays I even collect guides.

I think what started to change my mind was the Might and Magic guides that I got for free. I found that when I wasn't playing, I sometimes entertained myself by flipping through the guides and planning where to go next. It was basically like reading a travel guide and it added to the fun. Not to mention I probably wouldn't have finished MM6 without the guide. If you're playing an open-world game, it's faster to find the correct spot in the guide by flipping through a book rather than checking an online guide.

After playing the game, the book remains a fun memento of the game with all the art, screenshots and maps.

> 2012
> buying guides when there are thousands of them online
> mfw


(unless we are talking about hard cover collectibles, these make sense. I am referring mostly to "official digital prima guides" that cos more than the game itself)
.........

I don't have a lot of guides, but the ones I do are mostly from before I had regular access to the internet.

Still, I don't have anything against physical guides that are nicely packaged and have a sufficient amount of relevant information. Like RaggieRags above, there is a convenience and lifestyle element that adds value to a physical book that I don't necessarily mind paying for ... but then I grew up in an age when we didn't have a computer screen in front of our faces 18 hours a day.

The big question for me is whether that added value a physical guide holds for me makes up for both the price and the information deficit between the published guide and an often superior free internet guide. The answers is unfortunately almost always no.

I haven't bought a game guide in at least 10 years. Before the internet came along (in our house anyway), things were different though. I still own a few of the old Sierra Quest hint books (mostly for Leisure Suit Larry - ah, to be a teenager). I also still have my Doom Survival Guide somewhere... :-)

The only guides I had ever purchased are Mysteries of Abyss and Gems of Enlightenment, for Ultima Underworld games.

Purely collector purposes.

For me, it was the same years but for Monkey Island 2. Monkey Island 1 & 2 were the first two PC games my father had bought for me (mail order too) and before the games even arrived, I decided to buy the book for both games. Looking back, I wish I hadn't since I cheated far too much and I actually complete Secret of Monkey Island without cheating (I got really stuck in the lava section though - you got to hate it when adventure games add mazes where you can't possibly win unless you use some kind of trick).

In general, these guides are useless for so many reasons:

- most of their "help" is obvious stuff that anyone would figure out
- they never document exploits which are often the most wanted by gamers
- these guides are made based on a pre-gold version of the game and are often inaccurate (the Oblivion guide which was included with my collector's edition was painfully inaccurate for example)
- with every patch and update, stuff becomes out of date in these guides
- etc. etc. etc.

A proper guide should explain the game mechanics but very very very few guides do that. I had a Sim City 2000 guide which I read and when I was done reading, I hadn't learned anything new. Most guides read like manuals where they simply explain aspects of the game without actually saying how they tie into the game mechanics.

For example, yes I do know that water pipes in Sim City allow you to supply water to homes, duh, but what happens if a line breaks? How come there are times when there's a water shortage even when you had enough water before with the same amount of land and population? Instead of guides really delving into the details, you just get stuff that should have been in the manual in the first place!

I buy them for games like Final Fantasy.
It's nice to have a reference guide at hand and I like the artwork.

i would like one for GTA:SA so i could have less trouble finding tags and other stuff i try to collect before final mission.

but as a hardcopy
the hell i would need a digital copy. a lot of faqs and info about games do come from official guides so bless those people who buy them.

i would not every buy one tough unless it really expands on the game (i love lore) but it would not be a guide then but a supplementary material.

there was this guide i read that came with warcraft 3 battle chest,

it starts off by saying, " first, build some units. then lead the units out and attack the bad guys. defeat them."

and i was thinking, how is that helpful?

I download them in PDF format where i can. I doubt i would ever buy any guide unless fairly priced and me, very fan. Like an arty guide for Morrowind on 10€, i might.

I don't see what the problem is there. I mean, that pretty much sums it up. Ah, the beauty of brevity! Concise and to the point! No wasting your precious time on fluff like actual strategy, etc. Best of all, it is included for free? What's not to love?

I'll have to break open my Battlechest and check that helpful "strategy" guide out for myself. Judging by your comment it may not be useful but it might be funny.

Guides for certain genres are more helpful than others, honestly. I wouldn't bother with a guide to, say, an adventure game (unless it had some really nice extras, like The Dig guide). I'd say the most helpful/fun guides are for open-world RPGs.

There are some guides not worth the paper they're printed on, but I would have given up with frustration with a couple of games without a guide handy. It really is convenient in some instances that you can keep a map open by your side while you play.

I've noticed guides have started having some of the stuff that manuals used to have. For example the Dragon Age II guide has a large section for lore and art. I'd actually love to see more lore/art books.

I'll get a guide if it is cheap and I like the game.

Most recent guides I bought were Bully : Scholarship edition and Mad World.

I see guides more as a collectible these days. And the guides really have become a lot prettier and more professional over the last decade to cater to the collectors. I wouldn't buy a guide for a FPS or other short and probably rather easy games but they are very handy for long RPGs and fighting games (comprehensive move lists etc.).

I'm still hoping to buy the Knights of the Old Republic guide, new. Unfortunately they are either rare or very expensive...