Strategy Guides
Secrets for sale
Strategy guides sold solutions and secrets in book form, from Prima and BradyGames publications to official Nintendo Player's Guides.
Overview
Before GameFAQs, stuck players bought strategy guides. These books contained maps, solutions, item locations, and secrets that publishers sold for significant prices. Official guides had exclusive content; third-party publishers like Prima and BradyGames competed on comprehensiveness. The internet eventually made most guide content freely available.
Fast facts
- Major publishers: Prima, BradyGames, Nintendo.
- Content: walkthroughs, maps, bestiary, secrets.
- Pricing: often $15-30 per guide.
- Peak era: late 1990s to mid-2000s.
- Decline: internet guides made books redundant.
Guide types
What strategy guides offered:
- Complete walkthrough: step-by-step solutions.
- Maps: dungeon layouts, world maps.
- Secrets: hidden items, easter eggs.
- Stats: enemy data, weapon information.
The business
Strategy guide economics:
- Official licences: exclusive screenshots, early access.
- Launch timing: available with game release.
- Collector editions: hardcover, extra content.
- Digital decline: free online alternatives killed sales.