StrategyWiki out to crush GameFAQS

by Vladimir Cole { Jan 6th 2006 at 4:30AM }

We've said it before, we'll say it again: printed strategy guides are great for helping part fool gamers from their money. They're a rip-off and completely redundant for any gamer that knows how to use a search engine. Last time we said it, though, a number of readers chimed in to say that they enjoy the images that accompany printed guides, something that leading game guide site GameFAQs lacks, with its strict adherence to text-only content.

Just-launched StrategyWiki aims to compete with GameFAQs by addressing the whole lack-of-pictures weakness as well as other shortcomings. StrategyWiki's managers appear to have a strong understanding of what makes for a good guide site, so here's to hoping that the gaming community is able to add some meat to the site's strong bones.

[Update: added missing word in second paragraph.]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

rayk @ Jan 6th 2006 5:10AM

w00t

Account created there, gamefaqs is getting rather old now, yay for a new site.

The_Predator @ Jan 6th 2006 5:39AM

Funnily enough, coinciding with their first project, I am starting OoT Master Quest today.

On a related note I buy strategy guides because, not only am I a fool easily parted from my money, but I like COLLECTING things. Sure, the info is all readily available and free on the internets, but having every single Final Fantasy game, and all the official guides to match (for example), is my way of pretending that my gaming addiction is actually a future investment. 'This lot will be worth hundreds when your older' I tell all the kids. They beleive me too.

Stupid kids.

Pete Carrier @ Jan 6th 2006 6:38AM

I haven't bought a Strategy Guide from a store in a long time, until I started playing Dragon Quest VIII. I wanted to have a full color map, the game is so darn big. I can't wait to see and use this new site, sounds great.

Jon @ Jan 6th 2006 7:25AM

Hope it doesn't kill off GameFAQs. GameFAQs has the best community on the internet (imo), and the amount of time the FAQers put into creating their guides...will be a real shame if it does kill GameFAQs.

Meh, I still think GameFAQs will be more popular, but the fact that anybody can contribute to the guide...I don't like that, tbh. Most guides get written on sense of accomplishment. Adding a sentence or too is quick, but what do people get out of it?

Grudge @ Jan 6th 2006 8:50AM

I agree with the person who said they enjoy collecting guides. I do, as well. The internetis a wonderful thing, but it still has not replaced print media in the artistic/aesthetic sense. Sure, I go to Gamespot and 1up and GameGirlAdvance and GamersWithJobs everyday, but I also have more than one magazine subscription. You can't get a video trailer on paper, but you also can't get the same feeling of holding a magazine in your hand from a monitor.

To Jon: You make a good point, but I've come across many a GameFAQ guide that is either really incomprehensible, or flat-out wrong. Always, it's just one angle on how to beat a game.

Paul @ Jan 6th 2006 11:27AM

Printed guides are great for kids. I bought Animal Crossing for my niece for Christmas, and I got her the strategy guide. I don't want an 11 year old going on the internet more than necessary, and official guides are pretty much guaranteed to be of high quality, devoid of slang, and an easy read.

Chachi @ Jan 6th 2006 12:34PM

I guess that GameFAQs has a good community if you never ever visit one of their message boards. Most of them tend to read like an AOL chat room, though with less maturity and a weaker grasp on English.

StrategyWiki seems interesting, but the wiki element might end up being a problem. I can see editing wars from people trying to say which fighter/weapon is best in a game. For whatever reasons, the people that tend to frequent game-based websites aren't always the nicest or most considerate, so that problem can easily become a very big issue.

Slacker @ Jan 6th 2006 3:05PM

It's a good idea - but it's suffering from a lack of planning, at least initially. There isn't any way to view games by genre, title, etc - and they're not sure how they're going to implement it yet either.

Also, MediaWiki is great, but pretty resource intensive AFAIK. If they think this is going to be as big as GameFAQs, I hope they have a beefy server handy.