Prima Games shutting down

[johnhoftb]

http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/...shutting-down/

Prima Games, one of the most popular publishers of video game strategy guides, will officially be closing its doors.

The Dorling Kindersley division of Penguin Random House announced the “extremely difficult decision” to discontinue the U.S.-based imprint of Prima Games by spring 2019. Sources that have been affected by the closing have confirmed the news to EGM.

Employees at all three Prima Games offices—Roseville, Indianapolis, and New York—will be affected by the cancellation. It’s unknown when the New York office will close its doors, but Roseville’s will close by mid-November, and a selection of employees at the Indianapolis location will continue to publish material until March 2019.

Prima Games has enjoyed 28 years of success, with millions of strategy guides sold since the company started in 1990. A few of the notable best-sellers for Prima included Myst: The Official Strategy Guide, Secret of Mana Game Secrets, Prince of Persia: The Official Strategy Guide, and a special Sonic the Hedgehog book that was done in collaboration with Sony.

This was my childhood, but it's just, but this is just another victim of the internet.

[dope_danny]

Honestly Future Press kind of killed them. When i think Prima guides i think of shitty softback stuff that many times has turned out to be ripped from Gamefaqs and riddled with innacuracies. Then you look at stuff future press did for games like Bloodborne where its a hardcover, in depth guide written by souls veterans like ENB/German Spy and its full of interviews, lore and comes with a code for a PS4 theme and the prima guides dont hold up. Its like a magazine vs a novel or something. Only time i've seen them in recent years were lying in stacks by the bargain bins in game stores.
Granted the internet really didn't help them but guides for like 10+ years have been really just an enthusiast item in the same way grip covers for your controller thumbsticks are. They aren't really required and only get bought by people with more money than sense to blow. I'm just surprised it took this long.

[Daedius]

There's Piggyback around still, I think.

[Toppy]

Shocking they lasted this long given that even years ago they were largely just lazy cash grabs.

[dope_danny]

Shocking they lasted this long given that even years ago they were largely just lazy cash grabs.

I think they coasted under the radar till the dark souls 3 guide debacle. That kind of ruined their rep for a lot of people.

[CasualFilth]

It was inevitable. You can find any sort of video game guides on YouTube nowadays.

[derpkitteh]

my cable went out for hours yesterday and i looked at my old wow bradygames guides for vanilla, bc, and the bc dungeon companion.

that's how i was though. i'd look at pics of games i was wanting to play really bad until i could actually play them.

[IIamaKing]

Future Press are the only guide makers worth a damn these days. Prima shipped out lackluster guides on shitty paper with low quality ink. Their Dark Souls 3 guide was a fucking embarrassment and a let down.

[Projectmars]

I think they coasted under the radar till the dark souls 3 guide debacle. That kind of ruined their rep for a lot of people.

I missed that, what happened?

[MrPaladinGuy]

Surprised they lasted as long as they did once everyone had a broadband connection.

[lokithor]

Surprised they lasted as long as they did once everyone had a broadband connection.

Hell, when I was a freshman in high shcool I used to print out copies of Mortal Kombat guides and sell them for 10 bucks a pop. Got them off of prodigy BB's lol. This was back in 94

[IIamaKing]

I missed that, what happened?

They pumped out a day one guide that was missing info that previous guides had(because Future Press makes ACTUAL guides), Was straight missing info for completion and had wrong info, it was straight trash as guides go.

[dope_danny]

I missed that, what happened?

Future Press did all the souls stuff before that and they do very high quality work. But Bandai -who was already rumoured to be putting out DS3 on the chap- swapped to Prima and the guide was a mess. A lot of it was wrong, they fell apart, the pages were cut wrong in printing. When you were used to a loving made hardcover tome and you get a falling apart 'for dummies' guide as the last entry into the series the collectors got real upset.

[johnhoftb]

Considering what was said here, either Prima was much better in the late 90s, early 2000, or my nostalgia for the Perfect Dark Prima Guide (which was a really good guide and had a two issue prequel, then sequel comic.

Also had a KH2 and GTA: San Andreas guide which were good as well.

[unholytestament]

I cannot remember the last time I even opened a Prima guide, much less actually bought one.

[Tyraynor]

It sucks, but it's only natural. Physical guidebooks were basically useless once the Internet started existing.

[dope_danny]

It sucks, but it's only natural. Physical guidebooks were basically useless once the Internet started existing.

It depends. There are some like the official Crystal Chronicles guide that are a collectors item to fans because the writer of the game added in stuff like journal pages that expand on the games plot and explain things that otherwise seem very obtuse. Its rarely as huge as that but it was nice to read bloodbornes and learn the giants in the nightmare of mensis were called 'lost children'. Its one of those things like all the empty baby carriadges around yarhnam that, once you know what the choirs been up to at the orphanage you go "ooooooh" and more stuff fits together.

Not every guide mind you but those two in particular are most owns if you love those games.

[PACOX]

I don't remember if Ive bought a prima guide but I do remember buying guide books as a kid. Good toilet reading. Last one I got was for FFX I think. I even miss the guides that came with games.

[endersblade]

Shocking they lasted this long given that even years ago they were largely just lazy cash grabs.

This. On top of that, you can find all of what they published and probably more accurate/updated info online for free, and it's been that way for years.

[Noomz]

http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/...shutting-down/



This was my childhood, but it's just, but this is just another victim of the internet.

Yeah people can just use the internet now instead.