Why Video Game Guides Still Matter
In the 1990s and early 2000s, printed video game guides were an essential part of gaming culture. In countries like Germany, so-called Spieleberater or strategy guides were widely available in bookstores and gaming magazines. They offered maps, secrets, walkthroughs, and tips for players struggling with difficult levels.
Today, however, these books are often considered obsolete. Online walkthrough sites, YouTube playthroughs, speedruns, and Twitch streams have largely replaced traditional game guides. If a player gets stuck, the solution is usually just a quick search away.
Yet in Japan, video game guides never truly disappeared. In fact, they continue to play an important role—not just as gameplay references, but as cultural artifacts and artbooks.
Japan’s Physical Media Culture
One reason game guides remain relevant in Japan is the country’s strong culture of physical media preservation.
Across cities like Tōkyō and Ōsaka, massive second-hand retail chains continue to circulate physical media on a huge scale. Stores such as BookOff, HardOff, HobbyOff, OffHouse, and Surugaya keep older games, CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and books in circulation for collectors and enthusiasts.
This ecosystem supports not only retro gaming, but also the preservation of related media like strategy guides and artbooks.
Not every retro shop is equally recommended, however. The famous Super Potato has increasingly become more of a tourist attraction and influencer hotspot than a practical place for collectors. While the selection is good, the prices are often significantly inflated.
Overtourism and the Retro Market
The impact of overtourism has also reached the retro gaming scene.
In areas such as Akihabara in Tōkyō or Den‑Den Town in Ōsaka, the influx of tourists has pushed prices to extreme levels. What were once collector-friendly districts have increasingly become premium retail zones aimed at visitors rather than enthusiasts.
Even some branches of BookOff—for example the store in Namba—have followed this trend. Certain retro titles, especially from the Pokémon series, are sometimes priced at levels that border on speculation.
Scalpers and resellers have purchased large quantities of these games in recent years, creating artificial scarcity. As demand grew, stores adjusted their prices accordingly. For collectors who remember the earlier retro market, this change is striking.
Game Guides as Artbooks
Despite the changing market, Japanese game guides continue to offer something unique.
Unlike many Western guides that focused primarily on walkthroughs, Japanese guides often function as hybrid publications—part strategy guide, part artbook.
They frequently include:
-
original character artwork
-
concept sketches from the development process
-
detailed maps and world layouts
-
item lists and gameplay systems
-
developer commentary and lore
For many players, these books are not only tools but windows into the creative process behind the games.
Nostalgia and Personal Memory
For collectors and retro gaming enthusiasts, game guides also carry a strong emotional component.
In my own collection, there are countless guides and artbooks that accompany the games in my retro archive. When revisiting an older title, these books become more than reference material—they reconnect me with memories from childhood and adolescence. Sometimes they remind me of the challenges I had to overcome while playing those games for the first time. At other times they simply evoke a sense of nostalgia or provide a small form of escapism.
Holding the original guide while replaying a classic game creates an experience that digital walkthroughs simply cannot replicate.
Game Preservation in the Digital Era
In recent years, concerns about game preservation have become increasingly important.
The industry is moving toward digital distribution models, subscription services, and limited physical releases. Examples such as key-based physical releases or digital-only titles show how fragile access to games can become. If a game is eventually delisted from online stores, access to it can disappear entirely.
Printed materials like game guides and artbooks therefore become valuable historical records. They document worlds, mechanics, and creative processes that might otherwise be lost.
The Value of Physical Books
The appeal of physical books is universal. Just as many readers still prefer printed novels over e-books, collectors and enthusiasts appreciate the tactile experience of printed guides.
The comparison is similar to vinyl records in music culture: while digital access is convenient, physical media provides a richer and more tangible connection to the art itself.
Events like the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Leipzig Book Fair demonstrate that printed books remain culturally significant even in a digital age.
Video game guides belong within this broader ecosystem of printed media.
A Creative Perspective
From an artistic perspective, game guides and artbooks represent a unique intersection between game design, illustration, and publishing.
They preserve concept art, design documents, and visual storytelling elements that often never appear within the games themselves.
This artistic dimension is also something I personally value in my own creative work. Through my photography projects and Kickstarter campaigns, I have published several limited photography artbooks, including cosplay portrait collections and visual explorations of Japan.
Just like game guides, these books transform digital images into a curated, physical experience—one that can be revisited years later.
Why These Books Should Not Disappear
Video game guides may no longer be necessary for solving difficult levels. The internet has made sure of that.
But their cultural role goes far beyond gameplay assistance.
They are:
-
archives of game design history
-
collections of artwork and creative ideas
-
nostalgic companions to beloved games
-
physical artifacts in a digital entertainment industry
For collectors, gamers, artists, and historians alike, game guides remain a medium worth preserving.
And perhaps that is the most important reason why they still matter.
