3/06/2006
Authors write guides for video games
NEW YORK, March 5 (UPI) -- About 25 professional U.S. authors are writing strategy guides for video games -- which are big sellers.
The guide for the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, has sold 748,000 since it was released in 2004.
Author David Hodgson estimates that the 55 strategy guides he has written have sold about 1 million copies, reported the New York Times Sunday.
Video games are not usually associated with reading, but the strategy guides are full-color books that tell players the best ways to solve puzzles, find and use weapons and other accessories, discover hidden bounty and navigate the virtual world.
"It's like writing a travel guide to a place that doesn't exist," Hodgson said. "Whereas (Arthur) Frommer's guides tell you what hotel to stay in, I tell you which hotel not to stay in because you're going to get dragged down by a gangster."
The guide for the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, has sold 748,000 since it was released in 2004.
Author David Hodgson estimates that the 55 strategy guides he has written have sold about 1 million copies, reported the New York Times Sunday.
Video games are not usually associated with reading, but the strategy guides are full-color books that tell players the best ways to solve puzzles, find and use weapons and other accessories, discover hidden bounty and navigate the virtual world.
"It's like writing a travel guide to a place that doesn't exist," Hodgson said. "Whereas (Arthur) Frommer's guides tell you what hotel to stay in, I tell you which hotel not to stay in because you're going to get dragged down by a gangster."
