Kaylyn Hohn 
The long-running video game strategy guide publisher, Prima Games, is shutting down after 28 years.
The announcement came from Prima Games parent company, Dorling Kindersley (DK), according to Publisher’s Lunch, citing a “significant decline in the video game guide sector” as the reasoning for the shutdown. Ian Hudson, CEO of DK, said the decision was an “extremely difficult” one to make, in an internal memo.
“During a year-long extensive review, many new ways were explored to diversify Prima Games publishing; however, the dynamics for us of this fast-paced landscape have continued to prove difficult. This enormously dedicated team has made every effort to turn the business around, but challenging market conditions have unfortunately worked against them,” said Hudson, according to TechSpot.
With the Internet and Youtube providing endless game walkthrough forums and videos, it’s no surprise that physical game strategy guides are going to the wayside. Even with Prima Games trying to adapt to these new “marketing conditions” with eGuides, the Internet is fast, and it’s free.
The three Prima Imprint offices across the United State, in Roseville, CA, Indianapolis, IN, and New York, NY, will all be closed by spring of next year, though the Roseville office is likely to close as early as mid-November. It’s unclear how many employees are going to be affected by the shutdown, but there are no plans to create any new strategy guides for upcoming game releases until then.
Prima Games was founded in 1990, and has published over 1,400 titles, with 90 million strategy guides in circulation.
Source: Game Informer
