Remember Prima Guides? Especially for Pokemon? They were analogous to the bible for me. I carried them around like an ancient tome full of sacred information, consulting it whenever any minor problem popped up or if I had the tiniest curiosity about what pokemon would learn what move and at what level. What happened to them? Why don’t I buy them anymore? Why did I ever buy them?
I think the answer lies in psychology my friends, specifically in Erik Erikson’s stages of development. The age that these Prima guides were most influential to me was definitely for the Red/Blue and Gold/Silver generations (I was roughly 8-11 during these games). No wonder that the Eriksonian stage of development from Age 6 – Puberty (Roughly age 12-15) is Industry Vs. Inferiority.
What is Industry Vs. Inferiority? I’ll sum it up as best & quickly as possible. It has to do with your view of your abilities and competency. If one is able to develop positively through this stage – thanks to a positive teacher, supportive parents, etc – then usually the person comes away with the worldview of “I got this, I can handle my shit, if I set my mind to something I am able to get it done” (that’s “industry”) However, if one does not develop positively through this stage – you have a crappy teacher, your parents put you down, you’re held up to impossible standards which you cannot meet – you develop feelings of inferiority – “I can’t do this, it’s hopeless, why bother, I’m a loser” (hence it being called ‘Inferiority’).
So why did we all love Prima guides as we were younger? These guides were a way for us to feel more competent and self-confident in our abilities and intelligence.
- Can’t get past that Snorlax? Consult the Prima guide.
- Can’t figure out Lt. Surge’s trash bin traps (by the way, weird on your part Lt. Surge)? Consult the Prima guide.
- Some kid in school said his Rattata knew Fire Blast? Consult the Prima guide. (Then bring it to school and call him out on it!)
It made us feel better that we could reference something on our own and answer our own questions without the help of a parent or teacher. My guides quickly became dog-earred and ragged but I didn’t care, it contained so much useful knowledge that I felt it was just as important as the game itself – condition meant nothing as long as the print was still on the pages.
So why don’t we buy these Prima guides anymore? They’re still around being hawked by every GameStop employee in the country for every game that ever gets released. I actually scoff at the idea of having a guide to a game I buy now. That’s because we’ve grown older and appreciate that a game is SUPPOSED to have you guessing and make you work for your reward. That’s one of the major things I look for in a game now – is it challenging without being overly hard? Can I figure something out without having to visit gameFAQs or Google? I want to feel that I’m competent enough that I can figure things out on my own without consulting an outside source. However, if I’m forced to look something up I know I can find the answer I’m looking for in a sea of other unimportant information thanks to what I’ve learned from hours of being nose-deep in a Prima guide back in the day.
By Joseph Schott
