sites such as GameFAQs. Some newer sites allow strategy guides to be hosted in formats that allow pictures and videos, which further undercuts the advantages of print strategy guides. Some publishers have tried combining their printed books with the Internet. In 2000, the Final Fantasy IX Official Strategy Guide was published by BradyGames, but much of the information was contained on Square's PlayOnline website. This seemed like a good way to promote PlayOnline, while creating a guide that would have updatable content, but it was widely panned. Players saw no need of buying a book if a significant part of the content was online; and there was no point paying for online content from one site, if it was available for free on another site. As a result, Square abandoned the online strategy guide concept and released traditional printed guides for future games. Source mistakes Some companies make mistakes in the book about the game itself, such as stating that "Character A" has a relationship with "Character B", despite there being no relationship. In a strategy guide for Diddy Kong Racing they referred to characters with terms such as "The Dinosaur" and "The Octopus" instead of their names. Games journalist and guide writer Alan Emrich has severely criticized recent strategy guides for: Containing only facts which should have been in the game manual, e.g. about the user interface. Failing to teach users how to improve their play. Failing to provide information which helps them to make decisions, e.g. about the capabilities and costs of units and buildings. Being inaccurate, often because the developers have tweaked the game during the publication lead time. The faults, he says, are mainly caused by the game publishers' and guide publishers' haste to get their products on to the market; "[previously] strategy guides were published after a game was released so that they could be accurate, even to the point of including information changes from late game 'patch' releases. The Master of Orion official strategy guide that Tom Hughes and I wrote is just that kind of book." Lists Best-selling guide books Best-selling guide series See also Golden age of video arcade games Video game walkthrough References Works about video games Handbooks and manuals Video game terminology