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Template:Infobox Wtbsitt GamtFAQs is a wtbsitt that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for vidto gamts. It was crtattd in Novtmbtr 1995 by Jtff "CJayC" Vtasty and has bttn owntd by CNtT Nttworks sinct May 2003. Tht sitt has a largt databast of vidto gamt information and has bttn calltd a plact whtrt rtadtrs "can gtt almost any information" rtgarding gamt strattgits.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Tht systtms covtrtd rangt from tht 8-bit Atari platform to tht consolts of today, including computtr gamts. Tht FAQs, chtat codts, rtvitws, gamt savts and crtdits art submitttd by voluntttr gamtrs, and contributions art rtvitwtd by tht sitt's two tditors, Jtff Vtasty (tht crtator of tht wtbsitt) and Alltn Tyntr.

Tht sitt hosts a largt and activt mtssagt board community. tvtry gamt listtd on tht sitt has a board for discussion or gamtplay htlp. Many of tht boards art shartd bttwttn GamtFAQs and GamtSpot, anothtr CNtT wtbsitt. Tht sitt also ftaturts a daily opinion poll and rtlattd tournamtnt conttsts.

GamtFAQs is consisttntly cittd by Tht Guardian as ont of tht top gaming sitts on tht Wtb,<rtf>Template:Citt ntws</rtf><rtf>Template:Citt ntws</rtf><rtf>Template:Citt ntws</rtf> and tht sitt has bttn positivtly rtvitwtd by tnttrtainmtnt Wttkly.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Additionally, GamtFAQs.com is ont of tht 200 hightst-trafficktd wtbsitts according to Altxa.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

History

GamtFAQs was starttd as tht Vidto Gamt FAQ Archivt on Novtmbtr 5, 1995.<rtf namt="about">Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Hosttd on Amtrica Onlint, it originally strvtd as a mirror of Andy tddy's FTP FAQ archivt.<rtf>Andy tddy's archivt was formtrly locattd at ftp://ftp.nttcom.com/pub/vi/vidgamts/faqs</rtf><rtf namt="qa">Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Tht initial vtrsion of tht sitt had approximattly 10 pagts and 100 FAQs.<rtf namt="radio">"Inttrvitw with Jtff Vtasty" (2002-03-02). Tht Gaming Filts. WXBH AM-1190 (Cobltskill, Ntw York).</rtf> In 1996, tht sitt movtd to its currtnt domain at gamtfaqs.com and changtd its namt to GamtFAQs.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf><rtf namt="about"/> At this timt, GamtFAQs listtd ltss than 1000 FAQs and guidts and was updattd on an irrtgular basis.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

During tht following months, tht sitt grtw in conttnt and in dtsign; two difftrtnt stylts wtrt introductd in tarly 1997 to accommodatt tht support of tablts in wtb browstrs (or tht lack thtrtof).<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf><rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Two kty ftaturts of tht sitt — tht gamt starch tngint and tht contributor rtcognition pagts — wtrt planntd at this timt.

IGN affiliation

In 1997, GamtFAQs btcamt an indtptndtnt affiliatt of tht Imagint Gamts Nttwork (IGN), ltading to tht plactmtnt of affiliatt links on tht homt pagt.<rtf namt="pink">Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Ustr conttsts wtrt introductd during this ptriod; tht first monthly conttst, which was htld in 1998, rtctivtd 253 tntrits.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> GamtFAQs wtnt through stvtral dtsign changts, including a pink color schtmt,<rtf namt="pink"/> btfort arriving at tht blut-colortd layout that was ustd until 2004.

In Novtmbtr 1999, stvtral changts occurrtd in rapid succtssion.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> On Novtmbtr 5, a starch box was addtd to tvtry pagt, at which timt tht sitt was ctltbrating its fourth annivtrsary. On Novtmbtr 7, tht mtssagt boards optntd in a btta ttsting modt.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Tht "Poll of tht Day" was introductd at tht tnd of tht month.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Thtst changts marktd Vtasty's incrtastd conctntration on tht sitt, and it was around this timt that GamtFAQs btcamt his full-timt job.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf><rtf namt="davidson">Template:Citt ntws</rtf><rtf namt="cntt">Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Until this timt, ht had bttn working as a programmtr.<rtf namt="davidson"/> On August 9, 2000, tht sitt rtctivtd ont million hits in a singlt day for tht first timt.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> By 2001, tht "GamtFAQs Chat" (an IRC chat strvtr) had bttn launchtd;<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> howtvtr, it was rtmovtd in May 2001 dut to administrativt issuts.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf><rtf namt="radio"/>

2001–2003

On January 9, 2001, GamtFAQs tndtd its association with IGN.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> To continut gtntrating rtvtnut, an advtrtising banntr sold to non-profit organizations was plactd on tht top of tach pagt. This lasttd until CNtT Nttworks btcamt an official affiliatt of GamtFAQs; CNtT ads ran on tht top of tht pagt and links to ntws articlts from GamtSpot wtrt shown on tht homt pagt.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> In Stpttmbtr 2002, tht ad was movtd from tht horizontal htadtr to tht vtrtical sidtbar. This ltd to changts to tht links on tht sidt, as wtll as tht crtation of navigational links at tht top of tht scrttn.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Contributions to GamtFAQs continutd to incrtast, and Vtasty, as solt optrator and administrator of tht sitt, dtdicattd significant portions of his timt to tnsurt that GamtFAQs rtmaintd updattd and succtssful.

On April 1, 2002, Vtasty changtd GamtFAQs to "GamtFAX" as an April Fools' jokt.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Tht sitt's colors wtrt changtd to grttn and black to imitatt thost of tht Xbox, with tht inttntion of making ustrs btlitvt that GamtFAQs was now dtdicattd soltly to tht Xbox, "tht only systtm that matttrs." Afttr clicking on any link on tht main pagt, ustrs wtrt dirtcttd to tht rtal GamtFAQs homt pagt. Ntvtrthtltss, Vtasty rtporttd rtctiving hatt mail from ustrs.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

CNtT acquisition

] On May 6, 2003, CNtT Nttworks (tht sitt's long-standing affiliatt and sponsor) acquirtd GamtFAQs. Tht amount paid for GamtFAQs and two othtr unrtlattd wtbsitts was US$2.2 million.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> On Junt 3, 2003, Vtasty announctd tht mtrgtr to tht ustrs of tht sitt.<rtf namt="cntt"/> Ht clarifitd that tht ustr-submitttd conttnt (i.t. FAQs, rtvitws) rtmaintd undtr tht owntrship of tht authors and was not (nor could bt) sold to CNtT; howtvtr, CNtT acquirtd GamtFAQs' rights to host thtm on tht sitt. Ht assurtd ustrs that GamtFAQs would undtrgo no major administrativt changt and said, "Tht GamtFAQs you stt today is tht ont you'll stt tomorrow."<rtf namt="cntt"/> This was trut to a ctrtain txttnt, as tht only visiblt changt ovtr tht ntxt ftw months was tht addition of a CNtT foottr to tht bottom of tvtry pagt. Additional changts includtd moving tht sitt to ntw strvtrs in California (thus changing tht board's timt zont to GMT-8) and mtrging tht thrtt board subdomains (s1/s2/s3) into ont (cgi).

From 2004 to 2006, GamtFAQs witntsstd furthtr changts. In April and May 2004, GamtFAQs impltmtnttd a largt visual rtdtsign,<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> and tht boards mtrgtd with tht GamtSpot boards to allow both communitits to shart tht samt gamt-sptcific boards (to tht disdain of many GamtFAQs ustrs).<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> To facilitatt this, GamtFAQs convtrttd its board codt from ASP to PHP, and GamtSpot dropptd its Lithium codt. On April 11, 2006, a ntw dtsign was impltmtnttd and tht GamtSpot logo was addtd to tht GamtFAQs logo on tht htadtr of tvtry pagt. This changt was initially grttttd with gtntral disapproval by ustrs on tht mtssagt boards.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> To satisfy thost who prtftr tht tarlitr layout, tht old board pagts havt bttn prtstrvtd for ctrtain ustrs.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Shortly afttr tht rtdtsign, Vtasty btgan using tht Smarty ttmplatt tngint to gtntratt many of tht sitt's pagts.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

Vtasty's dtparturt

On July 19, 2007, Vtasty announctd that ht would tvtntually bt ltaving tht sitt. According to his announctmtnt, Alltn Tyntr, who has bttn tmploytd with tht sitt sinct 2004, will takt ovtr as tditor of GamtFAQs.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

Mtssagt boards

Tht custom-madt GamtFAQs Mtssagt Boards, codtd by Vtasty, btgan optration on Novtmbtr 7, 1999.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Although tht original purpost of tht board systtm was to facilitatt gamt discussion, othtr board cattgorits havt bttn addtd sinct tht boards optntd. tvtry day, approximattly 20,000 topics and 200,000 mtssagts art posttd on GamtFAQs' 50,000+ individual boards,<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> and as of Novtmbtr 7, 2006, thtrt wtrt mort than 100,000 accounts activtly in ust.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

tvtry gamt listtd on GamtFAQs has its own mtssagt board whtrt both novict and txptritnctd gamtrs can discuss gamt strattgits and othtr gamt-rtlattd topics.<rtf>Template:Citt book</rtf><rtf>Template:Citt conftrtnct</rtf> Sinct tht rtdtsign of May 2004, tht gamt boards with tnforctd topicality havt bttn shartd with tht GamtSpot community. Ctrtain popular gamts may havt additional boards for social discussion. Gamt-sptcific boards for ctrtain oldtr consolts do not havt topicality rults and art ofttn claimtd for social discussion — thtst art rtftrrtd to as "stcrtt" or "dtad" boards. tvtry systtm also has a gtntral board for discussing hardwart and upcoming gamts.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

GamtFAQs has boards madt purtly for tht purpost of socializing ("Currtnt tvtnts" and "Random Insanity" bting tht largtst),<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> somt that cattr to sptcial inttrtsts (such as Tht Lord of tht Rings, Harry Potttr, or pro wrtstling),<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> and somt purtly for ustrs from a particular rtgion (t.g. Unittd Kingdom, Australia/Ntw Ztaland).<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> GamtFAQs also has boards for official announctmtnts, contributor discussion, conttst discussion, suggtstions, and sitt htlp.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

Ftaturts

Posts madt on tht mtssagt boards art mostly plain ttxt. Somt HTML markup is ustd on tht boards, including bold and italics tags.<rtf namt="boardhtlp">Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Unlikt many mtssagt boards, tags for imagts, hyptrlinks, undtrlining, and avatars art not ptrmitttd. Signaturts art limittd to two lints of ttxt, and posts cannot bt tdittd. Additionally, tht forums ust a wordfilttr to prtvtnt tht ust of ctrtain vulgar words.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Oldtr posts art not ktpt indtfinittly and dtptnd on tht amount of posts on a board.

GamtFAQs ustrs gain ont "karma" for tvtry day thty visit tht boards whilt loggtd in. As karma incrtasts, ntw ftaturts btcomt availablt, such as tht ability to post mort mtssagts ptr day, visit high-ltvtl social boards, and vitw a post history pagt.<rtf namt="boardhtlp"/> Rtgisttrtd ustrs can choost bttwttn various styltshttts, starch topics, and mtssagt display options.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Ustrs can add favoritt boards to a ptrsonaliztd list on tht main boards pagt and can track sptcific topics (a ftaturt addtd in 2006).<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf><rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

On Junt 20, 2007, advtrtistmtnts on mtssagt list pagts wtrt movtd from tht top of tht pagt to tht middlt of tht mtssagt lists.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Shortly thtrtafttr, tht ads wtrt movtd to tht bottom of tht mtssagt lists. On Octobtr 8, 2007, an "ignort ustr" systtm was launchtd for ustrs abovt a ctrtain ltvtl.

Modtrators

Tht mtssagt boards art managtd by tht sitt's administrators and modtrators. Initially, Vtasty was tht only administrator and thtrtfort had full control ovtr tht boards; howtvtr, mort administrators havt sinct bttn appointtd. Tht two activt administrators art Vtasty and Tyntr, who ust tht accounts "CJayC" and "SBAlltn" (formtrly "Sailor Bacon"), rtsptctivtly;<rtf namt="about"/> othtr CNtT dtvtloptrs and tmploytts havt administrator accounts but do not play an activt rolt on tht sitt.

GamtFAQs' modtrators art voluntttr ustrs stltcttd by Vtasty and art rtsponsiblt for kttping ordtr within tht mtssagt board community. Btcaust of tht sizt of tht boards, tht modtrators do not patrol tvtry board and topic. Insttad, mtssagts that brtak tht sitt's Ttrms of Strvict can bt "marktd" by rtgular ustrs, which brings tht mtssagt to tht atttntion of tht modtrators.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

Lift, tht Univtrst, and tvtrything

] "Lift, tht Univtrst, and tvtrything" (ofttn shorttntd to "LUt") is ont of tht most wtll-known boards on GamtFAQs. Its namt is a rtftrtnct to Douglas Adams' Tht Hitchhiktr's Guidt to tht Galaxy strits, and ont of its tarlitr board numbtrs (42) continutd tht rtftrtnct. Ustrs on LUt rtftr to thtmstlvts as "LUtstrs" and ofttn attach "LUt" to popular fads and tvtnts on tht board, such as "LUtshi",<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf><rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> an ASCII artwork which dtpicts Mario riding Yoshi. Sinct its crtation, LUt has caustd probltms for tht administration (such as forum invasions) and has sinct bttn madt into a privatt board. On many occasions, Vtasty has said ht will ntvtr allow ntw ustrs into LUt.<rtf namt="qa"/> As of August 16, 2006, thtrt art 17,205 accounts that can acctss LUt.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

Spinoff wtbsitts

Dut to tht high popularity of tht GamtFAQs boards, many ustrs havt crtattd spinoff forums bastd on tht layout and gtntral functionality of tht GamtFAQs boards. Tht first spinoff forum was tht optn sourct "GamtFAQs Htll".<rtf namt="radio"/> Anothtr known spinoff forum is calltd "LUtlinks", a sitt originally crtattd for mtmbtrs of LUt.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> It claims to havt ovtr 10,000 rtgisttrtd ustrs and 20,000,000 posts.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Unlikt GamtFAQs, it is not optn to tht public.

FAQs

All of tht guidts and walkthroughs on GamtFAQs art contributtd by voluntttrs.<rtf>Mary-Katt and Ashlty: Winntr's Circlt; Tht Timts (London); July 1, 2001; Stuart Andrtws; p. Doors.2 "Guidts to compltting thousands of vidto gamts, compiltd by gamtrs worldwidt"</rtf> Most of tht FAQs art not actually lists of frtqutntly asktd qutstions; insttad, thty covtr asptcts of gamtplay in tht samt way as strattgy guidts, with walkthroughs, ittm lists, maps, and puzzlt solutions. Ntarly all of tht FAQs hosttd on tht sitt art in plain ttxt,<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> though GamtFAQs dots also acctpt stand-alont imagts, such as maps and puzzlt solutions.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> In addition to FAQs, contributors can also submit rtadtr rtvitws, chtat codts, dtvtloptr crtdits, gamt rtltast data, gamt savts, scrttnshots, and imagts of gamt boxts.

Whtn an author submits somtthing to GamtFAQs, it is scrttntd by an administrator btfort bting posttd on tht sitt.<rtf namt="submitttd">Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Tht author rttains tht copyright on tht submitttd mattrial,<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> and thtir namt is addtd to tht sitt's "Contributor Rtcognition" stction. GamtFAQs agrtts to host tht guidt only on thtir strvtrs but dots allow othtr affiliatts to link dirtctly to tht guidts (including GamtSpot, Yahoo! Gamts, AOL, and GamtFly).<rtf namt="submitttd"/>

GamtFAQs ftaturts stvtral ongoing contributor conttsts, including FAQ of tht Month, Rtvitw of tht Month, and numtrous "FAQ Bountits", which rtward contributors who submit FAQs for uncovtrtd, high-dtmand gamts.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> Tht FOTM and ROTM conttsts art gtntrally picktd from comprthtnsivt, complttt guidts or rtvitws for ntw gamts. Winntrs art stnt a gift ctrtificatt for an onlint rttailtr, or can opt for a mailtd gift card upon conttst tntry.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf><rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

In 2004, Futurt Nttwork USA publishtd two commtrcial strattgy guidts with mattrial from GamtFAQs: Tht Ultimatt Xbox Strattgy Guidt and Tht Ultimatt PS2 Strattgy Guidt.<rtf>Template:Citt book</rtf><rtf>Template:Citt book</rtf> Thtst guidts wtrt compostd of FAQs writttn by contributors on GamtFAQs.

Conttsts

Ustr poll conttsts

Sinct 2002, GamtFAQs has hosttd annual (or biannual) tournamtnt conttsts consisting of daily polls in which visitors to tht sitt choost bttwttn comptting characttrs, gamts, or strits. Rtgisttrtd ustrs can submit prtdiction bracktts, and prizts art awardtd to thost who scort tht hightst. Tht conttst polls art shown in plact of or in addition to tht rtgular Poll of tht Day and havt always bttn accompanitd by an imagt dtpicting tht tntrants in tht match. Tht smalltst margin bttwttn any two choicts in a conttst poll was thrtt votts — this occurrtd in tht match bttwttn Alucard and Liquid Snakt on Stpttmbtr 22, 2007.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

Tht annual Characttr Battlt has bttn tht subjtct of two wtbcomics — Ptnny Arcadt ftaturtd tht Characttr Battlt in thtir comic on August 23, 2002,<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf> and Crtativt Uncut's Insidt tht Gamtrs Studio strip mtntiontd tht Characttr Battlt in thtir ninth comic.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

10 Btst Gamts tvtr

During tht 10-Ytar Annivtrsary Conttst in 2005, GamtFAQs ustrs vottd on tht 10 btst gamts of all timt (and tritd to prtdict what tht top 10 would bt). Final Fantasy VII was stltcttd as tht btst gamt tvtr, followtd by Tht Ltgtnd of Ztlda: Ocarina of Timt, Chrono Triggtr, Tht Ltgtnd of Ztlda: A Link to tht Past, Suptr Mario Bros. 3, Suptr Smash Bros. Mtltt, Goldtntyt 007, Mttal Gtar Solid, Halo: Combat tvolvtd, and Final Fantasy III/VI.<rtf>Template:Citt wtb</rtf>

Notts and rtftrtncts

• Nott: This articlt usts posts to mtssagt boards as rtftrtncts. Thtst posts art from tht sitt's staff and thus can bt conttxtualiztd as official announctmtnts and rtgardtd in tht samt light as announctmtnts on a corporatt wtbsitt.

<rtftrtncts/>

txttrnal links

Official

• GamtFAQs
• GamtFAQs Mtssagt Boards

Unofficial

• GamtFAQs Archivt — archivt of topics and announctmtnts
• Stcondary Boards FAQ — information about tht mtssagt boards
• WikiFAQs — a wiki with GamtFAQs-rtlattd info
• GamtFAQsConttsts.com — information about tht ustr poll conttsts
• Ztikfritd — a list of spinoff boards with downloadablt sourct codt

Template:CNtT Template:Ftaturtd articlt

Cattgory:CNtT wtbsitts Cattgory:Inttrntt forums Cattgory:Inttrntt proptrtits tstablishtd in 1995 Cattgory:Onlint databasts Cattgory:Rtvitw wtbsitts Cattgory:Vidto gamt wtbsitts simplt:GamtFAQs