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{{Infobox Website | name = GameFAQs | logo = | screenshot = The GameFAQs home page during Character Battle VI. "Life, the Universe, and Everything" (often shortened to "LUE") is one of the most well-known boards on GameFAQs. Its name is a reference to Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, and one of its earlier board numbers (42) continued the reference. Users on LUE refer to themselves as "LUEsers" and often attach "LUE" to popular fads and events on the board, such as "LUEshi", an ASCII artwork which depicts Mario riding Yoshi. Since its creation, LUE has caused problems for the administration (such as forum invasions) and has since been made into a private board. On many occasions, Veasey has said he will never allow new users into LUE. As of August 16, 2006, there are 17,205 accounts that can access LUE.

Spinoff websites

Due to the high popularity of the GameFAQs boards, many users have created spinoff forums based on the layout and general functionality of the GameFAQs boards. The first spinoff forum was the open source "GameFAQs Hell". One of the largest spinoffs is "LUElinks", a site originally created for members of LUE. It claims to have over 10,000 registered users and 20,000,000 posts. Unlike GameFAQs, it is not open to the public.

FAQs

All of the guides and walkthroughs on GameFAQs are contributed by volunteers. Most of the FAQs are not actually lists of frequently asked questions; instead, they cover aspects of gameplay in the same way as strategy guides, with walkthroughs, item lists, maps, and puzzle solutions. Nearly all of the FAQs hosted on the site are in plain text, though GameFAQs does also accept stand-alone images, such as maps and puzzle solutions. In addition to FAQs, contributors can also submit reader reviews, cheat codes, developer credits, game release data, game saves, screenshots, and images of game boxes.

When an author submits something to GameFAQs, it is screened by an administrator before being posted on the site. The author retains the copyright on the submitted material, and their name is added to the site's "Contributor Recognition" section. GameFAQs agrees to host the guide only on their servers but does allow other affiliates to link directly to the guides (including GameSpot, Yahoo! Games, AOL, and GameFly).

GameFAQs features several ongoing contributor contests, including FAQ of the Month, Review of the Month, and numerous "FAQ Bounties", which reward contributors who submit FAQs for uncovered, high-demand games. The FOTM and ROTM contests are generally picked from comprehensive, complete guides or reviews for new games. Winners are sent a gift certificate for an online retailer, or can opt for a mailed gift card upon contest entry.

In 2004, Future Network USA published two commercial strategy guides with material from GameFAQs: The Ultimate Xbox Strategy Guide and The Ultimate PS2 Strategy Guide. These guides were composed of FAQs written by contributors on GameFAQs.

Contests

User poll contests

Since 2002, GameFAQs has hosted annual (or biannual) tournament contests consisting of daily polls in which visitors to the site choose between competing characters, games, or series. Registered users can submit prediction brackets, and prizes are awarded to those who score the highest. The contest polls are shown in place of or in addition to the regular Poll of the Day and have always been accompanied by an image depicting the entrants in the match. The smallest margin between any two choices in a contest poll was three votes — this occurred in the match between Alucard and Liquid Snake on September 22, 2007.

The annual Character Battle has been the subject of two webcomics — Penny Arcade featured the Character Battle in their comic on August 23, 2002, and Creative Uncut's Inside the Gamers Studio strip mentioned the Character Battle in their ninth comic.

10 Best Games Ever

During the 10-Year Anniversary Contest in 2005, GameFAQs users voted on the 10 best games of all time (and tried to predict what the top 10 would be). Final Fantasy VII was selected as the best game ever, followed by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Chrono Trigger, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Smash Bros. Melee, GoldenEye 007, Metal Gear Solid, Halo: Combat Evolved, and Final Fantasy III/VI.

Notes and references

• Note: This article uses posts to message boards as references. These posts are from the site's staff and thus can be contextualized as official announcements and regarded in the same light as announcements on a corporate website.

1. "LUE topic with many LUEshi's". GameFAQs. 2004-05-03. Archived from the original on 2004-10-12. Retrieved 2006-09-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. "Poll of the Day #2333". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
3. Cite error: The named reference qa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. Veasey, Jeff (2005-08-16). "Ask GameFAQs: Errata?". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2006-09-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Cite error: The named reference radio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
6. "LUElinks registration page". Archived from the original on 2005-03-11. Retrieved 2006-09-23.
7. "LUElinks - Stats". Retrieved 2007-01-04.
8. Mary-Kate and Ashley: Winner's Circle; The Times (London); July 1, 2001; Stuart Andrews; p. Doors.2 "Guides to completing thousands of video games, compiled by gamers worldwide"
9. "Composing Your Guide". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
10. "Images (Maps and other graphics)". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
11. ^ "After You've Submitted". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
12. "Copyrights, Trademarks, and Plagiarism". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
13. "FAQ Bounty". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
14. "FAQ of the Month". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
15. "Review of the Month". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
16. Cohen, Corey (ed.) (2004). The Ultimate Xbox Strategy Guide. Future Network USA. OCLC 60827530. ASIN B000E7URBQ. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
17. Amrich, Dan (ed.) (2004). The Ultimate PS2 Strategy Guide. Future Network USA. OCLC 60579744. ASIN B000E7URPM. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
18. "Summer 2002: "The Great GameFAQs Character Battle"". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
19. "Summer 2003: The Great GameFAQs Character Battle II". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
20. "Spring 2004: Best. Game. Ever". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
21. "Summer 2004: The Great GameFAQs Character Battle III". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
22. "Spring 2005: Got Villains?". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
23. ^ "Summer 2005: The Great GameFAQs Character Battle IV". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
24. "Summer 2006: Best. Series. Ever". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
25. "Fall 2006: The Great GameFAQs Character Battle V". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
26. "Poll of the Day #2566". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
27. Note: Two different spellings were used — "Battle Royale" and "Battle Royal".
28. "Fall 2007: The Great GameFAQs Character Battle VI". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
29. "Poll of the Day #2882". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
30. "Penny Arcade comic". Penny Arcade. 2002-08-23. Retrieved 2006-12-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
31. "Inside the Gamers Studio comic". Creative Uncut. 2003. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
32. "Fall 2005: 10-Year Anniversary Contest - The 10 Best Games Ever". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-09-23.

External links

Official

• GameFAQs
• GameFAQs Message Boards

Unofficial

• GameFAQs Archive — archive of topics and announcements
• Secondary Boards FAQ — information about the message boards
• WikiFAQs — a wiki with GameFAQs-related info
• GameFAQsContests.com — information about the user poll contests
• Zeikfried — a list of spinoff boards with downloadable source code

• CNET websites
• Internet forums
• Internet properties established in 1995
• Online databases
• Review websites
• Video game websites