Well, this is an article which talks about Ubisoft planning to get rid of User manuals from their games starting this Autumn. They have some legitimate reasons for doing so, such as saving paper and the like. However, I am hoping not all publishers follow suit. I like user manuals, they give new games the 'new game smell' when you first open them and flick through the manual. They give you something fun to read while loading up the game. Especially for Ubisoft games, they give you something to do when your internet cuts off and their DRM kicks in <_< .

 

The article: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=243376

 

Another article: http://www.gamesradar.com/f/things-well-miss-if-game-manuals-are-done-away-with/a-20100420153620749070

 

 

Are there any others who just like having manuals, a bit of reading material for games?

I love the manuals. Back in the Gamecube, GBA, etc days, I would read the manual through before I even started the game. Now, the manual just basically has the controls and the small print about legal stuff. For MW2 and Battlefield 2, the manual was only a few pages. I remember the Pokemon manuals for example, they were like 50 pages.

So much effort is sometimes put into manuals, its almost an art in itself. E.g GTA manuals which are basically a holiday brochure, but somehow get across all the information you need.

Nooooo I love the manuals :(

Ahhh.. I remember the real old days of original Game Boy and SNES game manuals.

 

If my memory serves me correctly, both Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) and Zelda: Link's Awakening (Game Boy) had particularly good, long manuals. Plenty of pictures.  :P

 

 

Ubisoft are my least favourite company at the moment, with their horrid PC DRM and now this.

 

Manuals used to be awesome, nowadays companies put very very little effort into them (the MW2 manual was what, 7 pages?). A good manual makes a good awesome. Hell, I remember as a child reading the Metroid manual in bed, sure I did it for other manuals too.

 

And yes, the smell of new manuals is awesome, I think my favourite has to be the WoW manual.

When I got my first PS3 game, I was amazed at how thin the manual was. A few years ago they were almost as thick as a small bible (Exaggeration, but you get the picture), and now they wont exist :( Anyway, like DarkDude has said, Ubisoft are my least favourite company at the moment. I was going to buy Splinter Cell Conviction for PC, until they revealed that they were going to use their awful DRM system.

Ubisoft are my least favourite company at the moment, with their horrid PC DRM and now this.

 

Manuals used to be awesome, nowadays companies put very very little effort into them (the MW2 manual was what, 7 pages?). A good manual makes a good awesome. Hell, I remember as a child reading the Metroid manual in bed, sure I did it for other manuals too.

 

And yes, the smell of new manuals is awesome, I think my favourite has to be the WoW manual.

Aww, I bought the virtual copy :c

 

My favourite was either COD 2 or Spliter Cell: Chaos Theory.

Civ2 manual was a whole book. Don't remember if it was written in other languages or if it was just in english, but it was still very long. It was also quite compulsory reading if you wanted to be any good in the game in harder difficulty levels...

They just want to cut down manufacturing costs, they'll be selling us games in a paper sleeve soon.

Civ2 manual was a whole book. Don't remember if it was written in other languages or if it was just in english, but it was still very long. It was also quite compulsory reading if you wanted to be any good in the game in harder difficulty levels...

Strategy games in general seem to have long manuals that have basically everything you need to know about every unit and option. Makes sense though, I mean you need to know that stuff if you want to build a strategy around it. Like RPG manuals give you class information, for example.

 

Don't know any Ubisoft games but they'd better put that information somewhere if they aren't making manuals.

i only read manuals when i have nothing else to read in the toilet

I would have to agree with DarkDude with the amount of time put into the WOW man. It is a great read even after quitting the game! :mrgreen:

Danqazmlp, you're not the only one who likes having game manuals. I personally still read one from the original "Descent" every once in a blue moon. I enjoyed the game until my parents and I had to start using hardware that didn't work with old DOS games. Do wish I could play it again, though....... And then there was MechWarrior 2 & MechWarrior 3... Those were awesome, and you really had to keep the documentation on hand if you were either aiming for perfection or doing a speedrun of some kind....... Ah, the memories... B)

 

~Mr. D. V. "May game manuals never die!" Devnull

Undoubtedly my favourite manual is the Age of Empires 2 manual I got in the boxed pc edition of the game about 9 years ago. Oblivion also has a great manual. I don't really buy any Ubisoft games anyway, but its a shame I guess.

For most games manuals are a waste of paper, this is a good move.

They were necessary before the internet kicked in. Now that's like carrying around a beeper when you have a cell phone with unlimited texting. Kinda antiquated.

 

Yeah, they're cool and they do a lot for the value of a collectible game, but to the average fella they're not needed.

The manual is one incentive to actually buy the game rather than just downloading it somewhere. Not surprised to see Ubisoft doing something that causes more people to pirate a game.

 

I do like manuals, and every now and then a game will have a good one (Neverwinter Nights had to be bound there were so many pages), but in reality they just aren't exactly needed anymore. They better include them on the actual discs though, I do not want to have to try and find it online somewhere.

One problem i have with not having a manual is what if I need help while playing the game? I don't want to have to exit to the main menu just to read what will probably be 2 or 3 lines, or if for PC games they add it onto the disk, i don't want to have to switch screens and load it up. Manuals work as they are.

To be fair, game manuals help gameplay as much as cheerleaders do on the outcome of a match. Most of the instructions should already be in the starting area of the game.

 

I would like to have game manuals, I enjoy reading them. However if this will really help saving more paper, I am all for it.

I love opening a new game and getting that "new game smell" for the manual.

 

I am aganist this, but I'm guessing other game makers will follow suit. We can see this with newspapers going to the internet. Oh well...

I hate buying used games and not knowing how to play because there was no manual <_<

 

I suppose that's not so much of a problem now, with the internet and more in-game tutorials, but still. Seems like a fairly smart move - Cuts costs, looks good for environmentalists, etc.

I actually hope one day everything will be downloaded from the internet. Imagine the resources we will be able to save!

They were necessary before the internet kicked in. Now that's like carrying around a beeper when you have a cell phone with unlimited texting. Kinda antiquated.

 

Yeah, they're cool and they do a lot for the value of a collectible game, but to the average fella they're not needed.

 

 

 

They make good items to get signed for game voice actors :P

They make good items to get signed for game voice actors :P

 

Oh man that could be a good idea. There are a few people that I would want to sign my copy of Mass Effect 2.