Electronic Arts yesterday revealed that the company will no longer be including printed game manuals in its video games. EA isn't the first publisher to stop including manuals--Ubisoft stopped including printed guides almost a year ago-- but it is the largest game-maker to stop including manuals. If you absolutely can't get by without a diagram that says the left stick is move and the right stick is look, you'll be able to see any EA game manual online at EA's support page.
EA says it will reduce printed material in its packages by 40 percent, and that ultimately means less waste, less pollution, and a greener earth. "EA is committed to a healthy and sustainable environment," said EA COO John Schappert in a statement.
Also, you gotta figure EA is committed to maximizing profits as well; they'll likely increase profits by lowering printing costs.
These days, if you need to use a manual, it sort of means the game design iis lacking, but as an older gamer-cat, it's hard to not feel nostalgic for the days when a big game release came with elaborately printed manuals, props, cloth maps, and other add-ons. Of course, most of that was to make up for the technical limitations of game devices and PCs of the time, but still, that stuff was cool and created an extra layer of immersion.
What do you guys think? Do you ever look at/use game manuals?
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That1guy34
@Malidicus: Yeah, and when George Bush left office. Everything was going fine.
That1guy34
@Malidicus: Yeah, and when George Bush left office. Everything was going fine.
Mashpotaters
What am I supposed to do while I install/update the game now. I guess I could go on the computer and look up the manual, but it's just not the same.
Nivekwons
This is kind of a bummer. I always enjoy flipping through the manuals on my way home from getting the game so I am fresh on details, changes, and control schemes (if changed). Maybe they should charge about $5 less now for their games...yeah that won't happen.
natiep2000
EA, I'm sure removing the manuals has everything to do with being a greener company and has nothing to do with saving money. I'm sure I wont see a $5 discount on the games that don't come with the manual. How I love the big lies...
dz99ls
This is disapointing news, Whats more disapointing is that they are trying to pass this off as "going green". When its actually about saving them some green. Of course none of these savings will be passed on to the consumer...
killshot
i only use manuals if its a RTS game or a RPG, such as Halo Wars or Oblivion. That's pretty much it.
Shadowmars
Dammit, I use those manuals to border the top of my gameroom. No Joke. I've got a lot of them. No BF3 one now :c
koolboricua
I like reading the manuals just like the next guy and mostly because of the same thing. There are plenty of game manuals with beautiful art work, like MMOs and RTS manual. Also many of them have awesome hints and even things we didnt think worked. However, i dont mind reducing and helping the environment. What i mind is that they take this long to realize the problems we are having and now that we are down we want to get picked up. Anyhow, thats a different page of the manual.
cwbys21
I can only think of reading two manuals in all the years I've been gaming. I got Link to the Past at my Grandma's house and read the manual over and over again on the way home, and the original Lunar had some awesome stuff that came with it. That's it. So I'm not going to be to sad to see it go.
zeldafreak777
I love manuals. As a kid after getting anew game and getting driven home from the mall where I got it I would read it front to cover. Also I loved that sometimes concept art was included. I guess the original Legend of Zelda manual has influenced my opinion a lot. Also the cloth map you got form Lunar Silver Star Story is one of my favorite video game memorabilia.
kearnel
well if we aint getting manuals, i think they should reduce the price of the game
col.guile
i always read the manual so i know how to play the game
lowkevmic
Like anyone really stopped to read the manual after ripping open their new game?? Strategy Guides and blog posts made manuals useless a while ago. All they did was give gamers a brief overview of what they were about to play. But the game itself usually have tutorial walkthroughs before the game even begins. So I think fans of EA games should be fine.
TheSledBaron
I did like looking at the manuals but I hardly learned anything new from them.
The maps included in the Elder Scrolls games are pretty useful though.
TheBRADLeyB
If EA was serious about saving the environment (and their company) they would revamp their entire delivery process of video games.
They would make a gigantic push for Digital Download. They would offer games on release day for a cheaper price (say 5 dollars off or 10) and they'd give some exclusive DLC content with it.
DLC would stop game reselling and additionally would provide greater control of the games.
Anyway yeah Manuals aren't exactly doing anyone big favours these days. I sometimes use them to look at the Control Scheme but that's about it. Usually the manuals are even out of date or incorrect.
EarstotheGround
This decision was purely made to Cut Costs / Boost Profits (lol...'save the environment' my foot), and gamers will not see a dime of the savings.
While not an essential part of the gaming experience as it used to be (with internet access prevalent, and more games having in-game tutorials), manuals do serve as a quick in-game reference for 'special moves' etc and was a cool collectible for the artwork, character/backstory etc.
They will be missed and as a response - I will certainly not give EA a dime for downloadable (DLC) artwork / screensavers / backgrounds.
Taoofgaming7
i think that sucks that they're not printing anymore manuals cuz they help i use them when here and there besides that i also like to read the content in it and besides that to me it wouldn't feel the same opening a box and not seeing anything there. : /
asthmagasm
Worst part about buying a used game was getting a case without a manual. Hated it when Ubisoft did it, and I hate it now that EA is doing since it's a much larger scale. Much like everyone else, I understand they aren't as practical anymore, but the concept art, backstories, inside jokes, were all fun to find in the manual right after you tore the box open.
bigbowser101
Sucks that they won't be making manuals anymore.
On a separate note, where were you when ScrewAttack already covered this story 2 days ago?
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