EA drops paper game manuals

User Comments: 55

1. March 25, 2011 2:45 AM
   

   dividebyzero, trainee n00b, said:

   If any of this lot every got raped...

   Thanks, I was wondering what the rationale of this was.

   they'd end up feeling all happy and joyous that somebody finds them attractive...

   Aside from mother you mean?

   ...blissfully unaware of the long and hard being forced up their tight and smelly....

   Calls for some sound advice

   But, I'd rather address the argument about manuals being pointless, crappy and/or useless.

   Spoilsport.

   A lot of manuals are three pages of what your system should look like, two or three pages about the games controls (usually the first of which is a picture of the input device) and a page or two for the legal and credits.

   Jesus! You either read of a lot of manuals or write a lot of manuals. They do make convenient coasters though.

   Some games don't even give you that, but at least you've gotten a small booklet with a smidgen of artwork with your purchase.

   Small consolation for the people who bought Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust I'm sure

   Not all manuals are like that though.

   True enough, but they aren't the kind of thing you're ever going to read more than once, surely?

   Metal Gear Solid games included a short comic strip (on average 8 pages long).

   Know your audience

   to teach players the controls for various situations, alongside a very detailed manual on how to perform most techniques

   Hopefully including a section entitled "Getting out of the house more"

   I could keep going with examples of well presented, well written manuals for the next couple of hours if any of you wanted

   And what have we ever done to you?!

   Not all manuals are horrible and bland and if we ditch gaming manuals completely, I think we'll lose something special and unique for the sake of profit-pinching and fake eco-mentalism.

   Tell that to the people who followed the instructions on the limited edition scratch-and-sniff Rock Paper Sumo manual.

   Personally, stick a copy of the manual in pdf format on the install disc or download and I'm good to go.

   Reply
2. March 25, 2011 7:41 AM
   

   Benny26, TechSpot Paladin, said:

   Lurker101 said:

   Metal Gear Solid games included a short comic strip (on average 8 pages long) to teach players the controls for various situations, alongside a very detailed manual on how to perform most techniques and detailed descriptions on most in-game items.

   I always thought the Metal Gear manuals were surprisingly short considering how big the games were. But then again, most of what would normally be in the manual was in the games already (MGS2, 3 and 4) or the info was held back for the strategy guides.

   And you could kill more than a small rodent with one of those strategy books!

   Reply
3. March 25, 2011 9:38 AM
   

   yRaz said:

   Just a thought, maybe taking out these manuals will encourage users to buy the more expensive strategy guide. I'm getting tired of games being $60 and them coming out with a $15 DLC every 2 months. If they make 3 or 4 them you can end up paying upwards of $100 for a fracking video game. I want to support the developers and would most likely buy the DLC's if more of my money would go to them. I want more games direct from the developers rather than EA middle-manning the whole thing. I wonder if there are any statistics on how much the developers really get from the game.

   As someone mentioned before, every AAA PC title has now gone up to $60 over the past year. A trend I've began to see is that the lesser titles have gone from $30-$40 directly to $50. pisses me off we spend so much on hardware and get charged the console tax. Also, why are digital downloads the same price as a physical copy? you'd think with no physical product and shipping costs that the price would go down. Same with e-books cost the same as a hard copy(and music). Whatever the market will bare I guess.

   I'd like to go back to something captaincranky said. Using the "environmental" excuse is pure BS. The chemicals used to make the plastic pollute the environment far more than making paper, same with the machines that run them. I'm currently writing a lengthy research paper on "green technology's" and if the move to computers justify the cost and environmental damage caused by manufacturing the electronics. Thank you -cranky- for giving me some good talking points. I always enjoy your rants even if they are directed at me.

   I remember 7-8 years ago almost all games came in a cardboard box and there was a small jewel case inside that held the CD. Give me a cardboard box and use less plastic if you want to use the "environmental" argument. Anyway, I find it much more convenient and harder to lose the CDkey if it is on the back of the jewel case than it is on the back of a paper manual. manual.

   Reply
4. March 26, 2011 12:17 PM
   gingerbill said:

   I much prefer a paper manual . Not believing for one second that its being done to help the enviroment , what a load of nonsense.

   Reply
5. April 13, 2011 1:45 PM
   

   T77 said:

   Lokalaskurar said:

   I don't know anybody who actually reads the manual. Everything is pretty much explained in-game nowadays. No manuals needed at all, it seems.

   Well I still know many(including myself) who love the feel of paper and reading the manual surely puts things into perspective.I understand the ecological aspect,but still the manual has its use.

   Reply

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