EA ditches games manuals – who cares?
EA is ditching printed games manuals for all its titles. Does anyone actually care about games manuals anymore? Or even look at them for that matter?
Electronic Arts (EA) recently announced it is going to ditch games manuals completely. From now on none of its PC, PS3, or Xbox 360 titles will come with a printed game manual, with a digital on-disc manual being provided instead. Fight Night Champion and the PS3 version of Mass Effect 2 were the first games to be affected, and the initiative will continue going forward.
John Schappert, Chief Operating Officer at Electronic Arts, said in a statement:
EA is committed to a healthy and sustainable environment. We are reducing packaging materials, eliminating printed manuals and increasing the availability of digital content at EA.com.
So, EA maintains that its sole reason for ditching printed manuals is an environmental one, but it has to be assumed its a cost-saving exercise as well. Printing games manuals for each copy of every title must cost a small fortune, and that’s all money that the company is losing from each sale. If it can cut costs in such a way then why wouldn’t it choose to do so?
At least one person has bitched about this so far, but I have to admit I really don’t care. In fact, I’d go as far as to applaud EA for this decision, even though I know it’s about saving money at the end of the day.
I admit I did used to like looking at games manuals. It was the first thing I did when I made a purchase and got it home. Reading the little introduction and trying to memorize the controls was part of the anticipation. But those days are long gone. Now, games flesh out the story themselves, and tutorials or on-screen prompts provide all you need to know about how to play the game. And I can’t remember the last time I even looked at or read a games manual.
I hope other games publishers now follow suit, because for the few years between now and the day all games are delivered digitally it will save a lot of time, effort, money, and paper. Which has to be a good thing, right?
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51 Responses to “EA ditches games manuals – who cares?”
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March 31st, 2011
3DS a flop already in Japan?
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/03/japans-love-with-the-3ds-over-boatloads-of-used-3ds-in-stores/
March 31st, 2011
I agree Dave.
Like you, I used to read them. usually on going home the train after buying the game, thereafter they were never looked at again, and also like you, I can,t even remember the last time I read through a manual, unless it was to try and find some kind of controls summary page
The exception I guess might be some of the strategy games, though even these now tend to have easy enough access to what the units & building do type info.
maybe just one page showing the basic controls would do me, even if it was on the inside of the cover (save a sheet of paper. . LOL)
March 31st, 2011
I can’t remember the last time I looked at the contents of the game package. Maybe GTA4 for the huge map of the city.
March 31st, 2011
The map in RDR was the last time I used the in-the-box contents. It was very useful because you could see what type of animal was common in what areas.
March 31st, 2011
I have to disagree with this one.
Some games are practically require a manual.
For example if you have a really in depth strategy game that has alot of management options and other things that add any real degree of depth then you definately need that manual to help make sense of it all.
Damn… imagine trying to play Steel Battalion using that huge 40 button controller without a manual?
March 31st, 2011
I liked manual like the ones from PS1 – FF7, Lunar, Musashi… now days they are useless, it’s just a small [black & white] piece of paper with a web address on it.
March 31st, 2011
Left Stick = Move
Right Stick = Strafe/Lookup/down
Square = Fire
Triangle = Throw grenade
Circle = Change weapon
Hexagon = Zoom in/out
Dodecagon = Melt into scenery with only the tip of your gun visible so no one can shoot you.
There ya go, no instruction manualls needed anymore. That pretty much covers 95% of games released in these original times. Yay, save the rain forests!
March 31st, 2011
Seems like Andrew is familiar with those DualShocks
March 31st, 2011
I remember reading a manual for a SNES game years and years ago when I was excited to play it when I got home.
I think these days a quick (and skippable) intro. level is good enough.
March 31st, 2011
“3DS a flop already in Japan?”
@gunstar
A little soon to tell really. I doubt it though. Besides I think Japan has bigger worries right now then if a handheld is selling well or not!
March 31st, 2011
I read them sometimes when I’m on the toilet. But their pretty useless in general.
It seems like developers don’t put as much care into them as they use to.
March 31st, 2011
They just want more $ in their pockets. Bunch of greedy POS MOFOs
March 31st, 2011
“I think these days a quick (and skippable) intro. level is good enough.”
I Agree
March 31st, 2011
Dave Parrack:
“EA ditches games manuals – who cares?
March 31, 2011″
I do, EA has got to be the cheapest company in video game right after Nintendo and Microsoft. EA is a money whore. I don’t read manuals but I still want them. They should at least take $5 off the listed price for their average games. I’m glad GayVision dethroned Electronic Arts as the biggest company in third party games.
3DS was a flop before it came out. Reggie was about to die of sadness when he was announcing the new crappy 3DS and in the entire half hour they didn’t get a single applause it was really sad. Is Sony’s time to shine again.
March 31st, 2011
Wow what a bunch of sad fucks here.
Japan recently had a couple of horrible natural disasters, and then they have had constant nuclear problems.
They are trying to recover and all you guys care about is how well the 3DS sold over there?
Really guys?
March 31st, 2011
FahkinSupah
How much have you dontated to Japan?? I recently donated via PSN $100…its not much buts more than a whinning post…
March 31st, 2011
@fahk
What arevyou talking about?
March 31st, 2011
@Jojo
I donated $10 via my cell phone carrier. Its not much but its all I can spare right now. Every little bit counts though.
@Ncaissie
Really? Havent you been reading the comments here?
March 31st, 2011
@Fahkinsupah
Yup any little bit helps and good job!!
March 31st, 2011
So JoJo and I have donated some money to aid Japan.
Anyone else here?
April 1st, 2011
£10 from me. Roughly $15.
April 1st, 2011
I’m from Scotland, they’d have to prize the money from my cold dead hands. .
Joking, my wife donated £10. to one of the TV appeals.
Don’t worry ..
It’s ok, . I’ll deduct it from her shopping money
April 1st, 2011
@Fahk
Show me one negative thing besides Ivan the retard.
April 1st, 2011
“So JoJo and I have donated some money to aid Japan.
Anyone else here?”
I bet everyone here is a tax payer and through taxes they have donated. I know Canada and the US have donated. I feel for them but I believe we need to take care of the starving kids and homeless people at home first. And then other places like Japan and the Middle East.
Not trying to sound hard but I do not believe even a fraction of the donations actually make it to the charities they are intended for.
April 1st, 2011
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/33837/Court_Awards_Ubisoft_Injunction_Against_THQ_To_Prevent_Talent_Poaching.php
April 1st, 2011
I bought the Japan album off iTunes. wasn’t bad but was all I could afford.
Hey Godless, what part of Scotland are ya from. We lived in Gourock for a few years as my mum came from that area.
Is it true copper wire was invented by 2 scotsmen fighting over a copper penny lol lol.
April 1st, 2011
my bro and I donated $20 each via PSN.. we got a free theme
April 1st, 2011
It’s snowing in Boston (again)… it’s April already!!! Baseball already started.
April 1st, 2011
LOL. Yeah… that weather just missed us. Thank god.
April 1st, 2011
Rhino
Aye Indeed, an fifer and a Glaswegian both found the penny at the same time, the ensuing struggle resulted in the creation of 2 meters of wire
I stay in a small town called Nairn, up on the Moray Firth.
Gourock looks like it’s in a nice area, never been there though.
April 1st, 2011
“I stay in a small town called Nairn, up on the Moray Firth.”
No shit man!! I stay in Invergordon – also beside the Moray Firth!! That’s crazy!!
So if we had an argument on Blorge . . . . . we COULD actually meet up for a fight.
April 1st, 2011
LOL
April 1st, 2011
wow. If I stand on the beach, I could just about see you. lol.
I’m too much of a coward to fight for real, we’d have to settle it over a cup of tea and a scone
April 1st, 2011
oldschool murdered CON in real life.. it all started as a blorge arguement
April 1st, 2011
LOL
April 1st, 2011
“I’m too much of a coward to fight for real”
And I’m too much of a wuss.
“we’d have to settle it over a cup of tea and a scone”
How about Scrabble-to-the-death? It just sounds more . . . . . exciting.
April 1st, 2011
Well, it finally happened. The 360 is officially dead!
http://www.pcworld.com/article/224007/microsoft_to_leave_console_race_360_is_dead.html
April 1st, 2011
@BJ
finally something to be exited about
April 1st, 2011
@ncaissie
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/01/rogers-puts-sony-ericsson-xperia-play-and-arc-up-for-pre-order/
April 1st, 2011
April fools
April 1st, 2011
So Dans and Godless don’t live very far from one another huh? lol
BJ and I live pretty damn close too (I’m pretty sure its BJ)
And Ivan is only a like 3 hour drive from me, so he isn’t too far either.
April 2nd, 2011
3DS is jack if it does not have anything to counter the trophy system coming in NGP. As for game manuals, they take second place to wikis/GameFAQs/IGNGuides.
April 2nd, 2011
Yep it’s me.
I live close to the edge of Montgomery County and Philly.
April 2nd, 2011
Godless is like a 30 minute drive from me. It’s crazy how, out of the 10-15 regular posters on this site, that two could live so close to each other.
April 2nd, 2011
@Dans
BJ is about a 30min drive from me, so there are 2 sets of people who live that close to one another.
Its pretty interesting that there is not 1 but 2 sets of people who live that close to one another.
April 2nd, 2011
I live in Brooklyn, NY LMFAO.
The Big Apple
The City That Never Sleeps.
Damn those are some ass game title for New York base games.
April 3rd, 2011
Designing Uncharted 2 with SketchUp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mkPRmqUlFw&feature=channel_video_title
The video was uploaded by Google official YouTube channel.
April 4th, 2011
I tried the 3DS and the 3DS works but I wasn’t impresse mainly because of two things:
1. In order to see the 3D you have to find the “sweet spot” and for me it was 12″ away from my face..anything further or closer will mess everything up.. meaning you will have to sit very still and your arms can get tired holding the divice close to your face instead of laying it down on your lap.
2. The 3D doesn’t create the “out of the screen” effect, instead the 3D creates a “inside the screen” effect. Hard to explain but no as good as I thought.
April 4th, 2011
Roca
@2
I think that is for some games but not all. A friend of mine said he was trying a game (not sure which) and a dragon popped out at him and made him just.
I seen one in a case with Raymon playing and it did have in-screen 3D and I was impressed but I think I would get a headache if I played it for more than 20 minutes.
April 4th, 2011
made him just = made him jump
April 5th, 2011
On topic..
I miss me a good game manual…they have gone down considerably over my gaming years….take a look at the original warcraft: orcs and humans manual or warcraft 2 or early castlevania (simons quest) manuals for some good examples of good ones