What happened to instruction books?

[backguard]

It seems like in modern games they keep getting thinner and thinner. Some are thinner than the game itself!

Put some effort into it guys! Pictures! Backstory! Hints!

[Starwander]

I know what you mean. I was playing Call of Duty World at World a while back and I wanted to look something up so I naturally picked up the instruction booklet. I was quite dismayed by the lack of any relevant detail.

[norkusa]

I guess that's the industry's way of selling more strategy guides. Make a 6 page manual and if they need more information, force them to buy the guide for $15-$20.

I just got Burnout Paradise last week and the manual is a joke. Tells you practically nothing about the online portion of the game.

[unwinddesign]

I guess that's the industry's way of selling more strategy guides. Make a 6 page manual and if they need more information, force them to buy the guide for $15-$20.

I just got Burnout Paradise last week and the manual is a joke. Tells you practically nothing about the online portion of the game.

All EA published games have about 4 or 5 page manuals. I guess they figure that no one reads them anyway, so why bother to use the money to print 'em?

It screams to me that EA is milking the consumer for all their worth. When the manual doesn't even tell you how to faceoffs in NHL '09, that's completely unacceptable. Boo.

[DigitalSpace]

This reminds me of the single-disc PS1 games that were packaged in double jewel cases simply because the manuals were too big to fit in a standard jewel case (including the jewel case versions of some EA sports games that were originally released in a longbox).

I bought Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2 for the PS2 the other day, and the manual went into detail about almost every asset of the game. It was quite the surprise.

But yeah, it likely has to do with pushing strategy guides, and game publishers hesitant to print several pages for something most gamers who aren't as hardcore as us won't bother to read.

[Poofta!]

probably to cut costs. although the strategy guide theory is not bad either. still i think most people will go online instead of buying a guide, unless its an RPG or something...

[joshnickerson]

You could also take into account that many games have a tutorial, which basically repeats what would be found in the manual otherwise...

I do miss the old days though... I remember reading NES booklets over and over again until their covers fell off...

[PapaStu]

You could also take into account that many games have a tutorial, which basically repeats what would be found in the manual otherwise...



DING!

People stopped reading the manuals and games have gotten more and more complex (and just reading about what you're supposed to do tends to not work well when its push X button while moving Y stick and standing on your head) that developers have put tutorials into the beginning of the games because its just easier and gives the player a more immersive feel with the game as well.

[The 1 2 P]

One of my biggest grips about gaming is that they expect us to pay $60(use to be $50) for a new game and they can't bother to give us a color manual? These days they are missing color and relevant information. Back during the PS1 days I hated how many PS1 games had a poorly presented black and white manual. But then you go and import that game from Japan(even US made games) and they'd have a nice sparkly manual with much more information. A perfect example would be Syphon Filter 1. Although both the US and Japanese versions had color, the Japanese version had a strategy guide built into the manual for the first 6 or so levels of the game....at no extra cost.

[Daltone]

I sort of miss them in a nostalgic way, but ultimately you don't really need anything too in depth. A basic overview of control and any vital game mechanics (say, how to level up) just in case you miss something and you're sorted.

You've got your in game tutorial (in a lot of cases) and the wonder of the internet for strategy guides if you get stuck. Sorted! I think that I'm more of a 'so long as you can play the game, I'm happy' sort of person. Never been too interested in any of the random stuff you get with the software. Most games now have their story in the game, with no need for a little written intro my manual reading habits dropped sharply!

[Iron Draggon]

it's worse for PC games... IF you get a manual at all, most likely it'll be a PDF on the disc itself, and if you're lucky enough to get a printed manual, it prolly won't be in color... they usually don't give you a jewel case for the disc either... just a paper sleeve, which means the disc is usually scratched... thank god most have switched to DVD style cases now, so at least you get a scratch-free disc, but you're still lucky if you get a manual to go with it

[TheGam3r]

Did you notice The Data design interactive Game manuals are very small casue that company is so cheap

[ProgrammingAce]

it's worse for PC games... IF you get a manual at all, most likely it'll be a PDF on the disc itself, and if you're lucky enough to get a printed manual, it prolly won't be in color... they usually don't give you a jewel case for the disc either... just a paper sleeve, which means the disc is usually scratched... thank god most have switched to DVD style cases now, so at least you get a scratch-free disc, but you're still lucky if you get a manual to go with it

Huh... With a product like that, it's a wonder why anyone would buy PC games at all...

[G-Boobie]

The internet happened. Also tutorials.

[scooterb23]

Yeah, wish almost mandatory training "get to know you levels" manuals are pretty much obsolete. Doesn't really phase me, just the way things are moving.

[Gameguy]

it's worse for PC games... IF you get a manual at all, most likely it'll be a PDF on the disc itself, and if you're lucky enough to get a printed manual, it prolly won't be in color... they usually don't give you a jewel case for the disc either... just a paper sleeve, which means the disc is usually scratched... thank god most have switched to DVD style cases now, so at least you get a scratch-free disc, but you're still lucky if you get a manual to go with it
I remember when PC games came in big boxes, had instruction manuals and other inserts. Now it's just a small box with a disk in a sleeve and nothing else. I still like getting older PC games though, they're more fun to play too. :)

[zektor]

Personally I would PREFER that manuals just be included on the disc. I never read the manuals that come with my games because I don't want them to get creased and nasty, so they pretty much sit in the case untouched and I end up reading a downloaded PDF version. If the manual were just included on the disc and accessible in the menu when the game started, I would love it. And, it would save the companies cash in printing as well. At least it sounds good to me.

[JustRob]

I remember spending hours trying to memorize every little details about the controls shown in the manuals of my NES games. Most had backstory, lots had actual fucking PICTURES of shit in the games to let you know what things were. I literally destroyed the manuals for faxanadu and Zelda II just from overuse.

Then came the day I bought the X-Wing and TIE Fighter collector's editions. Remember those? The fucking novels that just happened to have game info in them?

Of course nothing beats the big ass silver box for Falcon 3.0! You almost got an Air Force flight manual in those. And if you got the super ultra mega edition, you got in game video tutorials teaching you how to fly the thing.

Now I don't even bother pulling the manuals out of my games. I don't think I've looked at the manuals for any post-ps1 games...ever. No point.

[Volcanon]

Gamefaqs.com

Most of the faqs are better than the strategy guide anyway.
I remember strategy guides for RPGS would commonly do stuff like -> "Big Boss: HP = ????".. because they were too lazy to find out his HP. Lame, eh?

[Ze_ro]

It's also worth pointing out that DLC and automatic patches can quickly make a print manual obsolete. It's not like EA is going to send out new manuals telling people how to use bikes in Burnout Paradise.

--Zero

[The 1 2 P]

I don't mind ingame tutorials that are relevant to the gameplay experience, like the first level of Halo or Star Wars: Republic Commando. But some games take their tutorials in teh wrong direction.

[Minilu]

I've always wondered what video rental stores do with the little game manuals. They never seem to come with the rented game. I assume that people steal them. :confused:

[BydoEmpire]

1) They cost money to print, and most publishers want to save the extra pennies (seriously, this is a big factor).
2) Many gamers don't use them anyways. Personally, I like a nice instruction manual, but games these days usually have tutorial levels and in-game help.

[The 1 2 P]

I've always wondered what video rental stores do with the little game manuals. They never seem to come with the rented game. I assume that people steal them. :confused:

They actually keep them in big rubberbanded stacks behind the register at Blockbusters. I learned this when I would buy used games from there that didn't have the manual when they opened the security plastic case. After I asked for the manual they would whip out these huge piles of manuals to try and find the correct one for my game.

[glorfindel]

I've always wondered what video rental stores do with the little game manuals. They never seem to come with the rented game. I assume that people steal them. :confused:


i remember some company that rented games use to have the manual included. cause i just found some random game manuals that ive never owned and only have rented. must of forgot to put them back

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

What gets me is when the strategy guide itself is worthless. That was how I felt about the FF IX guide that I got with the game. You would be checking something out and it would give you some goofy code to enter on their web site to get more information. Wouldn't have been so bad, but I did not have internet access then. It is kind of like when the local TV news talks about some major recall of food that could kill you and then tell you to go to their web site to find out what food is being recalled. I guess they don't realize that not everyone uses the internet. Well, maybe those people deserve to die.

JY

[Iron Draggon]

I like to have manuals for reference, if needed, but I rarely read them all the way through either... but at least give me an insert with the cover art on it, or something to make it a little nicer... I hate it when all you get is a disc, and even that doesn't have any art on it, beyond the name of the game... it may be cheaper to produce, but it's also lazy, and it often shows in the game itself when this is the case... the best games almost always come complete with case, inserts, and manuals... and in the old days, this often meant big books so thick they had a spine, rather than just being stapled... those were the good old days, when the cost of publishing must've been alot cheaper, or profit margins were alot larger... or maybe back then most developers cared enough about their work to push the publishers for quality printed materials... nowadays it seems that most developers have let themselves become whores for the publishers though... I think that's the problem... developers aren't as in control of their own work as they once were... publishers are in control now