The Death of the Manual - Some New Games Come Without Them Now...

[jonebone]

Cross posted on NA, but I know there's more current generation gamers here. Maybe you guys have already seen this, but it's new to me. The death of the manual may be upon us, and we may be moving in a direction of 100% digital games with no physical media.

As many of you, I probably have about 1,000ish games across several platforms. Until last week, I had only encountered one game that came without a manual... PS1 - Parappa the Rapper. The "manual" is really just a cover with no guts at all. However, it did come with a fold-out poster, so it's kind of considered the "manual" for that game.

And then in a matter of two weeks, I purchased back to back games without manuals. That's a hell of a ratio when you go from 1 in 1,000 to 2 of 2.

First was Mortal Kombat on X360:

http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae299/jonebone/103_8314.jpg

Notice it comes with a bunch of junk, but no real manual. Some DLC codes for online play / costumes (DLC is another topic entirely), a Katalog to try and suck even more money out of you, and once again, a paper thin cover that is a "manual" with no guts. Not really a manual, but I guess it fills the "I" in CIB.

Next was Madden 2012 on X360:

http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae299/jonebone/103_8313.jpg

That is it. Again, DLC code for Online play, and that stupid white sheet. Read the bottom, it says "Manual Included On-Disc". Great. But hey, let's say they saved 0.50 in costs per game by not printing manuals... sell a million copies and that's $500,000 in cost avoidance. It's bad enough that a roster update is worth $60 in the first place, but man EA is being cheap.

I checked my Madden 2011 just to make sure I didn't lose my mind, and sure enough, it had a manual.

http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae299/jonebone/103_8315.jpg

So thoughts? As a gamer, I don't care. I'm going to get way more than $60 out of play value in Madden, probably at least 100 hours between franchises / friends / online. But as a collector, it's a bit disappointing to see that a brand new CIB is really a CB from the very beginning.

Also, any other games where the manual was never included?

[Oobgarm]

EDF: Insect Armageddon on 360 had no manual. There was nothing in there to speak of.

I welcome the loss of the manual. One less thing to look for when hunting for games.

...and I thought CIB was "complete in box"

[Robocop2]

I think partly the fact that nearly every game comes with some kind of tutorial level nowadays lessens the necessity for the manual. Is it a nice piece to have in the case? Sure; but I've not looked at manual for a game in years so necessity to me is minimal. Its all about cutting costs to a point and a manual just isn't as important as it used to be.

[duffmanth]

I suppose manuals are nice to have from a collector's point of view, but they're pretty useless these days when most games come with a tutorial of some sort and you can get any other helpful material online. I haven't read game manuals since the SNES days, and I also get so pissed when they come dog eared or creased when you buy a brand new game.

[GameNinja]

I know from a classic gamer's perspective it can be a bit shocking to not see much of a manual but like other users have mentioned there isn't much of a need anymore. I used to love all of the cool art that came with manuals but even that is accessible elsewhere. For modern games I almost NEVER look thru the manual, and frankly it is just annoying to buy a game that is in perfect condition until you look at the manual and see it has been used as a drink coaster or something...

[portnoyd]

...and I thought CIB was "complete in box"

Complete in box is for us farts on DP. CIB is the NA way of describing things. As in 'The complete copy of Clu Clu Land I bought for $8 off DP 7 years ago is now worth $500+ because of all the CIB crazed goons on NA'.

I'm fine with this change, solely because of the massive amount of tutorials included in every game these days.

[Flashback2012]

EDF: Insect Armageddon on 360 had no manual. There was nothing in there to speak of.

I welcome the loss of the manual. One less thing to look for when hunting for games.

...and I thought CIB was "complete in box"

I've seen CIB stand for "Complete In Box" and also to mean "Cart, Instructions, & Box" I prefer the former term myself. :)

I've got a mixed reaction towards this. I mean, I'm with you in that it will facilitate things when looking for games in the second hand market. I'll admit I don't find myself digging through manuals much since as many have already pointed out, the newer games these days come with built in tutorials on how to play. That said, I'm so used to there being a disc, book, and case when I'm looking for stuff that it might be a little jarring, especially if not every company jumps on board with this. I'm not looking forward to having to remember which games do or don't come with books. ^^;

[TonyTheTiger]

In some ways this might actually make things more annoying for some people. It seems like in place of manuals they're putting a bunch of small pamphlets of dubious value making them more likely to be thrown out or otherwise damaged. Meaning now instead of people seeking out three obvious pieces (game/box/manual) they'll be asking "anybody have a spare seizure warning pamphlet?"

[bangtango]

Given that a lot of games in recent years also offer alternate or custom control schemes, there is no reason to consult an instruction manual which gives you a default control scheme that you might not even use anyway.

Manuals used to give details about the plot of the game, the main character and the enemies you'll be facing, all of which you can just get in mission briefings or cutscenes anyway. Programming credits are already viewable in the game. No need to see them in print.

The varying game modes are pretty self-explanatory. If you have trouble figuring out the meaning of "Multiplayer", "Time Trial" or "Campaign" without the manual, I probably don't want you doing my income taxes for me and I don't want you dating my daughter either.

[Robocop2]

If you have trouble figuring out the meaning of "Multiplayer", "Time Trial" or "Campaign" without the manual, I probably don't want you doing my income taxes for me and I don't want you dating my daughter either.

LOL sig worthy comment

[Gamevet]

Next was Madden 2012 on X360:

http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae299/jonebone/103_8313.jpg

That is it. Again, DLC code for Online play, and that stupid white sheet. Read the bottom, it says "Manual Included On-Disc". Great. But hey, let's say they saved 0.50 in costs per game by not printing manuals... sell a million copies and that's $500,000 in cost avoidance. It's bad enough that a roster update is worth $60 in the first place, but man EA is being cheap.

I checked my Madden 2011 just to make sure I didn't lose my mind, and sure enough, it had a manual.

http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae299/jonebone/103_8315.jpg

So thoughts? As a gamer, I don't care. I'm going to get way more than $60 out of play value in Madden, probably at least 100 hours between franchises / friends / online. But as a collector, it's a bit disappointing to see that a brand new CIB is really a CB from the very beginning.

Also, any other games where the manual was never included?

I wasn't that impressed with the manual that came with Madden 10 or 11. Compared to the Madden manuals you got with the Genesis and Playstation versions, it's more like a pamplet. I at least expect the manual to cover the button layouts for both the offense and defensive play, but it just sort of glazes over it, without getting really deep.

[jonebone]

I wasn't that impressed with the manual that came with Madden 10 or 11. Compared to the Madden manuals you got with the Genesis and Playstation versions, it's more like a pamplet. I at least expect the manual to cover the button layouts for both the offense and defensive play, but it just sort of glazes over it, without getting really deep.

Yeah, as a fan of the series ever since Madden 94 on Genesis, I agree. In the recent X360 versions, there was definitely a push to skinnier and skinnier, Madden 11 was maybe 8-10 pages with hardly any meat at all.

You could see this was coming, but the manual is completely gone now. I'm not losing sleep over this / stop collecting or anything ridiculous, it's just sad that we've progressed to this point.

RIP 19xx - 2011 Mr. Manual.

[skaar]

Anyone have a free Online Pass for Madden 12?

[Oobgarm]

Anyone have a free Online Pass for Madden 12?

GameStop not an option? ;)

[Carey85]

I see what you did there.

[skaar]

GameStop not an option? ;)

No they never seem to leave the cards in there anymore...

Oh wait I can just use Jonebone's code, I'm ok.

[Oobgarm]

I just noticed that! LOL LOL LOL

I hope he used it first...

[bangtango]

I wasn't that impressed with the manual that came with Madden 10 or 11. Compared to the Madden manuals you got with the Genesis and Playstation versions, it's more like a pamplet. I at least expect the manual to cover the button layouts for both the offense and defensive play, but it just sort of glazes over it, without getting really deep.

Betcha an arm and a leg that any EA manual is better than the ones 2K Sports have been putting into their last few MLB, NHL or NBA games for the PS2, anything since 2009. You get the default control scheme and that is it. Maybe 6 pages total.

I'd know this because I am the one rube still buying MLB 2K10 and NBA 2K11 for the Playstation 2.

[jonebone]

I just noticed that! LOL LOL LOL

I hope he used it first...

Give me some credit guys. That code was dead by about 2PM on Tuesday. I take Madden seriously and snuck out for a half day on release :)

[Emperor Megas]

I've never played a game that I had the manual for before reading the manual. Ever...like, in my life. Even if it means just thumbing through a thick manual I always do. This sucks to me, because they're still putting just as much paper in the case, why not just include the manual? I always read the manuals for games on the bus ride home as a kid when I purchased a new game. I was all primed for it by the time I made it home and new what the game was about and how the control scheme worked.

I doubt that they're going to charge you less for the game, but they'll give you less for your money. Next will be cases; you'll just get a game in a cardboard sleeve, and no one but me will care.:|

[maxlords]

I have the manuals for most of my games. Guess what? I can't even remember the last time I looked at one at all. I don't bother to read them. So why should they include them?

[Dobie]

I thought EA mentioned they were doing away with the manual all together across all of their games?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Good riddance.

Instructions are a good thing, paper manuals however are unnecessary at this point in time.

If a game doesn't have a tutorial level or options screens that detail what each and every button on your controller does they can put a digital equivalent of a "manual" on the disc/in the game file somewhere.

It's 2012 my phone can make PDFs.

[Emperor Megas]

Goodness. I suppose I'm one of the only gamers who likes to have an on hand reference to thumb through (and hates PDFs). :|


Good riddance.

Instructions are a good thing, paper manuals however are unnecessary at this point in time.As are cases, and graphic labels on the disc, and opening and closing credits, etc..

[Gameguy]

Also, any other games where the manual was never included?
Counting PC games? It's another reason I see no reason to buy them at full price anymore, it's just a disc in a case/box/paper sleeve now.

[Rickstilwell1]

Yeah while they're at it why don't they save money on colored ink by printing every disc as a white label with black text. Very small black text you have to squint to see so they don't use as much ink.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

As are cases, and graphic labels on the disc, and opening and closing credits, etc..

All valid points indeed.

The truth is that as we move towards a time where digital distribution will be the primary method of game delivery anything that is cost intensive to the process of creating/developing a game could become a casualty.

But let's not get fantastical with semantics. We're talking about instruction manuals here.

At the present time the MILLIONS of labels that are printed yearly vs. the actual number of gamers that functionally utilize them for their intended purpose is probably not worth the time, effort and WASTED resources that go into producing them.

[bangtango]

All valid points indeed.

The truth is that as we move towards a time where digital distribution will be the primary method of game delivery anything that is cost intensive to the process of creating/developing a game could become a casualty.

But let's not get fantastical with semantics. We're talking about instruction manuals here.

At the present time the MILLIONS of labels that are printed yearly vs. the actual number of gamers that functionally utilize them for their intended purpose is probably not worth the time, effort and WASTED resources that go into producing them.


I'm thinking the savings from not producing a manual won't be passed along to the consumer (they rarely are).

However, I wouldn't be surprised if it occasionally speeds up the release of a game a little (even by a few days) or maybe even cuts down on the number of bugs in a game (even by one or two).

Why?

Not having to create a full-blown manual, edit the contents for quality control (spelling/accuracy) and then mass producing the thing will free up time and resources for other things concerned with the GAME itself.

[TonyTheTiger]

Goodness. I suppose I'm one of the only gamers who likes to have an on hand reference to thumb through (and hates PDFs). :|

As a comic book reader I can appreciate having the tactile feedback of holding the genuine article over a digital approximation of it. I think many of us here can say similar things about playing genuine cartridges on genuine hardware as opposed to emulation. Mere psychological benefits, sure, but benefits to those who value them nonetheless.

But game manuals, at this point, would really need to go the way of strategy guides in order to make them genuinely worthwhile as reading material. It used to be that the manual was good for general instructions, plot points, and various informational tidbits that were rarely included in the games themselves. Nowadays, games not only tell you everything you need to know but lots of shit you don't even care to hear.

Manuals, much like printed strategy guides, no longer serve much of a purpose. To justify the purchase price, strategy guides have evolved into guide/artbook/developer diary combos. Manuals would have to do the same to justify giving them a second glance. Adapt or die, ya know?

I'm not necessarily happy they're going away as they've always served for decent bathroom reading. But I can't remember the last time I've had to reference the manual for something while playing and actually found the information I needed. We're talking back during the PS1 era.

[substantial_snake]

But...what will I read on the toilet now?

I really like having a full color game manual simply and its kinda sad to see them fading away. It is however justified, games are filled with so many detailed and integrated tutorials that manuals are largely pointless. That being said I find that a company who puts in the time and effort to make a sweet manual usually produces really good games.

[TonyTheTiger]

That being said I find that a company who puts in the time and effort to make a sweet manual usually produces really good games.

I'll take it in a different direction and suggest that a high quality manual that does double as an artbook and developer diary could be a means to fight piracy on a small scale. Anything you offer your customers above and beyond that which can be pirated is another check mark on one side of the "buy this game/pirate this game" checklist for some people. The less you give your actual customers vs. what pirates can take for free will only encourage further piracy.

[RP2A03]

Manuals have been dying a slow death for years now. They used to loaded with 30+ pages of cool artwork and descriptions of the baddies. Today, manuals are just a bare bones description of the game with little to no cool pictures and are only 30+ pages when they are trilingual.

[Aussie2B]

I've never played a game that I had the manual for before reading the manual. Ever...like, in my life. Even if it means just thumbing through a thick manual I always do. This sucks to me, because they're still putting just as much paper in the case, why not just include the manual? I always read the manuals for games on the bus ride home as a kid when I purchased a new game. I was all primed for it by the time I made it home and new what the game was about and how the control scheme worked.

Yeah, I guess we are the odd ones out. If I have the manual (and it's in English, since I do play plenty of imports), I will always read it cover to cover before I start (when I intend to play a game seriously, that is, not when I'm just testing something out). I consider it a fun part of the experience, and I love when manuals go that extra mile, like in the Donkey Kong Country manuals (but that's extremely rare these days).

I guess it stems from my childhood too. As a child of divorced parents, I spent time at both houses most days (one of the benefits of having parents that lived only a mile apart). I'd walk home to my dad's, where I had my systems, and in the evening my mom would pick me up. When I'd buy a new game, I'd take my money with me in the morning, wait for my mom in the evening to take me to the store, then I'd bring it home to her place where I had no system to play it on. I'd have to then take the game with me to school the next day and wait until I was back at my dad's after school to get started. That left me with plenty of time to eagerly anticipate playing and drool over the manual.

Also, in-game tutorials usually suck. I'd much prefer to flip through a manual at my own pace than crawl through a mindless tutorial. And I stare at screens enough as it is. I'd rather look something up in my time away from a game than wade through menus trying to find one little tidbit of info.

I've yet to buy any games lacking manuals, but my main problem is that they're getting cheaper. Black and white, low quality paper, a lack of useful information, and redundant with the same info printed in a slew of different languages. Manuals were usually so great with the SNES, but it's been downhill since then. They've gotten so lame now that even PS1 manuals seem good in comparison.

[Baloo]

Manuals are just a big waste of paper and don't really give much useful information anyway, they don't even give you cool artwork, bios, or descriptions anymore. So why even have them?

[Lerxstnj]

I will miss them, but I miss looking at LP covers and reading the lyrics while listening to music too.

[The 1 2 P]

I doubt that they're going to charge you less for the game, but they'll give you less for your money. Next will be cases; you'll just get a game in a cardboard sleeve, and no one but me will care.:|


Counting PC games? It's another reason I see no reason to buy them at full price anymore, it's just a disc in a case/box/paper sleeve now.

Well companies are doing this as a cost-saving measure and I seriously doubt they are going to pass those savings on to us. And if they do decide to get rid of the cases, I still bet they will charge us the full $60. But like you just said, thats yet another reason why you shouldn't buy games at full retail.

I'm all about companies saving money to stay in business but they need to also see things from the consumer side. And considering that most on demand download games for the 360 and PS3 are the same price(or more) as their retail counterparts I'm guessing that the publishers really don't want to see things from our side.


Manuals are just a big waste of paper and don't really give much useful information anyway, they don't even give you cool artwork, bios, or descriptions anymore. So why even have them?

For the most part this is true. But of course there are exceptions. The Halo and Gears of War manuals are all pretty thick, full of color and very informative. But on the flip side, the COD(representing the biggest selling franchise on consoles today) manuals are nothing more than 8-10 page black and white pamplets with little more info than the controller settings.

I know I'm in the minority because I actually look thru my manuals before playing the game, usually just skimming over it before going back later for specific useful info. It will make game hunting slightly easier for finding complete copies but that will be equal parts annoying just trying to figure out which games did or didn't ship with a manual.

[PapaStu]

This shouldn't be a huge surprise. EA started the '6' page manual back during the XBox days. Full color to B&W with 2 pages being credits of some kind was real informative. *eye roll*

Most games have pushed ingame tutorials because manuals were being used less and less. Besides, remember Nintendo & MS have gone to the 'eco' cases, reducing 25% of the plastic in the case, per case. Which lowers the shipping weight of a gross ton of games, which reduces fuel transportation costs and all that. This further gets the games into the 'green' zone that they are being forced into by WalMart, Target and other retailers because they've been forced to cut down emissions.

Sign of the times!

[portnoyd]

The funny thing is, Nintendo manuals have gotten bigger thanks to the trilingual translations.

[Aussie2B]

Maybe I'm the only one, but I really like seeing credits in manuals. It's not at all convenient to beat a game over again (even with a save at the final save point) just to see the credits, and a lot of the time it goes by too fast to take in all of the names. I love to be able to open the manual before I even start and find out who the designer, artist, composer, etc. are.

I'd like publishers to take it a step further and give us even more info about the developers in the manual. I loved how Working Designs would write a bit about the localization process and what was changed from the Japanese original.

Now "Notes" sections, those are just silly.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Maybe I'm the only one, but I really like seeing credits in manuals. It's not at all convenient to beat a game over again (even with a save at the final save point) just to see the credits, and a lot of the time it goes by too fast to take in all of the names. I love to be able to open the manual before I even start and find out who the designer, artist, composer, etc. are.

I'd like publishers to take it a step further and give us even more info about the developers in the manual. I loved how Working Designs would write a bit about the localization process and what was changed from the Japanese original.

Now "Notes" sections, those are just silly.

A lot of modern games will allow you to do a credit roll from the options menu without having to complete the game.

[Aussie2B]

Still not as convenient, and that's in very few of the games I play. That's always been more of a Western thing than something that Japanese developers would include.

[substantial_snake]

Just a side thought on topic but was anyone else who bought LoZ: Oracina of Time 3DS pissed at the piss poor manual Nintendo included with the game?

Nintendo is the one company that I would expect a high quality manual from but this was just disappointing. Its not only short but folded together like a damn road map and I really don't get why they would do this unless they were trying to save money on staples..or something.

[Beefy Hits]

I rarely read manuals anyway. The only time I read them is when I get stuck in a game like Catherine where I need to find out about very easy mode.

[Rickstilwell1]

Just a side thought on topic but was anyone else who bought LoZ: Oracina of Time 3DS pissed at the piss poor manual Nintendo included with the game?

Nintendo is the one company that I would expect a high quality manual from but this was just disappointing. Its not only short but folded together like a damn road map and I really don't get why they would do this unless they were trying to save money on staples..or something.

Reminds me of the map that came with Final Fantasy on the NES. Those charts on the back were very helpful but it was annoying to open it up every time. I still use it as I play the game because without it the game itself doesn't tell you whether an item is stronger or weaker than what you already have, and spells have no explanations either.

At least Zelda isn't complicated enough for it to become a problem. It's something you look at a couple times and leave in the box.

[SpaceHarrier]

Now "Notes" sections, those are just silly.

Oh please tell me I'm not the only one that fills all of those pages up with drawings of veiny penises??? Anyone? :puppydogeyes:

I'll miss manuals for alot of the same reasons as others have mentioned.. but I realize that they are no longer necessary. I just feel like the reason for removing them is probably to fill that space with a bunch of even more useless crap and advertisements.

[j_factor]

Maybe Gamestop complained that manuals "compete" with their strategy guide sales.

[bangtango]

This shouldn't be a huge surprise. EA started the '6' page manual back during the XBox days. Full color to B&W with 2 pages being credits of some kind was real informative. *eye roll*

Oddly enough, EA and Sega used to have great manuals for their football games. For awhile there, the Madden and Montana/NFL 2K manuals used to have full breakdowns of various offensive and defensive formations, to inform people of what a "Shotgun" formation was or a "Nickel" defense was.

Additionally, they used to have write-ups on all of the teams in the league and often included player ratings in the manual for people on the team rosters. They'd have a full paragraph or two on the Minnesota Vikings, etc. and post the ratings for their key players.

The manuals in the RBI Baseball series also used to be very good, too, in that some of them had full player ratings for every player in the game including bench warmers.

[Gamevet]

Betcha an arm and a leg that any EA manual is better than the ones 2K Sports have been putting into their last few MLB, NHL or NBA games for the PS2, anything since 2009. You get the default control scheme and that is it. Maybe 6 pages total.

I'd know this because I am the one rube still buying MLB 2K10 and NBA 2K11 for the Playstation 2.

I'm pretty sure you could just whip out the manual from the previous games, since anything after 2008 was probably just roster updates.

I doubt you could use the manual for MLB2K7 with MLB2K9 on the 360, since the pitcher interface changed. The same with NBA2K8 and NBA2K10. ;)

[Icarus Moonsight]

For use? Anachronistic. Digital over physical. Romsets out front should have told ya.

Only worthwhile for collecting... If you are collecting current stuff, you know the drill. Bend over and open your wallet. They'll leave you what's fair. No whining. Real gamers don't have opinions not covered by the press releases.

[JSoup]

I've been flip flopping on manuals for years. On one hand, I they tend to be decent reading if you've got a few quite moments (I still love the Link to the Past and Mario RPG manuals). On the other hand, why kill an extra tree if the game has the instructions built in. The first time I noted that was with Mario Kart 64. The game came with a manual, a one page insert with all of the instructions in tl;dr format and then the game itself explained everything from from the start.

Now, notes sections, those I love. Particularly when I'm buying used games. Particularly retro used games. I got a copy of Mega Man X2 once with a strange chart written in the notes section of the manual. I found out from my sister that it was a menstruation calendar. The previous owner was keeping track of someones periods in the back of an SNES manual. @_@

[WesternNYCollector]

It is a bit sad for me to see them go, but I find this not too surprising nor unexpected for the same reasons that have been stated already. Even the dumbest gamer knows how to press a button and navigate a text menu these days in order to find their way to the tutorial level / settings.

Some of my fondest gaming memories are of opening a new game in the car, and reading the manual on the car ride home from Sears, Toys R' Us, or other random electronics store, often by the light from the car behind us on the road, as I usually went to the mall with my mother and because any store that sold new games was 45+ minutes away, we often arrived at home well after dark.

Every single cartridge game I got new back then has its manual lost to time or destroyed in the past 14+ years, and while I also miss the boxes, I miss my little paper friends much, much more.

[Rickstilwell1]

It is a bit sad for me to see them go, but I find this not too surprising nor unexpected for the same reasons that have been stated already. Even the dumbest gamer knows how to press a button and navigate a text menu these days in order to find their way to the tutorial level / settings.

Some of my fondest gaming memories are of opening a new game in the car, and reading the manual on the car ride home from Sears, Toys R' Us, or other random electronics store, often by the light from the car behind us on the road, as I usually went to the mall with my mother and because any store that sold new games was 45+ minutes away, we often arrived at home well after dark.

Every single cartridge game I got new back then has its manual lost to time or destroyed in the past 14+ years, and while I also miss the boxes, I miss my little paper friends much, much more.

Even for someone who never lost those things and always kept them when I had them, I appreciated the boxed games with manuals much much more than the cart only games that were picked up at yard sales or given to me for free from friends who no longer wanted them. I mainly liked manuals for the detailed character, level and item descriptions.

[j_factor]

I guess I'm in the minority on this, but I am sick to death of tutorials in games. I hate having to listen to some voice actor explain things to you and go through an in-game trial. Dispense with the deliberations and get to the actual game. It's a lot faster to read a few sentences than to sit through an in-game explanatory cutscene or whatever. Plus if I stop playing a game for an extended period of time and come back to it later, it's much easier to refer back to the manual.

[Kyle15]

I guess I'm in the minority on this, but I am sick to death of tutorials in games. I hate having to listen to some voice actor explain things to you and go through an in-game trial. Dispense with the deliberations and get to the actual game. It's a lot faster to read a few sentences than to sit through an in-game explanatory cutscene or whatever. Plus if I stop playing a game for an extended period of time and come back to it later, it's much easier to refer back to the manual.

You're not. I'm fairly sick of this sort of thing too.

[Compute]

Maybe they could put skippable tutorial levels, the same way we skip reading manuals.

[bangtango]

I guess I'm in the minority on this, but I am sick to death of tutorials in games. I hate having to listen to some voice actor explain things to you and go through an in-game trial. Dispense with the deliberations and get to the actual game. It's a lot faster to read a few sentences than to sit through an in-game explanatory cutscene or whatever. Plus if I stop playing a game for an extended period of time and come back to it later, it's much easier to refer back to the manual.

I always liked the way that the Madden games do things. Usually most of them just throw a still photo of the full control scheme up on a "Loading" page for someone to look at for 10-15 seconds while the first quarter is loading.

That could easily be done on a "Loading" page before the opening levels of other games.

[substantial_snake]

Maybe they could put skippable tutorial levels, the same way we skip reading manuals.

I though that the original Half-Life and its spinoffs way of doing tutorials were awesome. They were all in character and walked you through the basics of the game in their own "training courses" which were completely optional to the player. I get how modern games feel like an integrated tutorial is the best tutorial but for those of us who have played X game in X genera I preferred the half-life method to tutorials.

[j_factor]

Maybe they could put skippable tutorial levels, the same way we skip reading manuals.

That would be fine, but only if they're still including a manual (and the manual does a decent job). Otherwise my only choices are to slog through the tutorial or just wing it through the game without learning the basics first.

[MASTERWEEDO]

I guess I'm in the minority on this, but I am sick to death of tutorials in games. I hate having to listen to some voice actor explain things to you and go through an in-game trial. Dispense with the deliberations and get to the actual game. It's a lot faster to read a few sentences than to sit through an in-game explanatory cutscene or whatever. Plus if I stop playing a game for an extended period of time and come back to it later, it's much easier to refer back to the manual.

I agree with you, but others will just tell us to check online.

[Rickstilwell1]

What sucks as collectors is that now when we go shopping at a used game store or ebay we'll have to carry a list of what games don't have manuals.

We seriously need to start a list topic for it. Is Xbox 360 the only system that started to do this regularly so far?

This list could technically be edited to include classics that don't have manuals as well. i.e. Muncher for Bally Astrocade never had one.

[BlastProcessing402]

I can't even remember the last time a game I got had a manual that was actually worth having. Probably back before Working Designs went under. Those sonsamaguns knew how to make manuals!

A lot of old PC games had really great manuals too, but of course they went the way of the dodo a decade or more back.

So, while I think it kinda sucks, I can't really get too worked up over losing something that hasn't really been so great lately anyway. Now, when they stop including discs in there, that's when I say "screw you guys, I'm goin home." Digital downloads aren't MY future.

[SparTonberry]

Digital downloads aren't MY future.
Heh, I've got a lifetime supply of physical games already.

... and yet I still keep buying. :D

[j_factor]

I agree with you, but others will just tell us to check online.

Now I feel old, because I remember when people online used to say "RTFM". :p

[Mr Smith]

Reading the instruction manual was one of the highlights of a new game. It was almost a right of passage, as you got to understand in depth the new world you were about to inhabit. I suppose things such as ingame tutorials render such things obsolete now.

[Lady Jaye]

Lego Star Wars III doesn't include a manual -- the booklet formerly known as a manual only has the control scheme for the game. The rest of the pages are legal info.

[Loremaster]

Lego Star Wars III doesn't include a manual -- the booklet formerly known as a manual only has the control scheme for the game. The rest of the pages are legal info.

I'm guessing it repeats several times in Spanish and French? Seems like most manuals do that. Both Onechanbara games, Cursed Mountain, and quite a few others that just aren't coming to mind right now. Seems only games like Halo or oddball Japanese games get decent manuals now [say what you will of the games themselves, but Halo games have pretty damn good manuals].

[Aussie2B]

Seems only games like Halo or oddball Japanese games get decent manuals now

It's really hit or miss for niche Japanese games. Like with Nippon Ichi, it's usually trilingual, black and white, and just cheap all around. Nintendo manuals are filled up with trilingual stuff too. It mostly comes down to the publisher now. Some publishers always go cheap, and others usually do a decent job.

[Lady Jaye]

I'm guessing it repeats several times in Spanish and French? Seems like most manuals do that. Both Onechanbara games, Cursed Mountain, and quite a few others that just aren't coming to mind right now. Seems only games like Halo or oddball Japanese games get decent manuals now [say what you will of the games themselves, but Halo games have pretty damn good manuals].

I live in Montreal, so by law that booklet does have a French component (legally, games sold here must include a manual in French, although I guess that if there's none in English, they don't have to include one in French). The game itself is localized in French anyway.

[The 1 2 P]

Seems only games like Halo or oddball Japanese games get decent manuals now [say what you will of the games themselves, but Halo games have pretty damn good manuals].

I said on the previous page that the Halo and Gears of War manuals are some of the best produced manuals today. I would expect nothing less from a $60 AAA game. Too bad Activision didn't get that memo. They use the tutorial level instead but so does Halo and Gears. But they still provide thick full color manuals.

[crazyjackcsa]

I always liked a good manual, colour or otherwise. When I was a kid, I'd read the manual on the way home from the store in the car. Or (and I still do this, 20 years later) I play the game, until I get stuck (because I don't know what to do) . Then I put it aside for the rest of the day and read the manual over breakfast the next morning.

I still do that. For a full price game, I like a little back story, a character introduction, controls, nice colour photos and the like.

[HYB]

I was disappointed when I opened up my copy of Mortal Kombat. No new game manual smell :(. I have always loved skimming through manuals so not including them is disappointing. I was especially disappointed with Alice Madness Returns lacking a manual because that's one game I'd expected to have a quality one.

[Ludwig]

Now I feel old, because I remember when people online used to say "RTFM". :p
Probably many will still include a manual as PDF just for the sake of it even if they don't put one in in physical form anymore, RTFPDFM doesn't have the same "ring" to it though.

I remember when i was younger, the first thing i did usually was looking through the manual, especially with the PC games of the 90's and early 00's when they still came in big boxes. Some of them been written rather well and entertaining, and the artwork often was pretty darn cool. I especially remember the original Diablo 2 Manual as quite exciting because of the artwork. What they did was cutting costs: "One page less - two now - nono 4 pages less - smaller". That's how they made them crap and wonder why they still should include one.

[kupomogli]

I can honestly say I've probably read through less than 10 instruction manuals for consoles I've own since the PSX. Prior to that I used to read alot of the instruction manuals I own, but usually because how many information and how well it was displayed.

I know I'm not the only one who probably thinks that the instruction manual on the original Final Fantasy is an interesting read, more so because I might read it at a time I can't, or don't want to play the game, but the instruction manual just draws you in like if you were infact playing the game.

And aside from "finding where to go" I think this is the reason why people collect strategy guides. I don't own many guides, but if I ever look at one, it's to read through it, not to find out where to go, etc. The only strategy guides I own are of my favorite games.

I think that all manuals should be done like Gurumin A Monstrous Adventure. Not only does the game have a full color instruction manual detailing about the characters, your weapons, everything about the game, it also has an in game instruction manual. The in game instruction manual isn't just square is for attack, x is to jump, etc, but it's extremely detailed where it shows off pictures of actions taken, etc. Think Super Mario Bros. 3 on NES with the instruction manual showing off the butt slide, etc. On Gurumin, you even have an in game manual for what special attacks you've acquired. Link shows some of the in game manual and special attack manual.

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/8018

[MarioMania]

I love reading & looking at Manuals

[Zing]

Are manuals less in demand because they have become lower quality over time, or have manuals become lower quality over time because they are in less demand.