No Manuals -- List of Games and Opinion?

[lendelin]

Since I've been in Germany in the last six years and wasn't as much involved in the gaming universe as I used to be, I experienced a lot of surprises coming back to America. First, Blockbuster was gone! Holy schmoly! Second, the printed game magazines disappeared almost completely from the mag stands. After I got used to this second 'holy-schmoly'-moment, now I discovered the full extent of the trend with no manuals or just digital manuals in games.

My first worry: buying used games, how can I know if the game came with a manual or not? Is there somewhere a list of games which were released without a printed manual? (I only buy newer games complete; I'm afraid I might pass on a good deal assuming the game came originally with a manual)

I have so far three games without a manual that I know of: Ratchet and Clank Nexus, Puppeteer, and Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen. (I bought the latter at a Gamestop when the sales guy assured me that the game came without a manual; I checked, he was right)

Probably I have a lot more. I read that EA, Sony and Ubisoft don't use printed manuals anymore. Is this true? Obviously Ubisoft was in 2012 already the first one who announced that.

Besides making my life very difficult when I buy used games, I find this trend terrible. Printed manuals are a part of gaming culture. From the first instruction booklets (in color!) for Zelda and one of the NES - Mega Mans to the Wizards Companion in Ni NO Kuni, from the bad translations of the first NES games to the great manuals by Working Designs, they are part of gaming history.

I understand that digital manuals safe trees and as a nice side effect increase the profits of publishers, I also understand that nowadays the first ten minutes in a game are mostly tutorials, but it feels just awkward and terrible to open a game case with nothing in there than just a disc.

Online movie streaming, online mags, online guides, online games, and now online manuals. If there will be times without a physical copy for games, I'll certainly play much less and certainly will not collect games anymore. If I have only something in digital format, I just don't have the feeling that I 'own' something.

[retroman]

I also am not a fan of download crap. I will take a hard copy any day over download crap.

[FieryReign]

None of my Vita games have a manual, don't think any of the games had one included. 3DS games started this trend over the past few years. Yet most of them include a little insert with instructions on how to view the electronic manual. And warnings in 10 different languages. Some of them even have the club Nintendo codes on the back of the damn cover art.

Just companies being cheap as fuck and penny pinching. The quality of the plastic cases is pathetic too. They're even getting so cheap as to not include ac adaptors with their systems anymore.

[Aussie2B]

Depending on the system, it'd probably be easier to list which games DO have a manual.

[SparTonberry]

I stopped really paying attention to 3DS manuals. But their does seem to be a range of them.
I've seen some with "real" manuals. As in you can actually understand how to play the game from reading them.
Then there's some that are just "quick start" guides. Maybe they tell you how to read the digital manual, but otherwise don't say much more than maybe the controls. (Ocarina of Time 3D was the first I recall of this.) Still, Steel Diver was in the middle. It told you mostly how to play the game, but I remember there was at least one game mode where they cheapend out and just said to read the digital manual.

And then there are fake manuals. Just got Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. The "Instruction Booklet", as its even called, is literally just the cover art and safety warnings. Doesn't even tell you how to read the digital manual.

Maybe some time I should go through my 3DS games and document what kind of manuals they have. Would perhaps need some kind of note for each, as the Steel Diver example that is difficult to classify.

[Tanooki]

Amen Fiery and Spar.

I don't like the trend either, and I think not having a power plug in the newest 3DS systems was a slap in the face. You can't just assume anyone will have never bought a 3DS before, nor will they read the fine print they need to pay another $15 for one at retail and that's just disgusting.

As far as the manuals go, I dislike the in game training, I like to just get going. I honestly hate the variety of nothing, to thin basic controls/rules sheet (at least it's useful), to some still having a booklet. I don't think to ever check the game hitting a menu button then painfully scrolling through various pages of sterile garbage to find something as it's slow and clunky. We're nowhere near a tree shortage as they mandate when you chop them down you have to plant more to keep a cycle going over the years for supply so I don't buy the environmental crap as with plastics (which in part are made using oil.) It's penny pinching cheap ass tactics at its finest. I find in some games I tend to get lost as I don't even remember there is a manual so I end up having to go online and find a stupid FAQ which annoys me to no end. I shouldn't have to go look up stuff like that because it's not printed and easily accessible as such.

[Rickstilwell1]

PS3 is a system where it would be easier to list the games that don't have the manual. Only certain publishers don't include a manual. I believe EA and Namco Bandai were a couple of the first companies to do this on that system.

[FieryReign]

I stopped really paying attention to 3DS manuals. But their does seem to be a range of them.
I've seen some with "real" manuals. As in you can actually understand how to play the game from reading them.
Then there's some that are just "quick start" guides. Maybe they tell you how to read the digital manual, but otherwise don't say much more than maybe the controls. (Ocarina of Time 3D was the first I recall of this.) Still, Steel Diver was in the middle. It told you mostly how to play the game, but I remember there was at least one game mode where they cheapend out and just said to read the digital manual.

And then there are fake manuals. Just got Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. The "Instruction Booklet", as its even called, is literally just the cover art and safety warnings. Doesn't even tell you how to read the digital manual.

Maybe some time I should go through my 3DS games and document what kind of manuals they have. Would perhaps need some kind of note for each, as the Steel Diver example that is difficult to classify.

Looking through my dwindled collection, most of the games that do have "manuals" are just 4-6 page foldouts. And mostly 1st party stuff released a couple years ago. Half of the foldout is nothing but more warnings. You'd think there are enough warnings plastered on the back cover, geez.

Resi: Revelations has the closest thing to a full color manual. Even that Monster Hunter 4 Collectors Edition came with the phony intruction book.

[The 1 2 P]

Depending on the system, it'd probably be easier to list which games DO have a manual.

For current gen systems this would work best. Not many Xbox One games have real manuals. Just looking through my shelf:

Have Manuals

Grand Theft Auto V
Just Dance 2015
Lego Batman 3
Lego Marvel Super Heroes

No Manuals

Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Rare Replay
Titanfall

Everything else I have was either bought used(so I can't tell if it originally came with a manual or not) or it's still factory sealed. Batman: Arkham Knight appears to have a manual but it's just a booklet filled with safety warnings and text on the software license agreement. Much like arcades game manuals are now a thing of the past unfortunately. I also wish this wasn't the case but on the optimistic side of things it leaves less for me to track down when buying used games. But there's also the confusion of rather a manual even exist for it or not.

[lendelin]

Last week I passed in a Gamestop on the Sly game for the PS3 because there was no manual. I had a coupon 'buy 2 get one free.' Shortly after I found it online new for the same price with shipping ($16) and it arrived yesterday. Because the disc was loose inside I opened it and it didn't have a manual either.

Some of you are right stating that without manuals it will be much easier to get the games complete. Confusing is the transition phase. If there is no reliable list of games with or without manuals there will be uncertainty for years to come when we buy used games. I never was in the mood to hunt for manuals, neither for NES games nor for XBox360 games.

[theclaw]

Tales of Xillia, Tales of Xillia 2, and Tales of Symphonia Chronicles look to have no manual.
I'll grant that modern games have less need for it, tutorial modes that don't interrupt the main game is always an option.

But that doesn't excuse unnecessary confusion on whether a game originally included one. Or leaving out important info as basic as which languages a game supports.
While right on the European box, American Tales of Hearts R has no indicator of also offering French, Italian, German, and Spanish.