Purchasing manuals from current manufacturers...

[josekortez]

Hi guys,

I have a copy of Zoocube I bought 2 weeks ago. The manager at the EB rang me up for it before I realized there was no manual inside, but I was in a hurry and if I'd returned it, she would have to take off my 30% for buying 5 or more pre-owned. Anyway, I'd been looking for a cheap copy of Zoocube, so I didn't complain about it. I just went on my way. Of course, the fact that there's no manual in it irritates me so much that I haven't even tried the game yet. BTW, if anyone remembers my previous post last month about EB, this is the same EB where the associate left 2 of my PS games out of the cases...

Anyway, this isn't another rant about EB Games. I don't frequent that particular store that often, and I don't plan on going back. I just want to know if you can still buy a manual from the manufacturer if the game is still in print. I remember that in the NES days, there were numbers you could call, or at least, Nintendo charged like 2 bucks or something for a manual. I'm sure someone will say Ebay, but I don't feel like paying 5 bucks for a manual on a game I paid 7.50 for (my rough estimate includes shipping). Also, Acclaim makes Zoocube, so I'm not even sure they'd sell me one because they don't support the Gamecube any longer. A Gamestop employee told me earlier today that they'd probably give me one for free. Anybody have experience in this area?

[Neil Koch]

I'd say in this day and age companies are less likely to sell/give away manuals, but here are lots of sites that have manual scans or you could try trolling at used game stores.

[l_lamb]

You might try contacting Acclaim. There's no way to directly order a manual off of their website, but you may still be able to get one from them. Nintendo has manuals for many of the games that they published, but they don't have manuals for other publishers.

[slapdash]

Nintendo used to have the best customer support for info, and possibly still does... Since it's a GameCube game, call them and ask them how to get a new instruction booklet. They'll probably have an address and/or phone number for you as to where to order.

Going back to the NES era or thereabouts, most companies would sell you instructions, but they don't advertise their addresses a lot. But if you write, you'll probably get a response. And in the NES era booklets were commonly $1-2, plus a little for postage. These days booklets are bigger, so you MIGHT end up spending as much as $5 per, but I assume it's not quite that bad yet.

[Anonymous]

Nintendo still has the best customer service . If you call them they will give you acclaim's number and refer you to them. If acclaim is unable to assist you with instruction manuals (but I believe they will) you can call Nintendo back and they will make a photocopy of the instructions for you and send them out free of charge. Nintendo also does this for any old instructions for games whose companies are out of business or are no longer licensees. Nintendo game instruction manuals are 2.00 per manual for GC games, 1.25 for GB games and SNES/NES games. Check http://store.nintendo.com which should have a listing of instruction manuals.

[Sniderman]

I dunno, I've been lucky in the past. Two years ago, I needed the manual for The Immortal for genesis once. Called Electronic Arts customer service and explained my plight. They got my name and address and I thought that'd be the end of it. A week later, I got a completely photocopied manual from the company with a letter saying the originals were long gone, but they made copies of the archives for me.

Second tale, got Gilligan's Island for NES loose (er, 5 years ago perhaps). Contacted the manufacturer and asked if they still had manuals laying around. Said yup. A week later, got the manual and - as a bonus - a mailed-flat, never used, Gilligan's Island BOX for the NES!

Never hurts to ask, as I've had amazing luck sometimes.

[sisko]

Just wanted to thank you guys for the idea.

I had been looking for a manual to my copy of DB GT: Final Bout for years..

I fired off an email to Bandai Games, and got an email back in less than 1 hour stating to call for spare parts.

Called Bandai, got a new manual sent my way in less than 2 minutes. And for free!