JUST PLUG IT INTO MY BRAIN!!!

There is NOTHING like a really good manual.  Ones with quotes at the bottoms of the pages, character bios, move lists...ahhh the good old days.  Of course the whole reason for them initially was because they couldn't really convey a lot of the pertinent information within the game (or didn't think of it).  Its a nice bit of nostalgia that will eventually go the way of the dodo.  
 
Also, count me in for the cloth maps.

Sounds interesting, I'm for it I guess. But honestly I'd rather have better DRM and cheaper games.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I would have preferred if they made an announcement that their manuals won't be crap like most are nowadays...kids do still exist, I'd like them to have that cool little book to read on the way home :( 
 
I'm also kind of an asshole, I'd rather people have jobs than save some trees. 

I remember when Video game manuals used to be good.
 
Better times, when video game developers weren't all about making as much money as possible for as little as possible.

I remember the manual for clive barker's undying.  I also remember what came with American Mcgee's Alice in Wonderland game - it was alice's psychiatrist's log.  There's something really special about those things being printed out.  Shame those days are gone.

" "Gaming for me is a religion and Ubisoft's new green packaging initiatives are the shit" said Olympic gold medalist Shaun White. "I had to come up with a trick that can hit up that kind of rush I get from saving trees and I think we really nailed it!!"  "

This trend sort of saddens me a little bit. I remember taking the manuals for my new Atari 2600 and later NES games to school to read instead of studying...couldn't wait to get home and play. I guess that's nostalgia kicking in, I really couldn't care less about manuals now, but still.

Meh, they ain't what they used to be.

Given I pretty much buy most of my PC games on steam, impulse or direct 2 drive, I certainly have no love lost for removing manuals. Not to emtnion the way manuals done now is half a page of credits and legal notices and less information than the actual ingame tutorial and you wonder why they stick it in the case in the first place.

Is it sad to say that I still like a good game manual?  
I knew this would happen eventually, but it still makes me feel old and disappointed. Manuals are a great way to practice translation, too.

Getting rid of the paper manuals for most games is perfectly fine with me since most companies have reduced them to practically nothing anyways. It always amazes me every time EA manages to make a smaller manual then they did before. Its basically [Copyright, Copyright, Needed Console Info Page, Controller Mapping, Limited Gameplay Info Page, Copyright, Copyright]. So for those games the manual seems unnecessary.  
 
However I still love a well done manual, loved reading them on the trip back to my house when I was a kid. The 400 page novel sized Baldur's Gate 2 manual for example was awesome, it had gameplay info, race info, spell info, chapters explaining D&D systems and chapters dedicated to lore, it was worth reading outside the context of the game. Blizzard also tends to do a good job of their manuals, colorful manuals with lots of concept art and lore pages, but even they have been cutting back on their newer release (Though they were expansion packs). I also enjoy Nintendo Manuals as they are well laid out with nice art to explain gameplay concepts, though lately they seem to be using the in-game models for those pages which kills it a little bit for me.

I'm much more worried about the "ecoTech" DVD case exposing the disc to damage via shipping.

 
Lets just cut the green crap and use slim jewel cases for all optical discs. Only reason we went with these lengthy cases was to accommodate VHS racks at retail stores. 

"

You'd think this might be more effective with games like... oh, I don't know... Neverwinter Nights 2?

Bah, I was lamenting about game manuals just a few days ago. I think you've said everything there is to say.

Well, I can't say I'm too upset about it. I also used to love game manuals, but ever since the days of the PS1, their quality has gone way downhill. I remember Nintendo kept quality manuals going for a while, but I ended up just moving on from them. I'll still look at some manuals for games I just started playing, but it's just not like it used to be.

what am i supposed to read on the shitter?

I don't buy Ubisoft games that much so I doesn't affect me.

The "green" cases that Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 use scare the shit out of me everytime I take the disc out. It feels like I'm going to rip the disc in half. I already know someone who broke their MW2 disc because of these stupid cases and he has never had a broken game before.

I am not being trying to be anti-anything.  But I love Ubisoft and am a fan of: Hawx, Splinter Cell, Assassins Creed, Ghost Recon and more.

I werent going to say anything but.. Which is greener : Paper or digital?
And not OT : nooooo, what am I going to read on the crapper now? =( *sadface*

" @ajamafalous said:

" "Gaming for me is a religion and Ubisoft's new green packaging initiatives are the shit" said Olympic gold medalist Shaun White. "I had to come up with a trick that can hit up that kind of rush I get from saving trees and I think we really nailed it!!"  "

Victory! "

I can see why this a right choice to make, but I am still very fond of game manuals. Even when they are absolutely useless.
In-game digital manuals are even more useless. Either the manual is a codex type of thing, which then it should be called Codex, or it's for key-bindings, which then is already in the Controls menu.
Apart from this, it can be art stuff, which then is already (if exists in the game) in a Extras menu or Gallery menu or legal crap, which it is just unnecessary.
I recommend Ubisoft to not include in-game manuals and with the spare disc space include Deadly Premonition's whistle theme.

So... I guess I just call Carrot Top for gaming instructions now?

I like the manuals a lot. But maybe its just the nostalgia.

Actually... I base my pre developed opinion of a game based on whether or not the Manual has colored ink.  If it isn't a colorful displays our light spectrum... I start the game off with a scowl and I have to be convinced that it's a good game.  Now, I will buy every UbiSoft game I choose to with a scowl henceforth...

I always read them on the way home to further build my excitement! Now all I'll have is the back of the box. =(

Okay they're not printing manuals, does that mean the game will be cheaper? They're just saving a bunch of money not having to print that stuff, and that's the only thing they care about. It's pretty false for them to try to spin this as anything but a method of cutting per unit costs. I personally like physical manuals, they're fun things to just bust open and read, and sometimes I will carry a manual with me to learn a bit about the game. 

Reading through these comments raised some salient points. First, most tutorials suck. They all try to work it into the gameplay, but it is always a slow boring intro to a game, especially if you played a demo beforehand. Just Cause 2 had a lame tutorial section when all i wanted to do is just go crazy from the start. Most people read faster than they pace tutorials. Make tutorials separate! Second, some genres benefit from manuals more than others. Opening a fighting game manual to read move lists (all of them anyway) is faster than opening the menu and it's something you can do away from your machine. Rpgs can put a lot of lore into the manual that I don't have to sit and read on my screen when I should be playing the game. Strategy games always have tech trees and detailed cost info. Third, in most every game there is a GUI widget that does not show it's use, and that's when you turn to the awesome GUI description page with the lines and text labels. "Oh so that's what that Blaz Blue bar does!" Or maybe "That's why there are flies circling Agent York!" Finally, the fact that manuals suck now is the fault of the company not the idea of manuals themselves. MGS2 had an awesome mini comic right in there! I doubt that the same effort would go into an electronic only manual. I know manuals going digital doesn't equal the death of manuals, but for some reason I get that feeling. Maybe that's just me hating change, but this whole thing smacks of "how can we save money on our games?" I bet they'll just start linking to videos of the in-game tutorial on youtube.

No, I didn't read the game manuals, but I was only glad it was there. 
 
: (

I really don't know their motives for changing and it could be for the good(environmental waste) or bad(pure profit) but in all honesty I have the same recollection as Jeff.  When I was young I remember reading and almost studying the manual on the way home.  Now however I never read a manual.

I love reading manuals. Having to read them on a television screen is totally going to suck. 
 
Also, eff Shaun White.

I also loved reading manuals before, but now I don't even take it out of the box. So yeah, I am personaly for the green packaging and I HOPE other companies will catch on. And they probably will by the time "thinking green" is cool.

Cheap Bastards, they aren't getting a penny of mine. 
They can burn in hell.

I barely look at manuals anymore. I'm of the opinion that the game itself should teach you how to play it.

I definitely read the game manuals.  Like after playing a new game for the night, before going to bed, I'll thumb through the manual.  Usually looking for any artwork, or extra info that wasn't apparent while playing for the first hours.  It was also a way to kinda stay in the game world while taking a break from the TV screen.  So yeah, I'll be bummed out when they're gone completely.   
 
Yes, lately most new games have shit manuals.  But not all.

When was the last time you actualy looked at a games Manuel and it provided something new.

To think about it its pretty awesome.

I go to the manual about halfway through a game I like, to see if there's any button functions I've been missing that could increase my efficacy or eliminate menu trawling.
 
Manuals used to be the best part of a JRPG.  Nothing like thumbing through to see the art and the background of every character you're going to recruit.  "Oh dude, this old man rides a weird hoverbike and can cast BLUE MAGIC, whatever that is!"  And then you play the game and you realize they changed their minds about Amano's actual character design.
 
So in comparison to Shawn White, I am less stoked.

I don't really care. In fact, it could be more convenient than digging out a seperate manual. However, if if they're going to do this, it needs to be accessible from the pause menu. I don't want to have to back out of the game every time I want to look up some gameplay info, especially in an RPG.

Cheap packaging drives me absolutely nuts.  I hate flimsy "eco-friendly" cases paired with black & white, four page manuals.  These games shouldn't cost $60.  For that kind of money I want something of quality to put on my shelf.  Ubisoft not even including a manual at all now just takes the cake.  The next time I buy a Ubisoft game will be when I can fish it out of a bargain bin.  We need more publishers like Nintendo and Atlus who take pride in what they peddle.
 
This also of course adds insult to injury to PC gamers.  Ubisoft already has a draconian, always-online DRM system.  You lose nothing now by pirating their games, and instead get the added convenience of playing offline.

Why not just have manuals in the game?
 
You know?
 
Sorta like PSone games on PSN.

This has been a long time coming. I'm sure we'll see other publishers doing the same thing as this year, and the next progresses. The only game manuals that I still find the be well made are for DS games. If you through most of those, you'll still find color and maybe even 50+ pages. 
 
Like I said, this has been a long time coming, and I guess I prefer it to the crappy manuals that are now produced, but it's still sad to see them go.