Game Manuals - dying off?

[funguy2121]

One of my personal positives about a boxed game is a manual. It's nice to get a flashy manual with some more back story to the game, a run down of the basics and explanations of weapons and enemies, but lately this seems to be disappearing. A game I picked up recently (I think it was Alice: Madness Returns) had a manual that literally consisted of 2 pages of the health warnings. Are developers finally just not caring about them anymore, in favor of training and tutorials, or are they just cost cutting? And what are your thoughts on manuals?

Well, shit, if the discs are going to evaporate into the cloud then there won't be manuals any more anywho, right? Manuals seem kind of antiquated now. The last game I bought was Monster Hunter, and I constantly had to refer to the manual when I bought/built a new weapon. That was very annoying, as it broke up the gameplay.

 

[Nerdstar]

i remember reading ALL the manuals as a kid, so when i saw this thread i had to post.

OT:no game manuals aren't "dying off" or at lest none that iv seen all the "recent" games that iv purchased have had a nice detailed manual snugly tucked away in the case. so in my experience no manauls are not dying off


captah: AM-FM shoses COOL RADIO SHOES!!!!!!!!

 

[Rusty pumpkin]

Uh... I never used the things. My first hour in any game was spent trying to make sure I knew what button made me run, and what button threw grenades. Often times I would throw grenades while standing in the middle of nowhere.

 

[RoyalSorceress]

I love the game manuals, the best one ever was the Earthbound one. It was a whole detail guide, but mine fell apart from being read to much.

I'm still disappointed I didn't get a manual with my copy of Psychonauts, I heard it was really good.

 

[Beautiful End]

I've seen:

1. Manuals disappearing with the excuse of going eco-friendly. Some people consider it a waste of paper because only half of the gamers out there read the manual in full detail or read it more than once.

2. Add stuff about the manual to the game content. Like credits, health hazards, etc.

Some games still have a nice, full manual while some others have a pretty lame manual (Like 5 pages) and others just have something like a slip of paper. Personally, I want my manuals. It makes my game feel complete, you know. It's not like a manual is made of 50 pages so it's not like we're killing the planet with them. Heck, I'll even settle with those lame black and white manuals.

Manuals are meant to be read before you start the game, hence the health warnings and such. It's kinda like the instructions for an appliance. Sure, you only read them once but what would you do without them?

 

[w9496]

I liked the manuals more than tutorials, but I geuss I'm one of few since digital media(which I hate) sprung onto the scene a while ago.

I especially liked the parts where they tell you about the characters.

 

[Apollo45]

I miss huge game manuals... Most of them I read and then dismissed but the one that always sticks in my mind is the Homeworld GOTY manual bundle. It was literally the standard manual, coupled with an 'extended manual' that was a good 100 pages long, packaged along with the Prima Strategy Guide all in the same 9"x12" box that was standard with video games at the time. Seriously, it was a novel and a half of manual, and it was freaking awesome. I was so disappointed when games started coming out in the paperback-book sized boxes, and now they're just DVD cases, and not even decently durable ones at that.

Eco-friendly can kiss my ass, I want my huge cardboard boxes and novel-manual hybrids packed to the brim with lore, storyline, and tutorial back.

 

[Jordi]

I would think that developers would go out of their way to provide physical "bonus" material with their games to reward their customers instead of punishing them with DRM. These things can not be pirated. (Or they can be, but having a low quality scanned PDF is just not the same as having an actual book.) I also wouldn't necessarily make it a manual (although it can contain instructions etc.) but more about the story and the game world. Possibly with some designs, maps, developer commentary etc. thrown in.

Digital distribution of course complicates this. On the other hand, the manual will likely be a fairly small booklet that would fit in an envelope and can be send to the customer for relatively cheap.