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Ubisoft to kill off paper manuals from video games

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DVDBack23 @ Apr 20, 2010 17:26 | 14 comments

Ubisoft has announced this week that it plans to kill off paper manuals for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, "going green" if you will, in an effort that will save up to 2300 trees in the next year.

The publisher will eliminate about six million paper manuals from video game packaging.

"Ubisoft is often recognized for making great games, but it's a special privilege to be the industry leader at saving trees," notes North American president of Ubisoft Laurent Detoc. "Introducing in-game digital manuals is just the latest example of Ubisoft's ongoing commitment to being a more environmentally conscious company."

Instead of the paper manuals, the company will include digitized manuals on the game discs. Last month, Ubisoft switched to in-game digital manuals for PC games.

"We are taking steps to become an industry leader in environmentally conscious packaging," adds Ubisoft vice president of operations Rich Kubiszewski. "This obviously has impacts to the environment and the consumer, both positive. No more losing the manual, and we can provide more robust content."

The first game to ship with the "Eco-Tech" packaging will be "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction," set for release later this month.

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Comments

Comment by: SProdigy (Apr 20, 2010 17:45)

I'm fine with this. Most games start with a beginning "tutorial" level nowadays, or have some type of training option, making a manual a waste anyway.

Comment by: gnovak1 (Apr 20, 2010 17:50)

Yea i never use a manual when i play a game. I like finding things out myself. Most games are easy to figure out with the tutorials and all.

Comment by: Clownzill (Apr 20, 2010 18:32)

This makes sense but don't be fooled by the "going green" excuse. It's all about increasing profit margins. I have no problem with them wanting increased profit margins but it's kind of laughable that they say their doing it for the environment.

Comment by: slickwill (Apr 20, 2010 18:35)

So they are going to get rid of the paper manuals, but still charge the same price.

Next thing you know, they are going to get ride of all the discs and box and having everything download only, but still charge the same.

Originally posted by Clownzill:
This makes sense but don't be fooled by the "going green" excuse. It's all about increasing profit margins. I have no problem with them wanting increased profit margins but it's kind of laughable that they say their doing it for the environment.

All companies and government do this. They say something is done for the sake of the people, but there are always hidden agendas that do not benefit the people. For example, gun registration makes sure that all gun are lent to lawful owners (or something along those lines). But the hidden agenda is it will allow the police to go around and collect these guns, leaving the lawful citizens defenseless.

Comment by: aj123 (Apr 20, 2010 19:19)

Originally posted by slickwill:
So they are going to get rid of the paper manuals, but still charge the same price.

how much of a price drop were u expecting? It probably costs almost nothing per game to make a manual.

Comment by: bobiroc (Apr 20, 2010 22:07)

Leave the Manuals..drop the Always on DRM. Or drop both but definitely drop the DRM

AMD Phenom II 965 @ 3.6Ghz, 8GB DDR3, ATI Radeon 5770HD, 300GB 10,000RPM Raptor, 2TB Additional HDD, Windows 7 Ultimate.

Comment by: Pop_Smith (Apr 20, 2010 22:39)

Originally posted by SProdigy:
I'm fine with this. Most games start with a beginning "tutorial" level nowadays, or have some type of training option, making a manual a waste anyway.

I'd agree to this. However, I'm surprised that six million manuals only uses 2,300 trees, that means each tree can be made into 2,608 manuals, I know they are tiny but that still amazes me.

As for "going green" I believe all the ink used inside the manual probably causes more damage then the paper it's printed on to.

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=V1VZAD0O <-- Brian Regan "Take Luck" video.

"The only people who should buy Monster cable are people who light cigars with Benjamins." - Gizmodo

Comment by: slickwill (Apr 20, 2010 22:48)

Originally posted by aj123:

Originally posted by slickwill:
So they are going to get rid of the paper manuals, but still charge the same price.

how much of a price drop were u expecting? It probably costs almost nothing per game to make a manual.

At least a quarter.

Comment by: VENOM79 (Apr 20, 2010 23:01)

Originally posted by aj123:

Originally posted by slickwill:
So they are going to get rid of the paper manuals, but still charge the same price.

how much of a price drop were u expecting? It probably costs almost nothing per game to make a manual.

if it cost almost nothing to print a manual then keep printing, i'll plant a weed for you, there only doing it to save money and pass the savings on to themselves, corporate america cares nothing about gonig green unless it involves tax breakes or money saved while charging the same or more

Comment by: KillerBug (Apr 21, 2010 03:32)

Yeah, it is all just more greed from the most greedy game company on earth. This makes no difference to me; Ubisoft isn't getting any of my business as long as they have Always-On DRM anyway...and they have stated that they are keeping it.

Comment by: ville30 (Apr 21, 2010 10:58)

About time. If you can't figure out how to play a damn video game without a manual - you are a retard.

Comment by: xboxdvl2 (Apr 21, 2010 13:29)

dont most pc games come with a read me file that explains the game anyway.its usually more fun to play the game without the manual.

PS2 with 12 games.
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Comment by: pcrazy99 (Apr 22, 2010 01:21)

I don't buy the going green thing either. It's all about cutting costs. I won't miss it though. I can't remember the last time I thumbed through a manual to figure out how to play a game.

Comment by: Gnawnivek (Apr 22, 2010 19:42)

How about getting rid of the cover art too then? Just a clear case you can see the game disc/discs :)

Okay, maybe a small piece of paper on the back, for the bar code and tech specs.

Peace!