The Glade 4.0

Ubisoft Removing Paper Game Manuals
In-game digital manuals to be included in future titles.

April 19, 2010 - In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, Ubisoft announced it is eliminating all paper game manuals from its Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC products, and replacing them with in-game digital versions. The first title to incorporate an all-digital manual is Shaun White Skateboarding, which releases this holiday.

"Eco-friendly initiatives are important to the global community and introducing in-game digital manuals on Xbox 360 and PS3 is just the latest example of Ubisoft's ongoing commitment to being a more environmentally conscious company," said Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America.

Ubisoft says these in-game digital manuals will provide "multiple benefits" for the player, including "easier and more intuitive access" to game information as well as providing a "more robust manual."

Ubisoft has also partnered with Technimark, a case manufacturer, to produce Eco-friendly packaging for its PC games.

Ubisoft did not clarify if its older titles will be "upgraded" to include digital manuals. We've asked Ubisoft for comment and will update when we hear back.

Update: Ubisoft admited that while the company will save money from this initiative, it's too soon to estimate how much. Ubisoft also said it will not be offering downloadable versions of the manuals for players to print out.

"The digital game manuals will be for Ubisoft games going forward," a spokesperson told IGN. "While the company will save money on paper, it's unclear if these costs will be offset by the labor of the development team to create a more robust game manual within the game."

Unfortunately, the days of REAL game manuals have been on the way out for years. Back in the day you got a 200 page manual in full color detailing every aspect of the game. In the last few years, it's been 4 pages saying "here's the controller layout, good luck".

I always loved reading the manual whilst taking a dump and waiting for the game to install. I guess those days will be gone soon...

In comic strips the person on the left always speaks first. - George Carlin

Remember when if you DIDN'T have the manual, you were screwed? Original form of copy protection. Sierra games were notorious for it.

"Second word of the fourth paragraph on page fourteen?"

In comic strips the person on the left always speaks first. - George Carlin