EA has quietly done away with printed manuals for its games, instead replacing them with manuals included on the game discs.

EA Sports spokesperson Rob Semsey has confirmed to Kotaku that the firm did away with manuals as of March 1, marked by the release of Fight Night Champion.

The move is to make its game production friendlier to the environment, according to Semsey, although we're sure the monetary benefits have a lot to do with it.

It's not clear if the decision applies company-wide or just for the EA Sports sector.

The move joins Ubisoft who ditched the paper printed game manual back in April 2010.

Game manuals are for mums and noobs, anyway. Admittedly, it's always exciting to rip open a game and have a flick through the manual on the way home from the shops, but when was the last time you read a manual before playing a game for actual instructions?

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/29 ... e-manuals/

First of all, they can piss off with the green bollocks.

Secondly, a manual done right adds to the overall value of the game for the consumer - background story, easy to view map, notes etc.

Thirdly, there are people out there who will read the manual on their way home, or when they should be working, or just on the bog

For some games I really value the manual. Old school arcade games for example where you need to learn complex sequences of key presses for those special moves - I find that easier with the manual to refer to.

Another example os strategy games - I remember always having the manual to hand when playing Rome total war, as it included information on the units' strengths and weaknesses which was essential.

For most games though, the manual doesn't even get of the box. War games for example - you know (or can quickly figure out) the controls, so there is little to gain.

It does depend on the game. The loss of a printed manual could be forgiven if there is good online documentation and a simple printed key button printout. Also bulk printing can be a lot more environmentally friendly than millions of users printing the instructions out. Also this is probably more of a cost saving measure rather than a environmental issue.

I remember the manual for EF2000. It was bigger than War and Peace (TFIC).

Not only did it have key controls, it was a complete walkthough in running a Eurofighter jet. It showed you how to utilise each feature, each MFD. It gave you error codes to refer to. It had stats and a mini-tutorial on each weapon. It had stats and background info on all aircraft, land and sea vehicles in the game. It even came with a map so in campaigns, if your navigation equipement was malfunctioning, you could still find your way home!

The next proper flightsim I bought was Falcon 4.0: Allied Force. The entire manual was online, which was frustrating. However, that was 2005 and it still had a quickstart manual. TBH I think you need a fold out quick reference card at the most.

What about DOS games' copy protection, that refer you to a page number and a word number in order to continue loading the game?
They haven't thought this through.

These days, games are so complicated, manuals are generally a waste of time, except reminders of what each button does.

Sometimes I need that in multiplayer games I can't pause

Yes but that is what I need for every game, with games that need maps I only buy when I can get a walk through manual as otherwise I am screwed.

Fifa 11 has loads of moves, etc so when I pick the game up (probably only once a month) I need to refer back to the manual and have to open nearby. Taking this away is retarded.