The Demise of the Video Game Manual

I stand by everything I said - if you buy a game from China don't expect the online to work if you live somewhere else. The fact that it has a J on the box is misleading, though.

 

It's more expensive in Australia...

 

I routinely buy "international" versions of American textbooks for uni purely because on eBay they usually are 50% the cost with a big fat disclaimer saying somewhere that if you bought this version it was imported without consent from the publisher and is all but illegal and the person who imported it should be crucified while small animals chew off his toes.

Supposedly they sell it at a reduced cost outside the US implying it is out of the goodness of their hearts and to give those in poorer nations (such as Canada apparently) to learn the fine arts of Chemistry and Abnormal Psychology (two subjects where I've found these versions by the same publisher). Somehow because I live within the political boundaries of the US I can afford to be sodomized with the full price despite the book's previous edition being worth 1/4 that of the latest. We all know textbooks are a rip off though, for different reasons.

I'd have to agree with Yakumo's assertion that "Asia", as most of us know it, includes Japan. However Microsoft is free to determine what countries constitute Asia as they please until they get sued over it. Buying a Chinese copy and finding it doesn't work properly in Japan is them forcibly making sure region controls are abided by and it sure as hell sucks for the Chinese student going to school in Japan.

 

You guys are right - Origin did rock with the blue prints, maps, etc.

Right on Agustin! Back in the day handheld systems were not as common place (at least for me) as it is today. I can remember pouring through a game manual during long trips with my parents - that was my definition of "portable gaming"

I agree with you - I am amazed they lasted as long as they did as well. The PC games were definitely the best - that big box just screamed that it was full of gaming goodness in addition to the software. I would even shake the box a bit back in the day to see how 'full' it was and to try to ascertain what treasures (maps/mini book, etc.) may be contained within.

 

Even dc universe you have to now pay to go online, can't remember the publisher I think maybe ubi soft?

 

Am I a total freak for taking pleasure in the freshly printed smell of manuals? Ever since I was small lol

To me, a manual was like an extension of the artist integrity of the game. I looked forward to seeing the artwork and all the things you could do in game (even if the descriptions gave me unrealistic expectations) Alas, in-game tutorials didn't have the same magic.

I suppose it's all part of the move to reliance on the net. That's probably why I don't own any of the biggest next gen consoles. I hate region-lockouts, passes etc. I use the net for hours everyday, but when I get a game I want it to be the whole game, with a beginning middle and end. I will never stand this 'micro-payments' nonsense.

 

Yeah, oh yeah... we need a time-machine xD;-)

 

I'm old school. I want a manual with my games. If I spend $50+ on some hot new game, there damn well better be some type of documentation inlcuded. All systems have had this since the beginning of time.

EA means nothing to me and I avoid purchasing their products like the plague (just like anything made by Sony), hopefully the rest of the industry doesn't follow suit.
Then again, all EA does is rehash their stupid Madden games year after year, so any monkey that buys those games probably knows how to play it already since the core gameplay hasn't changed in 15 years.

 

I never thought I'd be sticking up for EA, but here goes: some of the best and most interesting/risky new IP of this generation has come from EA, albeit only as a publisher. Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, Mass Effect, Boom Blox... all decent games. EA fronted the cash for these games and for that they should be commended - we tend to moan about "sequelitis" and the lack of new franchises, to their credit EA have been doing good things there this gen. They do more than just sports games, anyway, and if you've avoided all the above games just because they have EA stamped on them then that's really your loss.

 

Not really.
There are plenty more games out there these days in various forms (ie: Xbox, Iphone apps, etc) that are more creative and deserving of our money than EA.
Sure, EA has brought some new Ip's out as a publisher, but that doesn't redeem them for all the bad moves they're known for.
I'll gladly miss out on Mirror's Edge, Boom Blox, etc for this reason alone.

 

Do you honestly pick up a game box in the store and put it back just because it has EA on it?

Cutting off the nose to spite the face, if so. Every publisher around has made dick moves in the past. If you've missed out on Dead Space alone then it's a damn shame. There are more sensible ways to vote with your wallet, and they don't involve missing out on great games.

 

Dead Space may be a good game and that's fine. But I don't think my life is lacking in any way by not having played it though.

 

I don't care for EA games when they are released. I just prefer waiting for prices to get lower. I got Dead Space this way and will do the same thing for Dead Space 2 and NFS: Hot Pursuit.

I just think they always do shit to maximize their profit. "Eco-cases", Online Pass (region locked), no manuals,... and le'ts not forget tons of overpriced DLC. Have you seen how many DLCs were avaiable for Tiger Woods 2012?

That's release date DLCs! The game costs 60bucks and already has 2GB of "extra" content for sale. Imagine people buying all that crap that should have been on the disc in the first place. Then they complain about people buying used games. They want to rip off everybody, but whine when we try to save some bucks.

Other companies do the same thing? Yes, but EA does it ALL the time, give lousy excuses and wants to make profit no matter how.

Anyway, those things would be acceptable if they lowered the retail price of the games. By reducing a % of plastic on cases and paper / ink on manuals, even if they only cut 5 bucks, they would at least try proving their "environment" excuse. But that's EA we are talking about... They are greedy beyond belief.

 

I like how you guys want all of your 70 cents back that <<videogame publisher>> saved by not including the manual.

I'm not saying you shouldn't deserve it. But even with the cheaper cases and barebones manual page insert, I can only imagine a $1 savings.

WHAT'S UP, $58.99 MSRP GAMES??

It's not surprising most businesses would round up the price when you're paying that high a range for recreational/luxury items.

 

You could say that about any videogame.

I don't get it, guys. Why single out EA? Because they're greedy? Don't be so naive. Every publisher out there is "greedy", they're businesses after all.

 

There's greedy though and there's greedy. Look at the Tiger Woods DLC listed above, that isn't a one off, that's the same as last years edition and the years before. It's essentially been the same game for the last 4 years but is the DLC from one game compatible with another? No. Two days before launch of TW 2011 there was £105 of DLC on the PS Store. And it's the same this year. Yes, there's the tired old arguement that if you don't want it you don't have to buy it but to say that is to miss the point. In previous generations extra content would be there as an unlockable but now in the age of microtransitions those days are over. And it's EA who are the frontrunners in the publishing of extra content, especially in their sports and racing games.

Yes EA have taken some chances in releasing new software but surely that's what they're supposed to do anyway isn't it, to bring new and exciting software to market? Not just to keep churning out the same dreck year after year, but to reinvigorate gamers with interesting new product. I don't give a shit as to whether they reduce packaging or include manuals or not, what I do give a damn about though is being lied to and EA's reasoning for its current actions is nothing more than a lie.

 

Yes, and now they've done that, they're... still assholes?

Really?

If it keeps selling then they'll keep making it. If you or I were in the same situation we'd do the same, or face the wrath of the shareholders. I don't buy rehashed sports games every year, I'd advise everyone to do the same if they want to see EA's yearly lineup change; you're saying that's a "tired old argument" but the reason it's tired and old is because it's true. Videogame developers make games that sell. That's their purpose. I appreciate the argument that what has now become DLC used to be free, but if there's a means to sell it then obviously they're going to do so. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: vote with the wallet. When people stop buying spurious DLC, developers will stop making it.

They call it PR. Same as "rumble is a last gen feature" or whatever. The bullshit piles up whichever company you look at, singling out EA for criticism in this area is unfair.

I have no great love for the company, but if you're going to take them to task for this shit, do so for all the other guilty parties at the same time.

(edit: I'm hoping this comes across in the spirit of lively debate - nothing personal, obviously.)

 

The only time I've ever read a manual is when I'm on the bus home or when I'm on the crapper. Usually I'm too busy playing the game instead of bothering to read the instructions

The death of the manual is a sad affair, but given the choice between a paperback manual or trees, trees win IMO.

 

Definitely, more fittingly in this case because software allows you to see instructions while running it.

 

I never said they were arseholes, just that they were thieves. EA is the biggest exponent of DLC, and what you once got free for your hard earned efforts you're now expected to pay for. It's easy to say that they're catering to demand but in all actuality they're not, as they created the situation in the first place by leaving out key bonuses that we as gamers were taught to expect upon completion of certain targets, be it completing a puzzle, a level, a fight or the game as a whole. This is just another step closer towards non-physical media gaming, episodic gaming and pay to play across the board.

Are you taking the piss? 'Software allows you to see instructions while running it'. So let me get this straight, if the instructions are in paper form it slows down the flow of the game because you may have to pause it to double check something in the manual? How do you expect to see the instructions if they're embedded in the software, aren't you going to pause it in exactly the same way but only this time have to access a convoluted menu system and keep clicking backwards and forwards because the ingame manual isn't as intuitive as its physical counterpart or were you expecting to absorb said information by way of digital osmosis? You'd really not thought that through, had you?