Green Ubisoft ditching paper manuals

By Robert Purchese Published 20 April, 2010

Digital replacements in effect this year.

Publishing giant Ubisoft has taken a pioneering step towards a greener future by abolishing paper game manuals.

They are to be replaced by in-game digital manuals, the first example of which will be Shaun White Skateboarding this autumn. North American PC games have used digital manuals since March 2010.

Ubisoft has worked out that one ton of game-manual paper costs the planet roughly 13 trees (and all the squirrels and owls and snakes that live in them). And making that amount of paper pumps out 6000lbs of CO2 gas and 15000 gallons of waste water.

Scrapping the paper means Ubisoft can make "more robust" manuals that are easier to navigate and "more intuitive". What that actually means in the real-world we'll have to wait and see.

Also, Ubisoft has decided to make environmentally friendly DVD cases using 100 per cent recycled plastic. The first example of this will be Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, released on 30th April.

Ubisoft US boss Laurent-Detoc said it was a "privilege" to be "the industry leader at saving trees".

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (73) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • foamy #1 2 years ago

    saving trees, and saving money, obviously. If it was more expensive, I doubt we'd see something like this so soon.

  • EgbertoTheGreat #2 2 years ago

    Well I guess they have to compensate for all the energy their DRM servers waste....

  • FatsoJetson #3 2 years ago

    Noooo!

    My new game ritual consists of me reading the manual while having a poo. It used to be while having a cigarette, but I quit. Can't give up shitting though, can I? Thanks a bunch, Ubi!

  • chasejamie #4 2 years ago

    Is this the end of manual sniffing?

  • X201 #5 2 years ago

    Translating press release, each paragraph in brief...



    Publishing giant Ubisoft has ... (We're nice)

    They are to be replaced by... (Advert)

    Ubisoft has worked out that... (Worst case scenario data)

    Scrapping the paper means ... (Vindicate own decision)

    Also, Ubisoft has decided to make.. (They're cheaper than brand new ones now that the oil price has shot up)

    Ubisoft US boss ... (We're nice)


    Edit: In Summary, Its a cost cutting measure but put it out as Greenwash to make us look good
    Edited by X201 at 20/04/10 @ 09:50

  • HermitArcader #6 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • gjgjg #7 2 years ago

    If we loose connection does it forget what page we were last reading?

  • lunnytoon #8 2 years ago

    So are the trees to blame for manuals getting progressively thinner and thinner over the years. I remember when you got a proper in depth manual with SNES and Megadrive games but these days all you seem to get is a photosensitivity warning and a few credits. Maybe now they can be complete again.

  • Mkwone #9 2 years ago

    Can somebody tell nintendo about this. Every time i open a DS case i'm assaulted by thousands of manuals and guides.

    It's like when you see a nice big juicy manual and find that only 3 pages are in english, the rest is hundreds of other languages.

  • jellyhead #10 2 years ago

    I love how they're trying to spin it as an enviromental issue rather than a cost-cutting & profit increase plan.
    Never change, Ubi, never change.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #11 2 years ago

    Is this the end of manual sniffing?

    You'll have to slide the paper insert out of the DVD case and sniff that instead.

  • metalangel #12 2 years ago

    This isn't pioneering, budget games have made us suffer PDF manuals for over a decade! And sitting staring at page after page of text onscreen is NOT pleasant. And finally, get fucked you eco-greenie weird-beards.

  • thubie #13 2 years ago

    They call it being green, i call it cutting cost and make some positive pr spin on it.

  • Tangled #14 2 years ago

    Well, manuals really lost their charm for me since in-game tutorials gained in prominence, more than ten years ago. Anyone remember those 400+ page ones from Microprose games in the 90's? Nowadays manuals are just an epilepsy warning, a quick glance over the interface and a description of the options screen... Plus, most of re-releases already include a manual in PDF form instead of paper.

  • PhoenixMDK #15 2 years ago

    Umm, has Ubisoft heard that you can grow new trees too?

    I also like the image of someone at Ubisoft sat doing the maths to "work out" that one ton costs 13 trees. Particularly since they don't actually tell us the crucial figure: how many tons of game manuals they produce a year. None of the recent ones have been particularly heavy as far as I remember, so I wonder how many trees we're actually saving here, Ubi. Money, now that's another thing altogether...

  • ignatiusjreilly #16 2 years ago

    The vast majority of modern games need no manual, paper or otherwise. I truly cannot remember the last time I read one.

  • Toothball #17 2 years ago

    The manual provides about 80% of new game smell. Opening a game won't be quite the same without that. I'll probably live though as it's not really bothered me with digital games.
    Edited by Toothball at 20/04/10 @ 10:15

  • space_ace #18 2 years ago

    [link url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/series/greenwash
    ]http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/se...[/link]

    interesting articles on the topic

  • Tyronne #19 2 years ago

    I love reading how green companies are becoming when the cynical bone in my body just cries out `cost cutting measure`.

    Why not simply print the some/if not all of the relevant information on the back of the game cover so that there is at least something to read, like they used to do on the old cassette games in the 8 bit days.

  • Doctor_What #20 2 years ago

    I just want one sheet of paper with the game controls written on it, past that I don't care that much. Removing that single sheet will be very annoying, I suspect.

  • sd99 #21 2 years ago

    Ubisoft - does that mean you're gonna stop producing Special Editions of games which come with tat like USB sticks, Statues, Plastic figures and Night Vision Goggles etc in massive cardboard boxes? I'm sure they're far worse for the environment...

    Oh no wait, that makes you money.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #22 2 years ago

    Even if it was a cost-cutting measure, who gives a toss? I'd rather a company did something environmentally aware for selfish reasons that not do it at all.

    On another note, it'll be sad to see manuals go completely, but I agree with others, it's rare to get an exciting one nowadays anyway.

  • peteb #23 2 years ago

    I wonder how much power is used while I'm reading the ingame manual :)

    It's definitely a cost cutting measure, but will consumers see any savings passed on?

  • Whitster #24 2 years ago

    It's obviously cost cutting as otherwise making the manuals from recycled paper would have the same effect. Ultimately it's just another step towards the fully digital distribution that publishers want. Getting people used to having no manuals is just another grooming step towards having no tangible product whatsoever.

  • chrisjm #25 2 years ago

    they should at least put an air freshener inside the box that has the new game smell.

  • gnrlstuart #26 2 years ago

    well ubisoft manuals are bare bones anyway, it would be different if gta games or halo games stopped making their nice looking manuals.

  • space_ace #27 2 years ago

    ubi continue to make sure the paying customer doesn't get anything more than the pirates :)

  • syphaa #28 2 years ago

    I'm more shocked by the fact that Shaun White has made the leap to skateboarding? Could of sworn he was a snowboarder ;)

  • sneetch #29 2 years ago

    @X201

    Very interesting summary, I hope to read your analysis of other press releases too. :)

    I for one will miss my new manual smell and actually reading it but if it actually means we have better digital manuals that are accessible in-game then that's OK but I, like my fellow cynics, believe this has less to do with the environment and more to do with cutting costs and also getting us ready for the digital-only era (it'll be "well, what are you really losing, just the disc and the crappy recycled case and instead you can download it any time you want!";)

  • Beano #30 2 years ago

    Four letters : P R B S

  • sneetch #31 2 years ago

    @space ace
    ubi continue to make sure the paying customer doesn't get anything more than the pirates :)

    That's next weeks announcement: Ubisoft will be using poorly photocopied DVD inserts and random, mismatched cases (you might get your PC game in a PS3 box) in order to complete the feeling of being the "pirates poor relation" when you're a purchaser of their PC software. ;)

  • jambo74 #32 2 years ago

    What about all those special edition versions - are they to go as well (along with the high pice tags)?

  • actionfitz #33 2 years ago

    And of course the savings made from not having to print the manuals will be passed on to the customers...

    rofl.

  • Spekingur #34 2 years ago

    So... will these new-fabled manuals require a constant online connection?

  • jellyhead #35 2 years ago

    So... will these new-fabled manuals require a constant online connection?
    That's what i asked earlier on, no-one has an answer yet but being Ubisoft i imagine they'll go the most annoying and consumer unfriendly route possible. So yes, i bet you'll need to be online for this 'improvement'.

  • kinky_mong #36 2 years ago

    I'm with metalangel on this. Fuck off hippies! You've spoiled an important part of getting a new game for me that had already been declining thanks to tight compaines who only include a four page black and white manual with only the briefest description of the controls.

  • jellyhead #37 2 years ago

    I think the argument is that the dirty console peseant's games have been dumbed down to the point that manuals are unnecessary. Just hold 'A' or '[]' to win. ;)

  • KDR_11k #38 2 years ago

    Green? Seems like a typo to me, should read "greedy". There's a lot of stuff they could cut down on to help the envionment without hurting the customer.

    I'm more shocked by the fact that Shaun White has made the leap to skateboarding? Could of sworn he was a snowboarder ;)

    He's both actually.
    Edited by KDR_11k at 20/04/10 @ 11:20

  • pacifika #39 2 years ago

    time for an ipad then to read the manuals on
    Edited by pacifika at 20/04/10 @ 11:19

  • jellyhead #40 2 years ago

    Colour digital-ink screen would be nicer... connected to a colour printer :)

  • tomjoadsghost #41 2 years ago

    I really hate buying secondhand games which have lost their manual, but if games aren't going to have any manuals anymore its just not gonna be an issue anymore, i for one feel oddly liberated by this decision.

    Its kind of awesome how the games industry are so quick to eliminate any trace of material added value from their products yet wonder why piracy is an issue. I suppose really with the downloadable future that has been chosen for us this was inevitable really.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #42 2 years ago

    I stopped caring about manuals a long time ago. I'm a big fan of a nice manual but publishers seemed to stop caring about them years ago. It would start with the manuals being black and white only and soon they didn't have any pictures anymore and were only 4 pages long. I really won't miss those manuals so go and publish them online, I don't care.

  • schnide #43 2 years ago

    I can feel some negs coming on but.. Get with the times, people! If a game is done right, you'll never need a manual.

  • awithers #44 2 years ago

    it's funny, they feel the need to start most manuals showing you where the buttons are on your console and controller, yet now we'll need to know how to insert the disk and find the help menu all on our own. Maybe they could provide a manual to help find the software copy?

  • sneetch #45 2 years ago

    @schnide
    I can feel some negs coming on but.. Get with the times, people! If a game is done right, you'll never need a manual.

    That's a pretty big "if" though.

    Quite a lot of games still need one, of course quite a lot of those that do need one don't have one that's any where near good enough. I'd settle for a decent tutorial/tips system though and an in-game help system would be brilliant.

  • stepneg #46 2 years ago

    The first thing I do with a new game is take the manual out and give it a good sniff, my wife thinks I am weird but I can see by this thread I am not alone. This is a dark day if it really is the beginning of the end for game manuals.

  • sickpuppysoftware #47 2 years ago

    How will I know where the triangle button is on a PS controller for the 6 squillienth time now?

  • Spekingur #48 2 years ago

    You can't really play XCom for the first time without a manual. Would be cool if the next XCom had a UFOpedia book in the case though.

  • jellyhead #49 2 years ago

    It's ok Spekingur, they're turning XCOM into an FPS so there'll be no need for a manual! Hurra... :(
    Edited by jellyhead at 20/04/10 @ 12:22

  • SpaceMonkey77 #50 2 years ago

    A noble effort, but also a misplaced one. You'd think that after the good sales of that Just Dance awfulness, paper manuals would be needed more. While many games have tutorial on the disc, it always helps to have something you can digest away from the screen. I hope this trend doesn't follow on, because while less attention and flare are put into manuals, these days, Ubisoft could just plant trees, for every so many manuals printed if they are so concerned about the environment.

    I too miss the days when a good instruction manual was a part of the game experience to be cherished, with cool production art and tips etc.

    *Hey, Eurogamer, this is actually a good topic (game manuals), for a more in depth article.

  • AaronTurner #51 2 years ago

    Manuals are a thing of the past anyway, developers have been introducing game mechanics during gameplay and for me it is certainly a far better way of learning how to play a game.

  • MaxiSleep #52 2 years ago

    Lovely fawning article from Eurogamer. Some balls please lads.

  • makeamazing #53 2 years ago

    Guess i am going to have to go online and then Print the manual out.... yay for saving the planet... oh wait a minute.

    Yeah i still have the Xcom terror from the deep and UFO games, and their manuals are great, those were the good old days :)

  • Rubarack #54 2 years ago

    I'll just read it on my widescreen monitor on my gaming PC. I'm sure the extra electircity I need to burn isn't going to offset any of the benefits.

  • Machetazo #55 2 years ago

    I think it's ridiculous to talk about raising prices, and alternative ways of making more money per copy, whilst at the same time, on a full retail release cutting back on what's provided in the package. I'm really disappointed, and no amount of corporate spin will justify it.

  • Killdare #56 2 years ago

    For 'green' read 'cheap'. I suspect eco-friendliness was point number 259 in favour of abolishing manuals, points 1 to 258 all being 'it'll save money'. Unintended consequence or no, the greening of gaming is probably for the best but I do miss the glory days of the manual: all those wonderful things you could find inside the box for a new Infocom adventure or the absolutely superb manual + novella + ship guide + key guide + poster for Elite. Ah, happy days.

  • Dave797 #57 2 years ago

    While you're at it can you also stop putting all the gash adverts and leaflets showing games I don't give a shit about inside the case as well. Thanks

  • TeaFiend #58 2 years ago

    Are people more fussed about not having manuals or the fact it is Ubi doing it first?

  • FuzzyDuck #59 2 years ago

    Just spent 20 quid on an 'RTFM!' t-shirt.

    *curses Ubisoft!*

  • JahB #60 2 years ago

    so surely the games will cost less now, since the entire production costs of the manuals are gone?

    oh wait

  • jellyhead #61 2 years ago

    For me it's the removal of decent manuals primarily. The fact it's Ubilol doing it first is no surprise though given their apparent desire to run themselves into the ground with their recent business decisions.

  • ColdShoulder #62 2 years ago

    This is shit. We pay 30 - 50 quid for a game and they can't afford a printed manual. They've been getting thinner and thinner over the last decade and 20 years ago pc games used to come in real nice big fuck off cardboard boxes with loads of extras like mock newspapers and alsorts. Fuck ubisoft, buy second hand or pirate their games from now on.

  • playgen #63 2 years ago

    Well I am going to be a super green tree hugger and just not buy any of their games, digital or otherwise. I'm sure that will please the hippies at Ubisoft!

  • FortysixterUK #64 2 years ago

    I bet the games prices dont drop however

  • jellyhead #65 2 years ago

    FortysixterUK , they've already covered that by saying that it might be more expensive to put the manual in-game because they don't want to give you a downloadable digital manual for you to print out.

    / sniffs
    It's starting to smell of 'Always Online' for consoles.

  • LazyNinjaUk #66 2 years ago

    Now if only they could ditch their bullshit DRM everything would be peachy.

  • mkreku #67 2 years ago

    Not printing a manual should cut some costs. Those cut costs are going to show in the game prices, right? Right, Ubi? Right..?

  • icematt12 #68 2 years ago

    Some manuals are very vague anyway, you get better info playing the main game. Would be nice if they changed an annotated image in a book into one or more movies, but that would probably not be in Ubi's plans.

  • Pulsar_t #69 2 years ago

    @jellyhead

    You didn't get the memo? 8th gen = 24/7 server-side DRM!

  • darth_paul #70 2 years ago

    ... yeah right, more like saving money. The way they are so cynical is so infuriating. Plus, it's not like they're going to drop the price on the games, right?

  • Froggit #71 2 years ago

    Just assuming the in-game manual was exactly the same as the shitty ones we mostly get nowadays anyway...how much exactly would you people calling for a price cut expect to save?
    Just wondering is all.

  • Sevens #72 2 years ago

    Pff, haha. We really only use DRM to save the environment, too. Ridiculous.

  • JamieR #73 2 years ago

    Nice one Ubisoft
    Lets hope all follow. Who reads them anyways.