60°

The Game Manual, a Disappearing Presence in Gaming Culture

Gi - As the gaming industry has evolved and matured over the years, it has also lost a dear friend and faithful companion: the game manual. Growing up in the 90s, gamers were exposed to a wide variety of games from many different developers both large and small. Nintendo and Sega duked it out for consumers’ dollars and the race for the higher bit machine took many companies to their graves. At the end of the day, despite whichever experiences and titles were chosen, gamers were able to sit down and crack open that box to enjoy that all too familiar “fresh game smell”.

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gamingillustrated.com
Snookies124110d ago

Yeah, the boxes look so empty without manuals...

admiralvic4110d ago

Yes / No.

A lot of games include online passes (so there is a card there) and I've come across a few with advertisements in there. Not saying it makes up for the missing manual, but it does make the box feel less empty.

AznGaara4110d ago

I've never bought a boxed vita game until December and when I opened the case I had the saddest expression on my face. I love manuals. Having that removed just makes the whole package less complete.

Snookies124110d ago

I was especially angry when I bought Disgaea 3 for the Vita. I KNOW the Japanese version had a really thick manual with color art and stuff. The US version didn't ship with anything in the box other than the game.

Nevers4110d ago (Edited 4110d ago )

I'm not a fan of the in-game manuals we see now. The whole process feels clunky compared to just flipping through a tiny booklet. Also, I'll never forget just how magical the booklets for old NES games were... still love to see the monster art.

gillri4110d ago

I remember getting gaming amnuals and reading them back to front I always remember the original Gameboy ones and counting the amount of pages it had I loved the Metroid II one

I dont even open them now

hiredhelp4110d ago

Amazes me that publishers can get away with this and still get away with charging same price.
Nope i still love a good thick manual even if i dont read it its apart of the package.
Am i the only one who loves the smell of a new game and manual ok did i just say that ....

2pacalypsenow4110d ago

That and Digital games being the same price as retail are the reason why i hate All digital among other things

isarai4110d ago

Shit like this pisses me off about the game industry. "B-but we're saving the trees" yet you give us trifold pamphlets of legal information, cards with advisement and online passes that could have easily just been on the receipt when you get it from the store, that to me is more of a waste of paper than having actual useful info on the game itself so don't give me that "going green" bullshit this is nothing more than something to put more money in your greedy ass pockets publishers.

Show all comments (14)
50°

The Best PS2 Games of All Time [2024 Edition]

GB: "With this feature, we will be taking a look at 15 of the best games from the PlayStation 2's vast library."

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gamingbolt.com
70°

Exclusive Monster Hunter 20th Anniversary Event with Themed Stays

Toyohashi, Japan is set to host a large-scale Monster Hunter event to celebrate the franchise's 20th anniversary, complete with themed hotel accommodations.

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retronews.com
130°

Not All Voice Actors Can Be Film Actors – And Vice-Versa

Shaz from GL: "Acting is a difficult craft to master, and what many don't consider is just how hard it can be to perform across different mediums of entertainment."

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gameluster.com
rlow18d ago

Interesting article, it doesn’t surprise me because some people are better all a-rounders than others. Regardless of fame or how good they are in their specialty.

TheProfessional8d ago

This is why I feel like the live action stuff in Alan Wake 2 especially is pretty bad. It also looks really cheap and amateurish.

phoenixwing7d ago

Kojima and death stranding 1 2 will disagree