It’s a question many experienced gamers have probably asked: Why do video game software publishers continue to print instruction manuals for their games? It’s not as though games aren’t already furnished with comprehensive training modes and option menus that can’t be summarily skipped by players who’d rather leap right into the action. In the interests of being fair, the odd RPG or simulation will inevitably slip through the cracks and require even the most skilled gamer to look up the manual; but Ubisoft has made the move official: If you need to look up a manual, you’re going to need to do it digitally.

Starting with its upcoming Shaun White Skateboarding, Ubisoft will be cease printing paper instruction manuals for all of its PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 games. The instruction manuals will be integrated into the in-game menu system. Given that most games already have training modes and so on, we’re not exactly sure how much more additional content it’s going to mean for the existing option menus we’re accessing - possibly the legally required warnings about epilepsy and contact information for Ubisoft? We’re ultimately not sure, but it’s not likely to make a huge amount of difference to the end-user experience.That said, no explanation has been given as to why Nintendo Wii titles haven’t been included on this green initiative.

It’ll make a big difference to the environment, though. According to Ubisoft, the paper used to produce a 900kg of instruction manuals consumes 1.8 tonnes of wood from 13 trees, which has an equivalent environmental footprint to more than 2.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and more than 56,000 litres of wastewater. — Kevin Cheung

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 at 8:00 am and is filed under Environment, Features, Gadgets & Gear, Games & Gamers, Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.