Bring back the instruction manuals!
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chrisbid1
- Posts: 941
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Bring back the instruction manuals!
reason number 24987 why game companies have lost my business. i am quite happy with my 2600, nes and genesis
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Adamant1
- Posts: 2088
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Bring back the instruction manuals!
[QUOTE=The Video Game Critic]
Next, gamers who were around in the 80's and 90's probably remember when it was fun to read the instructions. Some of them had interesting background stories or colorful illustrations that got you psyched up to play. Some PC games actually came with books that you were proud to own. Who can forget the humor in the Donkey Kong Country (SNES) manual? I love the color coded "game variation" charts in those old Atari 2600 manuals.
[/QUOTE]
Next, gamers who were around in the 80's and 90's probably remember when it was fun to read the instructions. Some of them had interesting background stories or colorful illustrations that got you psyched up to play. Some PC games actually came with books that you were proud to own. Who can forget the humor in the Donkey Kong Country (SNES) manual? I love the color coded "game variation" charts in those old Atari 2600 manuals.
[/QUOTE]
This is still around, though to a much lesser degree. Nintendo's manuals for their Wario games are usually "written" by Wario and his friends, and provides the same sort of silly humor found in the Donkey Kong Country manual.
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Paul Campbell
Bring back the instruction manuals!
I could not agree less.
While I certainly miss the days when I would take a stack of NES or Intellivision manuals with me to the bathroom for a two-zee, and taking 50+ manuals and Nintendo Power magazines on lone car rides with my family, I cannot understand why any game developer still uses them in this age. I absolutely would love to have the EQUIVALENT of a game manual built into the game itself, along with the usual tutorials and controller layouts, to give me a more descriptive explanation of certain aspects of the game, but the last thing I want to do in the middle of a gaming session if turn on the lights and fumble through a tiny little booklet, when I could have a much bigger, brighter version of the same thing on the screen in front of me. Why anyone would want to revert more BACK to paper manuals in this day and age is beyond me. I understand that people like us have a soft spot in our hearts for manuals, but it makes little sense these days to include paper instructions with a game. I'm surprised ANY developers still include paper manuals with their games. I would prefer they use that part of the budget to make the game better, rather than pay some printing company to make a million little books. Makes zero sense to me these days. Heck, I'd rather have a manual that I can download to my Droid X than a paper manual. And i am the last person to have this opinion because of the supposed "environmental impact", just so everyone knows...
While I certainly miss the days when I would take a stack of NES or Intellivision manuals with me to the bathroom for a two-zee, and taking 50+ manuals and Nintendo Power magazines on lone car rides with my family, I cannot understand why any game developer still uses them in this age. I absolutely would love to have the EQUIVALENT of a game manual built into the game itself, along with the usual tutorials and controller layouts, to give me a more descriptive explanation of certain aspects of the game, but the last thing I want to do in the middle of a gaming session if turn on the lights and fumble through a tiny little booklet, when I could have a much bigger, brighter version of the same thing on the screen in front of me. Why anyone would want to revert more BACK to paper manuals in this day and age is beyond me. I understand that people like us have a soft spot in our hearts for manuals, but it makes little sense these days to include paper instructions with a game. I'm surprised ANY developers still include paper manuals with their games. I would prefer they use that part of the budget to make the game better, rather than pay some printing company to make a million little books. Makes zero sense to me these days. Heck, I'd rather have a manual that I can download to my Droid X than a paper manual. And i am the last person to have this opinion because of the supposed "environmental impact", just so everyone knows...
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Jordan
Bring back the instruction manuals!
[QUOTE=chrisbid]reason number 24987 why game companies have lost my business. i am quite happy with my 2600, nes and genesis[/QUOTE]
Since when did the actions of EA represent the 24987 other game developers and/or publishers out there? I am quite happy with the game manuals I am getting from games for current gen consoles that I am buying.
Besides didn't someone post o here a while back EA was going out of business or something?
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a1
- Posts: 3032
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Bring back the instruction manuals!
[QUOTE=Jordan][QUOTE=chrisbid]reason number 24987 why game companies have lost my business. i am quite happy with my 2600, nes and genesis[/QUOTE]
Pretty sure Ubisoft and 2k Sports games have been doing this too (not too sure about 2k but pretty sure about Ubisoft).
Since when did the actions of EA represent the 24987 other game developers and/or publishers out there? I am quite happy with the game manuals I am getting from games for current gen consoles that I am buying.
Besides didn't someone post o here a while back EA was going out of business or something?
[/QUOTE]Pretty sure Ubisoft and 2k Sports games have been doing this too (not too sure about 2k but pretty sure about Ubisoft).
And I very highly doubt that EA is at risk of going out of business.
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PacMan000
Bring back the instruction manuals!
My first (new) system was a Game Boy, so I don't mind manuals printed in limited colors, on cheap paper.
I miss reading.
Older manuals had stories, gameplay discriptions, enemy discriptions, powerup discriptions. A new manual for a Mario game is chock full of colorful illustrations, charts, grids, but there's little to read. How can I anticipate a game when all it's information is presented in a dull format?
I miss reading.
Older manuals had stories, gameplay discriptions, enemy discriptions, powerup discriptions. A new manual for a Mario game is chock full of colorful illustrations, charts, grids, but there's little to read. How can I anticipate a game when all it's information is presented in a dull format?
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Viper821
- Posts: 1043
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Bring back the instruction manuals!
I think the main problem is the lack of mystery surrounding games. Other than Nintendo Power or friends, you had no idea what to expect in a game and needed the manual to set the mood. Now, I can easily find multiple professional reviews and hundreds from regular gamers and rarely look into manuals anymore. It's just like when I visit a new city there's no excitement anymore because I already know it inside out from StreetView.
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