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Recently there’s been an uproar over the revelation that newer titles don’t come with instruction manuals anymore.

It’s not at all an uncommon practice, as EA Games was one of the first companies to begin shortening their manuals beginning in 2005.

The understanding of why, and how this happened is very short–which we’ll dissect momentarily. To start, well look at how instruction manuals have impacted us as a society of gamers.

Manuals and why we loved them

We used manuals to learn to play games, and the basic controls in order to traverse levels. One of the more humorous revelations about instruction manuals is that they often contained secret tips, and things often not covered in the game itself.

Another small fact is that whether we wish to admit it or not they make great reading material for when we’re bored. After the inception of in-game tutorials, game manuals began to soften their impact on our consoles and minds.

This began forcing adolescent gamers to do deep and think for themselves when challenged.

I honestly forgot that Super Mario Bros. even had a manual (Robin “V-Act”).

Why manuals aren’t as useful as before

After manuals began to shorten themselves, and turn digital the question of their necessity began to grow. As time went on, and newer consoles were created, developers realized that gamers didn’t need the crutch of a manual anymore.

Game guides would, and for the most part forever remain synonymous with gaming sales. Manuals were the essential information gamers loved reading out of the box.

Developers saw this and realized that they could save production costs, and give an even more in-depth manual inside of the game in tutorial form.

Assassin’s Creed, and God of War is the best examples for this. Both games featured on game tutorials, manuals, and immersion gameplay that taught you to see with your gaming instincts.

The true reason manuals aren’t as useful as before is because of the breed of gamer. With online, let’s plays, and forums we don’t look at the manual or ask how to play the game.

We use the resources we have to do it, even using digital manuals and guides the developers provide on their sites or blogs.

Yes it’s a sad moment for older gamers in my generation that grew up either with manuals, or you had a friend who learned tops and tricks to help you out.

But the truth is, we all have our own way of keeping a manual for our games In our heads and hearts, and for us all that’s what’s important.

Kenay Peterson
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheDarkMage2