14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher Electronic Arts has confirmed that it will not be including paper instruction manuals in any of its future releases, in a move designed to save money for the company and to show that it is committed to becoming as green as possible.
The program started with Fight Night Champion, the boxing simulation that arrived at the beginning of March, and the company says that it will make no exceptions.
Rob Semsey, who is a spokesperson for EA Sports, has said that all games from the label, including big name franchises like Madden and FIFA, will have in-game manuals that will be easy to access and search.
The same paperless approach was initiated last year by French publisher Ubisoft, which said that in-game manuals will be included in all releases coming to the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.
The company says that digital disk space is pretty much free, which will allow it to include more in-depth manuals, covering all the information needs of a gamer.
The French publisher has also said that it is saving 13 tress for each ton of paper that is no longer used to create game manuals, also limiting the amount of energy that the company uses.
It's not clear whether the other labels at Electronic Arts also plan to ditch paper manuals in the coming months.
In the last few years, the importance of game manuals has declined as developers have included more complex in-game tutorials to show players the basics of any title and as more and more information about big releases has been offered online.
Video game companies have also said that they are thinking about simplifying the way games are packaged in order to become greener and save costs, but it seems that players are more attached to the way their games are presented than to the presence of manuals.