Games

Ubisoft kills the printed game manual

Ubisoft kills the printed game manual
Ubisoft is going green by replacing printed game manuals with digital in-game manuals
Ubisoft is going green by replacing printed game manuals with digital in-game manuals
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Ubisoft is going green by replacing printed game manuals with digital in-game manuals
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Ubisoft is going green by replacing printed game manuals with digital in-game manuals
Ubisoft is going green by replacing printed game manuals with digital in-game manuals
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Ubisoft is going green by replacing printed game manuals with digital in-game manuals
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It might not exactly be a revolutionary idea but we think Ubisoft should be commended for announcing it is doing its bit for the environment by eliminating paper game manuals for its PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 video games. The paper numbers will be replaced with in-game digital manuals for all games that will also make it easier for gamers to access game information, as well as providing gamers with a manual that won’t get lost or ripped to shreds by the family pet.

Ubisoft internal data shows that producing one ton of paper used in Ubisoft’s game manuals consumes an average of two tons of wood from 13 trees, with a net energy of 28 million BTU’s (equivalent to average heating and energy for one home for a year), greenhouse gases equivalent of over 6,000 lbs of CO2, and wastewater of almost 15,000 gallons.

The first game to launch worldwide with the environmentally friendly packaging will be Shaun White Skateboarding, which is due for a Q4, 2010 release.

“It’s pretty cool that Ubisoft is making a conscious effort to go green with its new video game packaging,” commented Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White. “I’m excited for my new skateboarding game to come out and stoked that it will be the very first Ubisoft game to be part of their green packaging initiatives.”

In addition to Ubisoft’s efforts to decrease paper usage in its game packaging, it has partnered with Technimark, Inc. to release the entertainment industry’s most environmentally-responsible DVD case for all its future PC titles in North America. The 100 percent-recycled polypropylene “ecoTech” DVD case will make its debut with Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction PC video game on April 27, 2010. Ubisoft has featured digital game manuals in its PC titles distributed in North America since March 2010.

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1 comment
1 comment
Ryan Morgan
That\'s nice and all, but what about when you\'re in the middle of a game and you want to just pause and reference something? Now instead of that, you\'ll have to pause, navigate through a menu to find what you need. If they have forsight they\'ll design it to stay open to the page last viewed, but itll still take a lot more time