Just found this article (thanks @therealcliffyb) about how Ubisoft are stopping to produce paper manuals for their new games: http://www.gaming-age.com/news/2010/4/19-25
I'll agree that this is probably a good thing for the environment. I only ever skim the manuals while a game is installing and then pretty much never look at them again. The 224 page epic Civilization IV manual is an example of going too far so I can see how much that would save. However there is one problem with this, the article begins with a question, "Do you like that new-game smell you get when first breaking the shrink wrap off of a new game and flipping through the manual?" For me the answer is most definitely yes! That's one of the best smells ever, along with petrol and freshly cut grass. Though I guess that with the increasing usage of digital distribution it won't be long before I stop buying disks altogether anyway.
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What a beautiful and poignant post. I would never have known what an evocative smell that was, never having experienced it. Here is one in return, which is possible you have never experienced yourself - the smell of new fabric when you iron it for the first time! Mmm.
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