Path: ...!3.eu.feeder.erje.net!feeder.erje.net!news.in-chemnitz.de!news.swapon.de!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: JAB Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action Subject: Re: 75% of new games purchased were downloaded Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2024 08:59:25 +0100 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 41 Message-ID: References: <9de1fj5pfmhs6h6tm3kp48oueseso156s7@4ax.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Injection-Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2024 09:59:26 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="c621fd9cd8b465dae8c61839ed863247"; logging-data="3796570"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19y8pG6zO1zHsvStrUWApRe" User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Cancel-Lock: sha1:B+E1CzfQxd7i1dC6LmPd3qCTGhY= Content-Language: en-GB In-Reply-To: Bytes: 3011 On 25/09/2024 04:20, Spalls Hurgenson wrote: > On Mon, 23 Sep 2024 22:36:54 -0500, Altered Beast > wrote: > > >> >> It sounds to me like the gaming industry makes bank on downloading >> versus physical product. They certainly haven't printed a manual in a >> few ages. > > They barely even make PDF manuals anymore. > > In fairness, few games actually need them. Not only have in-game > tutorials become quite good, game design has standardized enough that > there's much less _need_ to teach players how to game anymore. > I think there's also the factor that the internet is now a thing so if you want to know something then google is your friend. > And game visuals and world-design is complex enough that the secondary > purpose of manuals --to flesh out the game-world-- is rarely necessary > too. > > So writing manuals is an expensive proposition that serves no purpose > except to make a tiny percentage of gamers happy. After all, even > _were_ a manual necessary, most people _still_ wouldn't RTFM. > > I still miss those old-school manuals, though. Whether it was those > giant tomes you'd get in flight simulators, the wonderfully > illustrated manuals in CRPGs, or the manuals in strategy games which > went over every mechanical detail of the game, they were great fun to > read. I do kinda miss manuals in part I think as I would start reading them on the way back home after buying the game. It certainly ramped up the excitement of playing more than the current press a few buttons, wait for the download to complete and you're ready to go. The one I most miss though from a physical game is the likes of lore/background books and maps. I still have the map from Silent Hunter III on my wall!