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From: JAB <noway@nochance.com>
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
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On 25/09/2024 04:20, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Mon, 23 Sep 2024 22:36:54 -0500, Altered Beast
> <j63480576@gmail.com> 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!