Topic: Videogame booklets..... A thing of the past??

I liked the manuels also. And i feel that the CD is feeling lonely in its case.

I miss the manuals too. Nintendo had some of the best manuals. I loved Legend of Zelda's manual, and Donkey Kong Country's. I also kind of liked the one that came with Pokemon.

I wouldn't mind an AR card or NFC figure here and there. I just can't seem to convince myself to hold onto other pre-order bonuses if it doesn't really do anything besides sit there on a shelf.

Hopefully GS has better pre-order bonuses with download cards eventually.

Manuals--especially Nintendo's--were fun to read, and they were a part of the game-buying experience. Not everyone had the patience to go through the manuals, but whenever you did, you were always treated to great artwork and background story. I remember buying the game F1 Pole Position for the SNES and the instructions had details on all the tracks, all the drivers, and all the teams. It was fantastic! I learned so much about the game. They don't do it like that any more.

At least with the Wii U, the gamepad works nicely as an interactive book, which you can scroll down, jump to different pages, and click on links. I hope they elaborate moreso on making the digital instructions fun like they used to be on paper form.

Being a collector, I really miss printed instruction manuals. This may sound funny, but the weight of game cases without manuals feel too light. Like they're missing something. RPGs and the like always felt heavy. Like you could almost feel how involving the game was by how thick the booklet was.

Doesn't sound funny at all, I have the same problem. It just feels like you're getting less.

We're not getting as much. Now that Nintendo patches, updates and offers DLC on games and the console itself, I just don't see my wii u lasting as long as my nes/snes/n64. It's not nintendo's fault. Im sure if they could stay in the 90's, they would. God knows they try. I'm just getting old, but I love how complete the old systems are. The reliance on digital content strips some intrinsic value that games/consoles used to have.

not the ones i have!

I think anyone who spent their "formative years" playing videogames that came with manuals misses them in one way or another.
I always remember buying games, then reading the manual on the way back from the shop, be it on the bus or in my mother's car. That was great because it helped you immersing in the context of the game before you even started playing. I remember most manuals came with a "Notes" section at the end, basically a few lined pages where you could write down things to remember about the game, scores, clues, passwords, codes etc - that was of great help.
I still take a lot of notes while I play games, be it hints or simply personal thoughts on the game - jesus, you should have seen my (paper) notebook during my playthrough of La-Mulana!!

It only seems to be Nintendo that have stopped adding manuals. Pretty much every PS3 game I've bought in the last year has them.

Unfortunately, printed video game manuals do seem to be a thing of the past.

Which really sucks given the quality of some of the Nintendo 64/Gamecube/Wii ones, like those used for the Wario and Donkey Kong Country series.

Don't worry it's not you getting old, I'm only 20 and I feel exactly the same.

I also like to have printed instruction booklets. I normally check the controls and getting started sections of a new game. Just like with the eBooks debate, for me nothing beats paper. And some booklets are really well designed and have good artwork. The Wii version of Pikmin has a really nice booklet, btw.

Yes GCN instruction booklets were nice and fat. I loved opening up to see that and then read through a quality booklet with characters and backstory. The Wii had some nice ones as well. Super Smash Bros. always has good ones too!

One of my favorite booklets is for NES Metroid. There's a long detailed backstory with hand drawn art. Then, a short strategy guide to the first boss. Explanations and tutorials with illustrations really brought games to life back then. Before hi-res 3d games, you had to use your imagination a little more. I'm not saying I don't like awesome graphics. Nes and super nes games seemed to live as much in my head as on the screen.

@Nintomdo64 Yep NES had some of the best and those were perfect for a time when you didn't have tuturoials. I love the original Zelda NES booklet. It showed the in game sprite and then a more realistic version of what they looked like. I always saw the sprites differently though

@HawkeyWii I don't have the Zelda booklet anymore, but I sure remember looking at that fold-out map like I was a treasure hunter. I was only seven or eight years old, so my imagination much more impressive than it is now.

Even if we still had them it wouldnt be the same. Lets be honest here, we all read them when went to the store with our parents and needed something to tide us over from the absurdly long trip back home (it wasnt that long, but it felt like it). No ones driving me to the store anymore, hell i dont even buy my games in a store anymore its all from amazon (free 2 days shipping woot) and as others have said with forced tutorials its not needed.

The manuals use to be treasures, is sad that they no longer exist.

Totally agree! I would rip throught he plastic and read that big colorful instruction booklet on my way home.