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UPDATE: EA Cuts Physical Manuals From All Games
UPDATE: EA has sent out a press release clarifying that it is in the process of removing paper manuals from all of its future titles, not just EA Sports releases. Mass Effect 2's PS3 release was the first non-sports title to ship without a manual included, and this will extend to all future EA releases. EA promises that future games will have digital manuals easily accessible via the main menu and pause menu, and you can also download manuals online via EA's support page.
ORIGINAL STORY:If you picked up a copy of Fight Night Champion, you may have noticed something missing from the box: the instruction manual. EA has now confirmed that this staple of video game packaging will no longer be included with EA Sports releases.
Kotaku brings us the official word from EA, which revealed that NBA Jam (pictured above) is the final EA Sports release to include a traditional paper manual. Future titles will take the Ubisoft approach of a digital manual accessible from in the game.
As of right now, this decision does not apply to EA titles outside of the company's sports line-up. Recent releases such as Dragon Age II and Dead Space 2 still have a regular paper manual.
Are you a fan of game manuals and, as such, opposed to this decision? Or do better in-game tutorials more than make up for what was once a need for out-of-game instructions?
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