^Quality of art you would find in a old school game manual.

The following is mostly a twisted Mirror response to Jim Sterling's Special Editions article.

I had secetly been grumbling to myself over this for a good few years ago but didnt wish to think too much of it. maybe it was just a few games. Then it was a few more, followed by the introduction of in game hand holding.
But in the past year or so, the Instruction Manual seems to be on life support. It's gone from being this booklet of knowledge that contained mostly coloured artwork a prelude and detailing most of the basic 30 or so beginning items you would come across to detailing screen layouts etc. with character profiles, with on some occasions a page or three of tips to help people who were stuck, and then repeat in an array of different languages. [I live in the UK, I assume this point is mute in the US unless they used to also come in spanish]

The manual today though is withering into non-exsistence. Gone is that sense of companionship to the game. Being a product of the 1980's I grew up with gaming from the early years. I see why certain parts of the manual has disipated into the void, because the technology is no longer limited to what it was. Parts of the story that couldnt truely be told the way the game would of liked now fit in the space easily. However some sections such as character profiles are either limited in some cases or cut out and paraded as something more than they are as some special booklet [see batman arkham asylum special edition] all in a marketing attempt to make people think it isn't.

Maybe one day the manual will be killed out right. And somehow intergrated as some option at the bottom and gone fully digital. But the industry seems like it cannot decide. because in some cases such as most of nintendos manuals they are still as strong and lush as they were all those decades ago. Some still have it, still, some don't. and manuals such as anything released from activision don't have a thing in them.

This is all wtf to anyone who hasnt paid attention to a adventures of link, or super mario bros 3 manual from back in the day. But if your young any additional book besides concept art is likely to of been in an old school manual. and in some cases a few pieces of concept art would be the page background anyway.

Mostly I'm interested on your own thoughts about the instruction manuals position in videogames now. Is it dead? Should companies stop ripping us off marketing some booklets as 'special editions' to rake $20 out of consumers? should they go digital? or maybe you enjoy in game handholding for the 1st 20% of your videogames? Or maybe you hate that as much as most other consumers of videogames do and think it should all be placed into a manual with care, and a bit of finesse, a splash of colour and get the manual back to the good times meaning that 20% can become something more meaningful and challenging?