Ubisoft announced today an environmental initiative to eliminate paper game manuals, replacing them with an in-game digital manual for all titles on the PS3, and Xbox 360. The program will start when Shaun White Skateboarding launches this Holiday 2010.
Ubisoft’s digital game manuals will provide multiple benefits for the player and the environment. Including the game manual directly in the game will offer the player easier and more intuitive access to game information, as well as allow Ubisoft to provide gamers with a more robust manual. Ubisoft internal data shows that producing one ton of paper used in Ubisoft’s game manuals consumes an average of two tons of wood from 13 trees, with a net energy of 28 million BTU’s (equivalent to average heating and energy for one home/year), greenhouse gases equivalent of over 6,000 lbs of CO2, and wastewater of almost 15,000 gallons.
That sure saves a lot of trees by saving paper. Will other publishers follow this trend?
