Ubisoft Goes Green, Switches to Digital Manuals

Yesterday, video game publisher Ubisoft announced a new "environmental initiative" being undertaken by the company to reduce waste. In a press release, they've made public their goals to eliminate paper manuals from new game titles starting as early as the 2010 holiday season. Other "green" choices are already being made by Ubisoft, one of the largest publishers in the gaming industry - responsible for franchises such as Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed. Will Ubisoft inspire other video game companies to go green?

Video games typically come packaged with a lot of stuff. First you've got the game itself, packaged neatly in its protective case. Not only is the case made of hard plastic, it's also got a sheet of clear plastic on top, with an insert to tell you what game is housed inside. The game's manual is included, full of information about gameplay and controls - as well as legal stuff such as the game's credits. If you're playing an RPG, games often come with a paper map of the ingame world. Last but not least, more and more games are shipping with inserts inside - reminders to register your game copy, pre-order a sequel, or check out other games made by that company. Wrap the whole mess in cellophane and you've got a retail game.

Starting this holiday season, if you're buying games produced by Ubisoft, you'll get less paper included. Instead of including paper manuals with new games produced for the Xbox 360 and PS3, they'll be available in-game. Skateboarder Shaun White's game, shipping sometime during the holidays, will be the first to feature this green alternative. Shaun White was quoted in Ubisoft's press release regarding the change as saying he was "excited" and "stoked" to be a part of the company's paper waste reduction.

As of last month, Ubisoft, already offer in-game manuals for their PC titles. Notice anything missing? PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 seem to be the only gaming platforms slated for digital manuals at this time. Their press release includes no mention of the smash-hit Nintendo Wii console, or portable gaming devices. Less than a month ago, Ubisoft issued a press release celebrating 2 million copies sold of Wii rhythm game Just Dance - so leaving out the Wii can't have been a simple oversight. Perhaps Nintendo, who boast a more family- and kid-friendly gaming experience, aren't ready to do away with paper manuals just yet.

It's unknown just how much paper Ubisoft will be saving by eliminating paper manuals. Their press release mentions the company's "internal data", along with some figures about the waste associated with one ton of paper used in their manuals. No data is provided about how much paper goes into each game copy currently, nor how many tons of paper Ubisoft uses or expects to save annually.

Even without such numbers available, anyone who's ever purchased a video game should be able to imagine the positive environmental impact of eliminating paper manuals. These are rarely useful as much more than eye candy to experienced gamers, and too often include elements of the game that never made it through production. Making the switch to in-game manuals would not only reduce waste, but could allow game developers to update pertinent information through patches as add-ons and expansion packs are released. Perhaps even further in the future, being able to see which elements of digital game manuals are most frequently accessed can help developers identify problematic game controls or make in-game tutorials more comprehensive.

Another green change being undertaken by Ubisoft is in the DVD cases their games come packaged in. Beginning next week, with the PC release of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction, all Ubisoft games released in North America will be packaged in 100% recycled cases. Again Ubisoft's press release includes no information about how many tons of plastic they currently produce or expect to save annually, but this remains a step in the right direction. Hopefully other video game publishers will follow Ubisoft's lead and begin taking steps to greener game production.

Sources:

Ubisoft Launches Environment-Friendly Packaging for its PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 System Video Games. Ubisoft

Ubisoft Sells Through More Than 2 Million Units of Just Dance Video Game Worldwide. Ubisoft.