Ubisoft have today revealed plans to being a new environmental initiative that is to be implemented to stop printing paper game manuals in its forthcoming titles, with these being replaced instead by in-game digital manuals on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
The publisher says that such a move will offer players “easier and more intuitive access to game information,” alongside being able to offer fans “a more robust manual.”
Such plans will begin this Autumn when Shaun White Skateboarding releases, and internal data at Ubisoft shows that such a decision is sure to help the environment. According to figures, the game manuals that are placed into their titles each year consumes an average of two tons of wood from 13 trees, a net energy of 28 million BTU’s (which equates to the average heating and energy needed for a single home per year), causes greenhouse gases equivalent of over 6,000 lbs of CO2, and wastewater of almost 15,000 gallons.
“Ubisoft is often recognized for making great games, but it’s a special privilege to be the industry leader at saving trees,” commented Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America. “Eco-friendly initiatives are important to the global community and introducing in-game digital manuals on Xbox 360 and PS3 is just the latest example of Ubisoft’s ongoing commitment to being a more environmentally conscious company.”
Alongside this, the publisher has also begun a new partnership with Technimark Inc to release “the industry’s most environmentally-responsible DVD case” that will be used for all PC titles to be released across North America in the future, with Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction on PC to be the first to utilise the new case when it releases on April 30th. This is made from 100% recycled polypropylene, and titled the “ecoTech” DVD case.
It is certainly nice to see Ubisoft being the first to take the step forward in realising that things must change, yet are you going to miss them?
