Ubisoft Goes Green, Removes Instruction Manuals from Games

Posted 04/19/2010 at 11:44pm | by Nathan Grayson

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Ubisoft may or may not be an enemy to PC gamers, but the publisher’s definitely a friend to the environment. Beginning with the PC release of Splinter Cell Conviction, Ubisoft’s set to roll out its 100 percent-recycled polypropylene “ecoTech” DVD cases, which are apparently the “most environmentally friendly” cases in the entire entertainment industry.

In addition, Ubisoft plans to bring its console releases up to speed with their PC counterparts, which have in turn recently caught up to almost every gamer everywhere by ditching paper instruction manuals. Seriously, do you ever read those things? We sure don’t.

The publisher notes that – before its switch to digital manuals – “one ton of paper used in Ubisoft’s game manuals consumed 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.”

Yeesh. Sorry about that one, Mother Nature. The gaming industry didn’t mean anything by it. Honest! As for all the rampant virtual deforestation we caused in Far Cry 2, though, we really don’t have any excuse for that. Then again, the day we come across a game where it’s a crime to play lumberjack with a tree or two but a-okay to shoot people in the face is probably the day we’ll trade-in our rigs and take up a new hobby. Just sayin’.