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EA ditching paper game manuals

Megapublisher's green-packaging initiative will see physical instructions replaced by electronic versions on the game discs.

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Electronic Arts has announced an international environmental initiative that will lead to a reduction of its printed materials in packaged products by 40 percent. How will the company do it? Simple: Starting with Mass Effect 2 for the PlayStation 3 and Fight Night Champion, the company has stopped including printed game manuals with its titles.

Electronic Arts is going green.
Electronic Arts is going green.

The replacement? Both games--and all EA games going forward--will have electronic manuals included on the game disc. These manuals will be accessible via the pause and main menus of each game and will also be available in various languages via the website http://support.ea.com/app/manuals.

EA's environmental initiative will also include the introduction of reduced material DVD-style cases for all console and PC cases, which are designed to be easily recyclable. The company also said it will be using "new environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, and water-conserving technologies in the manufacturing and distribution of its products."

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