Nintendo releases printable Metorid Prime 4 manual

While physical video games continue to grow in popularity, the experience of purchasing games on disc is increasingly painful. For example, most Xbox video games are somewhat difficult to physically find, if copies exist. As for Gears of War: Reloaded, there was no physical copy for Xbox.

Elsewhere, Nintendo Switch 2 introduces game key cards. This is so serious that even the National Diet Library of Japan stated that it is not eligible for preservation because it does not have an official license.

A physical copy of Pokémon with a Polaroid photo featuring a game station and the Steam library in the background.

relevant

It's more inconvenient than ever to go get the actual game, but I do it anyway.

The experience is fading away, but I will continue to live it as best I can.

Aside from the pain of not being able to find a specific copy, or having to deal with a copy that actually has no content at all, there's also the element of how poorly these games are.

One of the biggest reasons I'm excited for Grand Theft Auto 6 is to see if Rockstar continues its history of having physical copies with maps and other small pamphlets. Otherwise I would be very sad.

Maps, posters, and manuals are long gone, and getting something as simple as double-sided cover art is considered a “W”.

But with the long-awaited release of Metroid Prime 4 for Switch, Nintendo is doing something a little different. Of course, we're providing a manual that gamers can use, assuming they have a printer to print it.

Perhaps a world will come where manuals can be created and printed directly.

First discovered by Nintendo Life, the Japanese Nintendo website has an official Metroid Prime 4 databook, or manual. It's 24 pages long and packed with information about the story, characters, areas, and controls you'll encounter throughout Prime 4.

That is, literally, what we used to get before someone decided manuals weren't cool anymore.

If you get the full PDF, which Nintendo Life has kindly linked to on their site, there are instructions on how to print and fold the booklet so it fits snugly into your physical copy of the game.

There are a few caveats worth noting, including the fact that at the time of writing it is only available in Japanese and no English copy can be found. Of course, things can change. Especially as more and more fans learn about this cool little product.

Second, you must do all the legwork yourself. This means there must be enough colored ink to capture every detail in all its glory. Lastly, you have to be artistic to follow directions and fold them to exact specifications.

I won't participate because I don't have a color printer or the artistic skills to cut a piece of paper. But if you have all those things and are not interested in Japanese, this is definitely the program for you.

Maybe this is what real gaming will look like in the future. This will be a guidebook you print yourself to evoke nostalgia. Sure, it takes a little ink and a little creativity, but it will definitely make all those empty boxes less sad.