Quote Originally Posted by NihilisticCow
Why would making the manual that comes with the game freely downloadable promote sales? Surely the only ones that do not have it are those that have illegally downloaded it... Manuals aren't of much use anyway.
Good question and I`m glad you asked it. Normally the demo is enough to get an idea of how good a game is. However the TW demos only demonstrate the battles and give you little idea of the depth of the game. Clearly including a demo of the strategic part of the game would probably entail a horrendous download.

I knw that copying of games is a serious problem but if you can copy a game then surely the pdf manual that comes with it can also be easily copied. Microsift have, I think, that Microsoft have resolved the problem of security with their new Flight Simulator X where you cannot actually fly more than you could in the demo without first registering on line and that means you cannot use the same DVD or any copy on any other computer. I`m not sure how unpoular that has been but I found the online registration very efficient and rapid.

The reason that manuals are used in other contexts such as Audio equipment is to show the detail that has gone into the product. A pdf manual would be very quick to download and be a lot more convincing than the rather pathetic movie that Sega show.

Andrew