Voodoo Extreme points to a press release from Ubisoft announcing they intend to eliminate paper-based manuals:

"Today Ubisoft announced an environmental initiative to eliminate paper game manuals, replacing them with an in-game digital manual for all titles on PlayStation 3 system and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The program, the first initiative of its kind in the video game industry, launches worldwide with Shaun White Skateboarding this holiday 2010.

Ubisoft’s digital game manuals will provide multiple benefits for the player and the environment. Including the game manual directly in the game will offer the player easier and more intuitive access to game information, as well as allow Ubisoft to provide gamers with a more robust manual. Ubisoft internal data shows that producing one ton of paper used in Ubisoft’s game manuals consumes 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."

Wait, there's more:

“Ubisoft is often recognized for making great games, but it’s a special privilege to be the industry leader at saving trees, said Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America.”

While paper manuals are an artifact of the 80s, and pointless in many cases, I'm so sick of cost reduction initiatives that are not-so-cleverly hidden behind environmental messages.