When was the last time you actually read the manuals that come in games? The controls are displayed on the screen, we have tutorial levels that break down the game to you, and killing tress is just not hip anymore. Ubisoft is going to be the biggest trend setter of the year, by being done with the paper manuals that come with their games.

Ubisoft states that the in game instructions will be more robust and will be better for the environment and gamers alike.

According to Joystiq:

Internal Ubisoft numbers indicate that manufacturing one ton of paper used to create game manuals uses two tons of wood from 13 trees, enough energy to heat an average home for a year, 13,000 gallons of wastewater and 6,000 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Along with doing away with manuals, Ubisoft is teaming with Technimark, Inc. to create a 100 percent-recycled polypropylene "ecoTech" DVD case, which will debut with the PC release of Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Via Twitter Cliff Blezinski agrees whole heartedly.

So do I Cliff, so do I.

No, you’re not reading that wrong.

Six days after Todd Alderman and Francesco Gigliotti leave Infinity Ward, and on the same day Respawn Entertainment is formed by former IW founders Jason West and Vince Campella, six-year Infinity Ward programmer Jon Shiring, along with fellow designer Mackey McCandlish and Senior Animator Bruce Ferriz. While Bruce Ferriz has confirmed he has joined Big Red Button Entertainment, it is currently unknown as to where the other two will do in the future. They join the four others who have left Infinity Ward within the last month.

Will McCandlish and Shiring join Respawn Entertainment, recently formed by Vince Zampella and Jason West? We’ll just have to wait.

…or is it called camping nowadays?

A month into the dilemma  between Activision and Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vince Zampella, the two have announced they have formed a new company, and have also announced their exclusive publishing deal with EA Games, Activision’s rivals. Their new name?

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You may remember about a month ago, Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vince Zampella left Infinity Ward and sued Activision over unpaid royalties.

Just recently, two more Infinity Ward members have left the studio this month. Todd Alderman, Lead Designer who mainly worked on Multiplayer, along with Lead Software Engineer Francesco Gigliotti. Alderman worked at Infinity Ward for over eight years, while Gigliotti worked for seven.

It is currently unknown whether or not their departure of the studio had anything to do with Infinity Ward’s unpaid royalties, although word is spreading that the two resigned on their own.

[Via Kotaku]

After the last week of conflict between Activision and Infinity Ward, IW founders Jason West and Vince Zampella, have announced they are filing suit against Activision over “substantial royalty payments” they are owed, along with the rest of the Infinity Ward team. Jason West says, “We were shocked by Activision’s decision to terminate our contract. We poured our heart and soul into that company, building not only a world class development studio, but assembling a team we’ve been proud to work with for nearly a decade. We think the work we’ve done speaks for itself,” with Vince Zampella adding “After all we have given to Activision, we shouldn’t have to sue to get paid.”

Along with unpaid royalties, West and Zampella are also fighting for “the contractual rights Activision granted to West and Zampella to control Modern Warfare-branded games,” meaning, if they indeed win, Activision will lose control of all future Modern Warfare titles, letting the two take the Modern Warfare franchise to any publisher they feel fit.

Keep on watching, folks… this will get messy.

[Via Kotaku]

Take Two Interactive just released their financial report and had a 13.8 million increase in net revenue. Despite this, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick announced today that NHL 2K11 would not be coming to the Xbox or PS3 but instead only the Wii. “As far as (the) NHL, we’re taking a year off on PS3 and Xbox 360 to refine, redesign and re-think,” With the Olympic Gold Medal game recently between the United States and Canada, hockey seems to be at an high in North America. Now if you want to play some hockey, you’re going to have to play in standard definition and not the luscious 1080p that we all love.

[Via Joystiq]

Allen touched on the developments earlier this morning, and now Activision has sent out an official press release detailing their “New Plans for the Call of Duty Franchise.” I’ll let you interpret this one how you want, so read the full press release below.

Activision Publishing Reveals New Plans for Call of Duty(R) Franchise

–Company to Establish Dedicated Business Unit to Focus on Product Excellence and Brand Expansion –Company Confirms New Call of Duty Game To Be Released in 2011 –Activision Publishing Plans to Launch Call of Duty in New Genres and Asia

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 2, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ — Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced new strategic plans for the Call of Duty(R) franchise, one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time.

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In an SEC filing made this morning, Activision cited a human resources investigation.

The Company is concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward. This matter is expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation. At present, the Company does not expect this matter to have a material impact on the Company.

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It would appear that the elusive ‘Spawn Point Studios’ has made another appearance in the gaming community. A pair of job listings on Microsoft’s website have revealed that SpawnPoint Studios is in the process of developing a launch title for Project Natal, slated for release later this year. Although the listings remained silent on exactly what they are working on, its secretive nature will keep gamers intrigued until Natal’s eventual release. Hit the link below for more information.

[Via Joystiq]

2K Sports is offering up the ultimate achievement for those of you out there.  Pitch a perfect game within the first 60 Days of MLB 2K10’s release (March 2, 2010) and win $1,000,000.

Hit the jump for more details.

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