A dedicated preservationist has created an online archive packed with the manuals of every US-released PlayStation 2 game. In a time before in-game tutorials, game manuals were included with all console titles and featured everything from instructions to lore and occasionally some beautiful artwork. Though long obsolete after getting replaced by tutorials, video game instruction manuals are still fondly remembered by those who grew up with them but, unfortunately, they command a heavy price for those seeking replacements.
Games preservationist Kirkland recently created an online public archive containing every instruction booklet included with US-released PlayStation 2 video games. Humorously titled Kirkland’s Manual Labor (via Kotaku), the 17GB archive (compressed down from a whopping 230GB) is a collection of over 1900 PDF files, each containing a fully scanned, 4K quality PlayStation 2 instruction manual. With how hard and expensive it has become for nostalgic players to obtain the old manuals, Kirkland single-handedly took upon this project to circumvent that frustration. Kirkland stated:
“The goal is to raise some awareness for game preservation efforts. So many games growing up shaped how we looked at and experienced the world. Of course, as we ‘grow up,’ we move to other things but there are a lot of us who have nostalgia for these things and want our kids to be able to enjoy what we did.”
However, obtaining every manual to accomplish this monumental project took a fair amount of resources, as Kirkland reportedly spent roughly $40,000 in acquiring the games alone. Given the expensive prices of most rare PS2 games, $40K seems appropriate for a collection of over 1900 games.
The Collection That Yielded Kirkland's PS2 Manual Archive
Expenses aside, the actual process of archiving the manuals was also rather grueling. Being a solo effort, Kirkland did everything from pulling the staplers to restoring the images, resulting in several late nights and summer vacations dedicated to its completion. Kirkland’s process entailed using an Epson DS-870 sheetfed scanner to upload the scans and then utilizing an assortment of apps like Adobe Acrobat Pro, Photoshop, Textpad, and PDF Combiner Pro to improve the images to 4K resolution quality. Amazingly, Kirkland has already accomplished this feat once before with a 2K SNES manual archive, and is currently working on a 4K version along with archives for Game Boy and Atari 2600 manuals.
As the PS2 was one of the best-selling consoles in gaming, Kirkland’s archive of PS2 manuals is bound to strike a nostalgic chord with many. The PS2 library was home to several legendary titles, such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Final Fantasy X, and each contained content-rich booklets that served as a first step into the experience. In many cases, a manual would go beyond simple instructions and feature striking art and compelling lore entries that would immerse players before they turned their systems on. Sadly, this beloved practice would dwindle from a long-standing necessity to irrelevance in the face of the advances made in gaming tutorials and rising development costs.
Though game manuals are unlikely to make a comeback, it's good to see efforts toward preserving this once-revered experience. Despite their necessity, PS2 manuals were entertaining bonuses for players, letting them learn basic controls or discover their motivation for fighting Def Jam artists in the PlayStation 2 classic Def Jam: Fight For NY. With the often obscene prices of PS2 manuals from third-party sellers, Kirkland's archive is a fantastic tool for those who want to scratch the nostalgia itch or even potentially reprint the manuals to restore their own PlayStation 2 collections.
Source: Kirkland's Manual Labor (via Kotaku)