Question about Instruction Manuals (old vs. new?)

[NuAngel]

Hi there, everyone! Frequent lurker here. I'm wokring on a YouTube video for next week, and I am curious: which instruction booklets are older and which are newer? I'm ASSUMING that the larger "white-cover" instruction manuals are the older versions, but in an attempt to save money, they shrank to the smaller sized "black-cover" booklets at some point. I can provide photos if necessary, but I'm guessing someone here already knows what I'm talking about it and can help me!

 

Thanks everyone!

[Rhindle the Dragon]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the bigger, white manuals are from the 1977 gate-fold launch titles, since I have a few manuals from the year after which are black.

It would be nice to get this confirmed.

[NuAngel]

It's tough to tell, because even games like Space Invaders, the back of the black manual has the same year as the back of the White Manual, so it's hard to be certain.

[Keatah]

Black manuals are older.

 

It costs more to print in smaller color than it does to enlarge manual and print in b&w.

Edited March 3, 2017 by Keatah

[NuAngel]

The manuals have a white cover, but they are not black and white, they are still colorful on the inside. Example: Pac-Man manual (I have video of it in the first episode of my YouTube show, I just went back to verify that the large white manual had color throughout the inside of the manual as well).

[ferghead]

The manuals have a white cover, but they are not black and white, they are still colorful on the inside. Example: Pac-Man manual (I have video of it in the first episode of my YouTube show, I just went back to verify that the large white manual had color throughout the inside of the manual as well).

Some of these games with the large white manuals were released later in the 80s and the manuals were printed in black and white then. There's also the large 6 language manuals...

[+save2600]

Pretty sure:

 

Small black manuals came first, but are color throughout

Large white manuals came afterward and are still color

Large white manuals in b/w came with the mid-late 80's re-releases

[Ranthulfr]

Pretty sure:

 

Small black manuals came first, but are color throughout

Large white manuals came afterward and are still color

Large white manuals in b/w came with the mid-late 80's re-releases

That sounds right to me. I associate the small black manuals with the early text-label cartridges. The white/color manuals seem to go with the picture label (Warner era) cartridges.

[ferghead]

Almost forgot, there are some white manuals that are the same size as the black manuals. Curiouser and curiouser.

[SoulBlazer]

Some of these games with the large white manuals were released later in the 80s and the manuals were printed in black and white then. There's also the large 6 language manuals...

 

Been meaning to ask you this Ferg -- I can think of 5 of the languages right away (English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian) but what's the sixth? Dutch?

[ferghead]

 

Been meaning to ask you this Ferg -- I can think of 5 of the languages right away (English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian) but what's the sixth? Dutch?

Now I can't find one. Maybe it's 5 languages in the manuals. There are some boxes that have what I think is Japanese on the back as well as the ones you mentioned.

[Zonie]

Small Black manuals are the oldest, then they came out with the larger white ones (in color). After that, they started making the el-cheap-o ones.

My gatefold boxed games came with small black ones...

[Cambouis de l'Atari]

 

Been meaning to ask you this Ferg -- I can think of 5 of the languages right away (English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian) but what's the sixth? Dutch?

 

All the international manuals I own only show these 5 languages, no sixth one !

About the dutch, there is sometimes a simple black and white page text (courier) only.

[Ballblaɀer]

Now I can't find one. Maybe it's 5 languages in the manuals. There are some boxes that have what I think is Japanese on the back as well as the ones you mentioned.

 

This is correct, AFAIK. There are a number of silver boxes with six languages (incl. Japanese) on the back, but the international manuals are limited to five languages. There's an international Atari product catalog featuring six (the standard five plus Dutch; see my first two photos below), but I can't immediately think of any other manuals/catalogs with all six. As Cambouis de l'Atari just mentioned, there were sometimes single-language supplemental B&W manuals included with the regular game manual -- see my photo of PAL Swordquest: Earthworld below as one example.

 

I've been working on a large tabbed spreadsheet meant to show which game manuals exist in which styles. There's also an in-progress mini-FAQ in the last tab. Please contact me if you have proof of something I've not marked as existing!

 

[Schitti]

I can confirm that in some european Countries, a second b/w manual was inside the Atari Box with textlabel carts, in addition to the original black manual.

 

here are some examples:

 

Germany

 

Netherlands

 

 

Spain

 

Italy

 

 

There are some other companies with a six-language manual, but Atari itself ? hmmm

[NuAngel]

I was unaware of SO MUCH of this. Thank you all for your valuable replies!