March will largely be remembered for a tragic event that touched the hearts of everyone around the world and for many, changed the way we considered or understood her mistress, Mother Nature. Our thoughts here at MobyGames will always be with those in Japan, and we greatly suggest donating if you haven't already.

On the gaming scene, many titles were delayed or cancelled after the tragedy. Motorstorm: Apocalypse had the biggest setback, launching only in Australia on its scheduled date while other countries saw it slip from its launch window. Other titles faltered, while Japan only series Disaster Report has been cancelled entirely.

In other news:

* Enter the 3DS. Nintendo's handheld launched worldwide across the month, celebrating strong sales and plenty of talk about its 3D and networking functions, as well as the much discussed Augmented Reality cards.

We've since added the console into our database, so be sure to check it out and contribute whatever you can, especially reviews of the launch titles.

* The Mass Effect hype machine roles on. Details are starting to appear regarding the upcoming third part of the space opera saga, while fans dug in for one last piece of Mass Effect 2 DLC.

* EA Sports will no long be publishing printed manuals for their games. A good thing for the environment, but another sign that the gaming world is set to evolve again. Don't panic too much though, since it's all there on the disc if you'll need it.

Speaking of EA Sports, expect the return of their NBA franchise, renamed 'Elite', in 2012.

* In somewhat surprising news, Bethesda Softworks confirmed Prey 2.

* In not so surprising news, Duke Nukem Forever was delayed ... again ... but only for a month or so, so it's not too bad (I've had the chance to play a demo of the game. Trust me when I say, Duke will be worth the wait).

* Finally, some MobyGames stats:

• 98 total platforms, two shy of the ton, but not for too much longer I'd say...
• 436,601 total screenshots.
• 1007 total Nintendo Wii games ... 1008 total Super Nintendo games.

Also, March was the month of our 12th anniversary.

Bring it up to 99 platforms--add the Milton Bradley Microvision! The world's first CPU and cartridge-based portable game system!

My games are practically mint and with their boxes!

Offer complete, detailed specifications for it, and a bunch of approver that can/will handle/know the system. This results most time in a fast platform addition.

I sent a bunch of information on it a long time ago, the previous time I mentioned it. That time, I was sending the info directly to an admin. I don't remember who.

I always wonder if this is really better for the environment considering the amount of energy needed to display the manuals on screen considering the time you spend reading and the millions of users.

Considering that it's quite unlikely said millions of users would turn the screen off while reading the manual...

Who reads manuals anyway in this age of in-game tutorials? Only manual I remember reading in the last ten years was the one for Europa Universalis III, because the in-game tutorials were absolute rubbish. I would read more manuals if there actually was anything interesting written in them, aside from the bare essentials, but very few (if any) games do that nowadays.

Depends on the genre and how advanced the graphics are.

Strategy+war games almost always thick manuals, many of which are historical data/research. Practically memorized the NATO and Pact Warsawa military arsenal thanks to those manuals. Though later games seem to have abandoned manuals in exchange for in-game encyclopaedia's.

For RPGs, the more advanced the graphics the more useless the manual though RPG manuals are usually useless in information (due to fantasy content)...with the exception of Darklands.

Fantasy content is a good part of what makes it worth reading imho. Gameplay info and other related details should be available in-game anyway.

Off: Random find: http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-greatest-game-on-every-platform/a-20090127132418358010