Getting manuals wrong

Manuals nowadays are (with few exceptions) rubbish and are symptomatic of how so many people are getting game design wrong.
There are three main problems I have with manuals:
1. Insert tab A into slot B then…
I do realise that when it comes to games that are naturally more complex, such as RPGs, Strategy or Simulation titles that it's useful to have a reference for commands and what certain icons mean. But when a simple 3D platform action game needs a page to describe the controls for the MENU SCREENS little alarm bells should start tinkling. A list of in-game controls is fine, but if you need a section titled “Moving your character” maybe, just maybe your control system is unintuitive? A list of HUD icons is also fine, but as with the controls, when you find yourself reading several lines about each one then you have badly designed icons. The point of an icon is that it shouldn't require any description – it should be immediately apparent what it represents. So few people think properly about icons it infuriates me.
2. Yes, but what is it I'm actually playing…
Most manuals I read are purely technical guides to the functionality of the game and tell you nothing about the game bar the obligatory first page, two-paragraph space-filler “story piece” written by some junior staff member because no-one else wanted to do it.
In-game cinematics either through FMV or scripted scenes using the game engine to tell the story are now the norm. Which is all good, and helps player immersion in your game world. But you want to keep it to a minimum otherwise it interrupts the play experience. Also, many cutscenes are pointless and so badly written that you cry baby tears when you think of all the chocolate you could have bought with the money saved by not making them. Wouldn't it be great to have some backstory, some extra detail on the characters you meet and the places you go … oh, I dunno, maybe written down somewhere?
The same even goes for character abilities, special moves and so on – these often appear as a list of the button-presses required to activate them. But why do you need this? Is it because you want the player to know how to do all the moves in the game or is it really because it isn't naturally apparent how to pull them off? Is it really because they are just arbitrary “special moves” you included for design and balancing reasons and don't relate to the game characters in any meaningful way that could be conveyed in the game itself?
3. Waste of paper
You shouldn't need one anyway. You think I've just contradicted everything I've already written above? Not really – think about it 😉