Football Manager (Sports Interactive)

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Football manager
developer Sports Interactive
Publisher Sega
Designer Miles Jacobson
First title Football Manager 2005 (2004)
Last title Football Manager 2020 (2019)
Platform (s) Windows , Mac OS , Linux , Nintendo Switch , Google Stadia
Genre (s) Football manager - simulation

Football Manager is a football manager - simulation , which since 2004 through the development studio Sports Interactive developed and by the publisher Sega is published.

The previous product was the Championship Manager developed by Eidos, also known as the master trainer in German-speaking countries . Compared to Championship Manager 4 , only the name changed, as the naming rights remained with Eidos. In North America, the game was sold as Worldwide Soccer Manager between 2004 and 2008 . The uniform Football Manager label has been used since Football Manager 2010 .

In contrast to the Football Manager from Electronic Arts who was hired in 2013 , the player in the Football Manager has much less influence on the infrastructure, ticket prices or negotiations with sponsors. The game focuses on the tasks of a team manager from the English-speaking area. This includes in particular content such as tactical alignment, training, transfers, contract negotiations and the employment of new employees for the coaching staff.

The latest version, titled Football Manager 2020 , was released on November 19, 2019.

Database

The game's database has been maintained for decades and contains information on approximately 800,000 people. These include players, officials and journalists. Both the developers from Sports Interactive and so-called researchers are involved in creating the database . These researchers are divided into head researchers and assistant researchers . These are not under contract with Sports Interactive, but carry out the necessary research on a voluntary basis. While a head researcher is responsible for one or more countries, an assistant researcher takes care of the data of individual clubs. According to Sports Interactive, these positions can be filled by people with various qualifications. It has already happened that active players, coaches or scouts have updated the data of their respective clubs. It is also possible for people without a professional background to maintain the data of their favorite club.

Versions

Football Manager 2008

The Football Manager 2008 for PC and Mac appeared on 18 October 2007 in Europe and October 23, 2007 in America . An Xbox 360 implementation is planned for March 2008.

In the first twelve weeks since its release, Football Manager 2008 was at least number 3 on the UK sales charts every week, including number 1 for six weeks, confirming its status as the most successful football management simulation in Great Britain .

Football Manager 2009

Released on November 14, 2008, the Football Manager 2009 came up with a fundamental innovation compared to its predecessors, the 3D view. Instead of the previously available 2D view and the text-based view, it was possible for the first time to follow the playing field and the players in a three-dimensional model. A change between the perspectives was possible at any time. Other innovations were women in the game (e.g. trainers) and the new press conference module.

Thanks to the cooperation with the DRM distribution platform Steam, it was also possible for the first time to install and play the Football Manager without DVD. However, the alternative online or telephone activation via Uniloc caused numerous problems for customers.

Football Manager 2010

On October 30, 2009, Football Manager 2010 appeared in Europe initially for PC and Mac, as well as a version for PlayStation Portable under the name Football Manager Handheld 2010.

In addition to the revision of the 3D matching engine, there was one major innovation: In Football Manager 2010 , for the first time, there was the option to activate and edit competitions outside of the officially playable leagues. For example, it is possible to make Germany playable down to the top and even association leagues instead of up to the 3rd division .

Football Manager 2011

The successor to Football Manager 2010 was released on November 5, 2010 (as before for PC and Mac). A version for the PSP followed on November 26, 2010.

One of the most important innovations was the introduction of player agents in the course of contract negotiations.

Football Manager 2012

The Football Manager 2012 could be bought worldwide from October 21, 2011. The innovations included, for example, two new camera settings during the 3D view. Another new feature was the ability to activate or deactivate playable leagues at any time during the game. The interaction area was also revised so that different tones could now be used for addressing players and the like.

Activation of Football Manager 2012 was now only possible via Steam . There were no other activation options.

Football Manager 2013

The Football Manager 2013 was released worldwide on November 2, 2012. In the run-up to pre-order could play a beta version that except for a few additional programs already had the same scope as the main game. The FM 2013 came up with numerous innovations. The match engine was completely overhauled and provided with over 100 new animations, which are supposed to show the game even more realistically. The training has also been revised and simplified, and teams now have the option of driving in training camps. The introduction of new roles for employees was also new. Here, for example, the sports director was introduced, to whom, as a human coach, one can leave all the tasks that are more of an administrative nature (e.g. extending contracts, signing players).

The biggest innovation was certainly the introduction of a new mode. The Football Manager Classic allowed the player to complete a season faster because it has a simplified interface and many details of the main game are omitted. This mode uses the same database and the same matching engine as the main game. In addition, there were predefined challenges with the so-called challenges that the player could master (e.g. to remain undefeated for a season).

For the first time Sports Interactive relied on features that could be unlocked in the game (so-called unlockables). For example, successfully completing a challenge gave the player an unlockable that can be used in the Football Manager Classic. For example, the revocation of work permits or the generation of an enormous transfer budget. The player could also purchase these unlockables, which more or less corresponds to the introduction of DLCs .

Last but not least, the idea of Football Manager Live , which was developed earlier, was taken up and the players were given the opportunity in online mode to put together a team of players from the database in order to then have these teams compete against each other in games. The entire online area had meanwhile been completely linked to Steam in order to increase the compatibility among the individual players considerably.

The international criticism of the Football Manager 2013 was mostly positive. At Metacritic , the game achieved its highest rating in the series to date.

Football Manager 2014

The release of the next part of the series has been announced for October 31, 2013. For the first time, the game will also be available on Linux . Furthermore, a version of the game under the name Football Manager Classic 2014 will be available for the first time for the PlayStation Vita . Further integration into the Steam network is also progressing. Scores can now be saved online in the Steam Cloud and in the Steam Workshop users can make their own graphics, league extensions or challenges available to other users for download.

The transfer behavior has been rewritten and now contains numerous clauses that can also be observed again and again on the real transfer market (for example a purchase of a player with an immediate loan back to the donating club). The match engine has also undergone further changes and has been expanded to include new animations and more realistic player movements. In the tactics area, the focus was placed even more on players and their roles. There are other roles such as the shadow striker or the false nine - names that have become commonplace in modern tactics and training.

117 leagues in 51 nations are playable by default. However, other leagues can be activated using the editor, which has many functions. For example, the German regional leagues can be made playable.

Football Manager 2019

The 2019 version was released on November 2, 2018 and was officially released for the first time in Germany. For this purpose, both the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga were licensed. The game is available for Windows PC as well as for macOS. As usual in recent years, the touch version for mobile devices (iOS & Android) was released at the same time. The Nintendo Switch was released on November 27, 2018.

The reviews for the FM19 have been mostly positive. The kicker praised the depth of the game, but above all criticized the graphics. Gamestar praised the complexity of the game, credibly simulated 3D games and the generally high level of realism of Football Manager. Just like the kicker, Gamestar also criticized the presentation. Computerbild rated the trainer simulation with a grade of 1.9.

More games

Football Manager Live

On April 20, 2007, SI Games announced a football manager MMORPG called Football Manager Live .

The player could put together his own team from a selection of all players contained in the database of the Football Manager and play games with this team against other human coaches in the style of Hattrick .

The game was released in November 2008 and was only available in English. The project was discontinued in May 2011.

Football Manager Touch

Since the 2015 update, SI has always supplied the slightly adapted "Touch" version with the PC version. As the name suggests, this is an adaptation of the control especially for smartphones and tablets. The version can of course also be played on the PC. Other differences are that you can only max. can set three nations as playable. There are also z. B. no more detailed individual training, only minimal interaction with the players or the media and no half-time speeches. The version is therefore aimed more at beginners or players who prefer a faster game.

Football Manager in German-speaking countries

In the German-speaking area, the Football Manager could not be sold between 2006 and 2018 due to exclusive rights that the DFL has granted to EA Sports . Since the publication of Football Manager 2019 , the game can also be sold in Germany. Sports Interactive has signed a corresponding license agreement with the DFL up to and including the 2021/22 season.

influence

In reality, the database of the Football Manager series is used by some football clubs for recruiting potential newcomers. In 2008, the Sports Interactive development studio signed an agreement with the English professional club Everton FC . This allows the club to scout possible newcomers and opposing teams. In addition, other clubs, including some top clubs in the English Premier League , benefit from the database of the game series. The analysis platform Prozone Recruiter used by the clubs contains data from the Football Manager .

The game is also used by former and current footballers. England international Joey Barton and former Manchester United player Ole Gunnar Solskjær used the game to prepare for their coaching careers. Regular players include Gaël Clichy , Yohan Cabaye and the French world champion Antoine Griezmann .

Before a friendly match between the Italian and English national teams in 2000, the then Italian national coach Giovanni Trapattoni asked his players what they knew about their partially unknown opponents. According to Miles Jacobson, the head developer of Sports Interactive, his midfielder Demetrio Albertini then loaded the game, which was then still known as the Championship Manager, and thus informed Trapattoni about the strengths and weaknesses of the players. Also André Villas-Boas admitted the game in his time as chief scout of Chelsea to have utilized the potential to evaluate players.

In November 2012, FK Baku hired a football manager playing student to coach the first team.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ How Football Manager's scouting network unearths the wonderkids of real world football . In: The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  2. ↑ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/drm-still-causing-fm-2009-headaches
  3. ↑ Press release from SI Games ( Memento from October 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Football Manager 2013 for PC Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More . In: Metacritic . Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  5. ↑ kicker, Nürnberg, Germany: Football Manager 2019 in the test: Everything you need! In: kicker . ( kicker.de [accessed on November 21, 2018]).
  6. ↑ Football Manager 2019 - Reviews, Articles, Videos & More - GameStar. Retrieved on November 21, 2018 (German).
  7. ↑ Football Manager 2019 for PC in the test: The pass into the depths . In: computerbild.de . ( computerbild.de [accessed on November 21, 2018]).
  8. ↑ New license deals | The "Football Manager" is coming to Germany . In: BILD.de . ( bild.de [accessed on July 23, 2017]).
  9. ^ Everton signs Football Manager database . In: Eurogamer . Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  10. ↑ Football Manager computer game to help Premier League clubs buy players . In: The Guardian . Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  11. ↑ Why clubs are using Football Manager as a real-life scouting tool . In: The Guardian . Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  12. ^ How Football Manager changed the game . In: The Guardian . Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  13. ^ How Football Manager became a game changer . In: Financial Times . Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  14. ↑ Meet the man who honed his genius on the Football Manager computer game ... and is now in charge of a real football club . In: Daily Mail . Retrieved October 10, 2015.