Football Manager
Encyclopedia
Football Manager is a series of football management simulation games developed by Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive Limited is a computer games development company currently based in Old Street, Central London and owned by the Japanese software and video game company Sega. It is the developer of the popular games Football Manager, NHL Eastside Hockey Manager and Championship Manager Quiz, and...

 and published by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

. The game began its life in 1992 as Championship Manager
Championship Manager series
The Championship Manager series is a series of British football-management simulation computer games, the first of which was released in 1992.The Championship Manager brand and game was conceived by two brothers: Paul and Oliver Collyer...

; however, following the break-up of their partnership with original publishers Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....

, Sports Interactive lost the naming rights and re-branded the game Football Manager with their new publishers Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

.

Football Manager 2005

On 12 February 2004, after splitting from publishers Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....

, it was announced that Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive Limited is a computer games development company currently based in Old Street, Central London and owned by the Japanese software and video game company Sega. It is the developer of the popular games Football Manager, NHL Eastside Hockey Manager and Championship Manager Quiz, and...

, developers of the Championship Manager game, had retained the rights to the source code but not the rights to the title Championship Manager, which were held onto by Eidos (who previously acquired the brand rights from Domark
Domark
Domark Software was a video games software house based in the United Kingdom. The name was derived from the given names of its founders, Dominic Wheatley and Mark Strachan...

 upon their merger in 1995). These developments led to a further announcement that future Sports Interactive football management games would be released under the famous Football Manager brand name. Whilst the Championship Manager series would go on, Eidos no longer had any source code, or, indeed a developer for Championship Manager.

Having been left without a publisher for its football management series, Sports Interactive teamed up with Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

 and later, in April 2006, Sports Interactive was acquired completely by the publisher in a continuing trend of consolidation within the games industry.

The first game released under the newly acquired Football Manager brand was Football Manager 2005
Football Manager 2005
Football Manager 2005 is a game in the Football Manager computer game series. It was developed by Sports Interactive and released on November 5, 2004, published by Sega....

. Commonly known as "FM 2005", it competed directly with Championship Manager 5
Championship Manager 5
Championship Manager 5 is the fifth installment of the popular Championship Manager series of football management computer games. It is the first game in the series to be developed by Eidos, after the much publicised split between Eidos and Sports Interactive.- Early difficulties :The game was...

from Eidos-funded Beautiful Game Studios
Beautiful Game Studios
Beautiful Game Studios is a computer game development studio based in London, England. The studio is an internal development team within Square Enix and was set up in late 2003 by Eidos Interactive to develop the Championship Manager series...

.

Football Manager 2005 included an updated user interface, a refined game engine, updated database and competition rules, pre and post-match information, international player news, cup summary news, a 2D match engine, coach reports on squads, job centre for non-playing positions, mutual contract termination, enhanced player loan options, manager "mind games" and various other features.

Football Manager 2005 was released in the UK on 5 November 2004 - closely followed by releases in many other countries around the world - and it became the 5th fastest selling PC game of all time (according to Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...

). The Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

 version of the game comes on the same dual format
Dual format
Dual Format is a technique used to allow two completely different systems software to reside on the same disk.The term was used on the Amiga and Atari ST platform to indicate that the disk could be inserted into either machine and it would still boot and run...

 disk as the Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

 version, so its sales are also included.

Football Manager 2006

Football Manager 2006
Football Manager 2006
Football Manager 2006 is a game in the Football Manager series of football management simulation games. It is available for PC, Mac, Xbox 360, and PSP platforms, and was released in the UK on October 21, 2005...

for Windows and Mac OS was released in the UK on 21 October 2005 (2 weeks earlier than the originally stated 4 November release). On the same day as the game's release, Sports Interactive also released a patch
Patch (computing)
A patch is a piece of software designed to fix problems with, or update a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, and improving the usability or performance...

 to fix some bugs discovered during the Beta and Gold stages of development. In its first week of release, it became the second-fastest-selling PC game of all-time in the UK.

Essentially just a season update of FM 2005, it does however, include many small adjustments and improvements to the general gameplay. These adjustments include team-talks, simplified training and in-game help screens. As well as this, the game is updated by its many researchers (unpaid fans of the game augmented by in-house collaboration). The database is usually updated twice in the period of the release of the game. The first comes with the game and the second is usually downloadable in February as a free data update to reflect the changes which take place during the winter opening of the FIFA transfer window. As has been customary with the series a beta demo of the game was released on 12 September 2005. This was later followed on 30 September by a gold demo. This is a cut-down, limited time version of the full game which is sent to the game manufacturers.

With a special download from Sports Interactive, you can play as the fictional football team, Harchester United from Sky One's series Dream Team.

Football Manager 2006 - Xbox 360

The Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

 version was released on 13 April 2006 and is the first home console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...

 game in the Football Manager series. The full 50 playable league systems are included, as well as a 250,000-strong player database (very near to the figure of the PC version), but due to the large save files of the game, the Xbox hard disk drive is required. The game is also region free.

This version also makes use of the Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...

 functionality, allowing players to create online leagues and cups with up to 16 human-controlled teams using team data they have exported from their offline game. Voice chat is fully supported during online play. It has also been confirmed that SI will release new content through the Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...

system.

Football Manager 2007

On 8 June 2006, Sports Interactive published details on Football Manager 2007
Football Manager 2007
Football Manager 2007 is the third game in the Football Manager series of football management simulation games by Sports Interactive, published by SEGA...

. "Packed full with more than 100 new features, Football Manager 2007 is set for release on PC, Mac and Intel Mac, as well as the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Football Manager Handheld on Sony’s PlayStation Portable handheld entertainment system (PSP) completes the format line-up, with all platforms set for a Christmas 2006 release."

On 24 September 2006 it was announced that Football Manager 2007 would be released on 20 October 2006.

On 1 October 2006, Sports Interactive released a Gold Demo of FM 2007, available in two versions, vanilla and strawberry. Both versions allow users to play 6 months into a season. The strawberry version contains a larger collection of quickstarts so users can try out more leagues. It also contains more graphics than the vanilla version.

As a result of certain retail outlets ignoring the official release date, Football Manager 2007 was actually released on 18 October 2006.

New Features in the 2007 version of FM include the ability to include pictures for you as the manager; substantially increased media interaction such as approaches from national newspaper journalists about the upcoming match or asking for comments on a player's performance in recent matches; new varying degrees of criticism or praise for players (happy with form or very pleased with form rather than just one generic good term), a similar feature has been included for such actions as admiring players or attempting to unsettle transfer targets. Improvements have also been made to board request interactions.

The main improvement lauded by Sports Interactive for this version of FM is the improved scouting system. Scouts' and coaches' experience is now shown graphically via bar charts and scouts gain knowledge from areas they have scouted previously. To go with this it is now possible to get feeder/parent club status which allows you to either send your players to lower league teams to gain experience, make it easier to get work permits, merchandise sales in other areas etc. or, as a lower league team, to receive reserve and youth team players on free, season long loans and to generate extra revenue through associated 'fees' and friendly matches. In turn the parent club gains scouting knowledge for the area that the feeder club is in if it is in another country than that club.

A patch has been released to combat some of the main bugs in the game, such as unrealistic scout reports and high amounts of injuries sustained whilst playing on the pitch. The latest build of this patch is 7.0.2 94768.

On 27 July, the Football Manager website was updated with a new Football Manager 2008
Football Manager 2008
Football Manager 2008 is the principal title of the 2008 edition of the Football Manager series of football management simulation games by Sports Interactive. The version for the United States and Canada is entitled Worldwide Soccer Manager 2008, while the South American version is Fútbol Manager...

 section.

Football Manager 2008

On 3 October 2007 Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

 Europe Ltd and Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive Limited is a computer games development company currently based in Old Street, Central London and owned by the Japanese software and video game company Sega. It is the developer of the popular games Football Manager, NHL Eastside Hockey Manager and Championship Manager Quiz, and...

 announced Football Manager 2008 to be released 19 October. However, the release date was brought forward by a day to 18 October 2007, due to some retailers shipping the game early.
There were a number of new features: all features in matches seamlessly follow on from the previous one; a mini radar pitch appears during tactical changes; improved International management; new skin; advisor system; improved notebook system; a revamped captain selection; improved board and fan confidence system; transfer centre to track transfers; improved match engine; the player may change pitch dimensions; award system overhaul; in-game all-time best elevens; a revamped finance system; collective win bonuses; FaceGen system for new-gen players; new calendar.

Football Manager 2009

On 3 September 2008, Sports Interactive released a preview video announcing Football Manager 2009 to be released on the 14th November. The main difference from past versions was the inclusion of a 3D match engine for the first time in the game's history. Other new features included the ability to have female managers and staff, a new press conference system, more in-depth feedback from your assistant manager and a more realistic transfer system. The latest incarnation of Football Manager was also released in DVD format for the first time.

The use of online-activation DRM utilised by Sports Interactive resulted in issues for consumers activating either online, or phone. This was the result of a well orchestrated DDoS attack launched upon activation servers and phone lines, resulting in many users on the Windows platform unable to activate and play.

On 17 December 2008, Sports Interactive announced a deal with Arsenal FC to release an exclusive version of Football Manager 2009, containing all official Arsenal squad player pictures, and an exclusive skin in Arsenal's colours.

Shortly following this announcement, Sports Interactive reinforced their pursuit of online retailers by offering Football Manager 2009 through eSellerate for the Mac OS X platform on December 23. This is the first incarnation of the game to be available to global users through online distribution.

Football Manager 2010

On 12 August 2009, Sports Interactive & Sega Europe Ltd. announced that Football Manager 2010 for PC and Apple Macintosh, and Football Manager Handheld 2010 for PlayStation Portable was to be released on 30 October 2009.
Include Competitions:Challenge Cup
AFC Challenge Cup
The AFC Challenge Cup is an international football competition for emerging nations that are members of the Asian Football Confederation. The first tournament was hosted by Bangladesh in 2006...

 and Challenge Cup qualification, Caribbean Championship
Caribbean Cup
The Caribbean Cup, formerly known as the Copa Caribe, is the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition was contested in 1989 in Barbados. The Caribbean Cup also serves as a qualification tournament among...



Football Manager has been hugely successful, managing to gain the number 1 spot in the gaming charts. There have been many improvements made to FM10, including the following:-
  • A totally revamped user interface making it simpler and quicker to find the information you want.
  • Match Analysis tool showing the actions of each player on the pitch, allowing you to pinpoint any team's strengths and weaknesses.
  • Making changes from the touchline by "shouting" instructions from the touchline instantly.
  • Included two new national teams, Zanzibar and Tuvalu.

Football Manager 2011

FM2011 was released on 5 November 2010. On 23 July 2010 a number of features as well as the design of the box were leaked before an official announcement could be made.
  • Improved training options
  • More complex module for searching new players
  • Improved graphics and 3D view of the game
  • Introduction of football agents to the game
  • Playing games in evenings (so called night effect)
  • Differentiated weather conditions
  • And more

Football Manager 2012

Football Manager 2012 was released on Friday 21st October 2011, available from 0001 hours.

Football Manager Handheld

FMH was first released on 13 April 2006 on the PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...

. This was Sports Interactive's first ever game for a handheld console.

It was designed to be a separate game and play somewhat differently to the PC/Mac versions of the game due to the different nature of the handheld consoles. The game was designed to be more similar in feel and play to earlier Sports Interactive products - being much faster in nature, while retaining the feeling of being a realistic simulation.

In April 2010 the game became available on the iOS products. The iOS version of the game is very similar in nature to that on the PSP however it contains a wholly new UI because of the touch screen nature of those devices.

Below is a list of leagues that are playable within FMH 2011.
  • Australia - A-League
    A-League
    The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

  • Belgium - Jupiler Pro League, Division II
    Belgian Second Division
    The Belgian Second Division is the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system after the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the Belgian Football Association in 1905. Between 2008 and 2010 it was named EXQI League after a television channel owned by the league main sponsor,...

  • Brazil - Série A
    Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
    The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...

    , Série B
    Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
    The Série B is the second division of Brazilian football. It is played by 20 teams. However, the competition format has changed almost every year since it first occurred, in 1971. In some years, it was not played altogether...

  • England - Premier League, Championship
    Football League Championship
    The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

    , League One
    Football League One
    Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

    , League Two
    Football League Two
    Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

    , Blue Square Premier
    Conference National
    Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

  • France - Ligue 1
    Ligue 1
    Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....

    , Ligue 2
    Ligue 2
    Ligue 2 , formerly known as Division 2, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel , the other being Ligue 1, the country's top football division...

    , National
    Championnat National
    The Championnat de France National, commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2...

  • Germany - Bundesliga
    Fußball-Bundesliga
    The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

    , 2. Bundesliga
    2. Fußball-Bundesliga
    - Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...

    , 3. Liga
    3rd Liga
    The 3rd Liga is the third division of football in Germany. The league started with the beginning of the 2008–09 season, when it replaced the Regionalliga as the third tier football league in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2...

  • Netherlands - Eredivisie
    Eredivisie
    The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....

    , Eerste Divisie
    Eerste Divisie
    The Eerste Divisie is the second-highest division of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. It is also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship, which is the same name as the top league in Belgium...

  • Italy - Serie A
    Serie A
    Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

    , Serie B
    Serie B
    Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...

    , Serie C1, Serie C2
  • Portugal - Liga Sagres
    Portuguese Liga
    The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...

    , Liga Vitalis
    Liga de Honra
    The Liga de Honra , known for sponsorship reasons as the Liga Orangina, is the Portuguese second level football league. It was formerly called Segunda Divisão and Segunda Divisão de Honra . When the LPFP took control of the two nationwide levels, it was renamed Segunda Liga, before renaming it...

  • Scotland - Premier League
    Scottish Premier League
    The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

    , First Division
    Scottish Football League First Division
    The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....

    , Second Division
    Scottish Football League Second Division
    The Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system....

    , Third Division
    Scottish Football League Third Division
    The Scottish Football League Third Division is the lowest division of the Scottish Football League and the fourth overall in the Scottish football league system....

  • Spain - La Liga
    La Liga
    The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

    , Segunda División
    Segunda División
    The Segunda División is the lower tier of the two professional football leagues in Spain. From the season 2008-09 onwards, the name of the league is Liga Adelante.-History:...

    , Segunda División B
    Segunda División B
    Segunda División B is the third level of the Spanish football league system. It is administered by the RFEF. The top two levels are La Liga, also referred to as the Primera División, and the Segunda División. Immediately below Segunda División B is the Tercera Division...


Football Manager Live

On 20 April 2007, Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

 Europe Ltd and Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive Limited is a computer games development company currently based in Old Street, Central London and owned by the Japanese software and video game company Sega. It is the developer of the popular games Football Manager, NHL Eastside Hockey Manager and Championship Manager Quiz, and...

 released details for Football Manager Live
Football Manager Live
Football Manager Live was a massively multiplayer online game developed by Sports Interactive released in November 2008 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X....

 which will be a brand new massively multiplayer online game
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...

. Released on 4 November 2008, Football Manager Live has its roots set in the Football Manager series, but is designed specifically as a massively multiplayer online game.

On the 12th of December 2008 the first Community Day was arranged by Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive Limited is a computer games development company currently based in Old Street, Central London and owned by the Japanese software and video game company Sega. It is the developer of the popular games Football Manager, NHL Eastside Hockey Manager and Championship Manager Quiz, and...

 and Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

. The future of the series and many other matters were discussed with a number of fans who decided to show up for the event.

On the 14th April 2011, it was announced that Football Manager Live would be discontinued after all 'Gameworlds' (Servers) completed their next season (28 day period) - due around the end of May 2011.

Influence

Football Manager has been recognized by real-life football clubs as a source for scouting players. In 2008, Everton FC signed a deal with Sports Interactive allowing them to use the game's database to scout players and opposition.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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