 Football Manager - Entertainment defined
When Sports Interactive made the first Football Manager way back in 2005 who’d have known that it would enjoy massive success in an area of the market that included the ever popular Championship Manager, LMA Manager and more recently Pro Evolution Soccer Manager and FIFA Manager. But over 3 years the Football Manager series has become the breakthrough title in the market, but why?
The reasons for this are not entirely clear. Maybe it has a more user friendly interface. Maybe it has more detailed profiles for clubs and players. All I know is that playing Football Manager is more than a pastime for some people. Many people would even refer to it as a hobby.
The point of this article is to look at why this game has become such a phenomenon in such a short space of time. Yes it is bought to us by fundamentally the same people who created the hugely successful Championship Manager series but in the 3 years since its inception Football Manager has created its own personality and has very much defined the football management area of the video games market.
The series has undergone massive changes through the 4 versions of the game so far. Upon the release of the first title prior to the split with Eidos, Sports Interactive saw Football Manager 2005 become one of the fastest selling PC Games of all time. Since that the series has grown hugely in popularity and has attracted fans from all walks of life. If I were to ask you to define what Football Manager is all about what would you say? Brilliant, innovative, groundbreaking? Personally I would say that the series has done more than just provide a source of entertainment for the youth of today, I would say that Football Manager appeals to a much larger audience of thousands of people from all age groups.
But lest we forget, Football Manger is but a video game, and video games designed to keep us, the consumer happy and to make profits for the company or companies producing it. I wanted to underline this point because I feel that this is what sets Football Manager apart from other games. Maybe it is just me but I feel that it is so easy to communicate with both fans of the game but also those who have made and produced it. The Football Manager community is just that, a community. There are numerous websites and forums where fans of the game come together in their thousands to discuss there trials and tribulations in the world of Football Manager. I for one feel almost part of a family where I am free to express my opinions about the game and with the use of the official Sports Interactive forums receive technical support amongst other things without having to waste time and money on the telephone.
So you see Football Manager is more than just a game. It gives people something to talk about, ways to connect with each other and builds bridges that would maybe not be built otherwise. This is why it is what it is and lets hope it continues to improve and grow to become the closest thing to football management that many of us can ever hope for. | 
