Fedorico Roma Fan

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.

John10

football manager aint just a game anymore lol, its a way of life. Could all off us addicts imagine a life without :P. What would we ever do with out. There would be no FMF for one thing and that means no fedorico roma fan or a strange person in red known as Bozza.Anywho long may football manager continue to live and also continue the addiction :P

Hang on I better say "Red Bull, it gives you wings" or ill be sacked

adamjigey

fm 2008 great to playa nd its great we got a site to go wiv it

Hartynips

I dont think any game can make you quite as emotional...lose and your grumpy for the rest of the day, win and it can make your week. Id say its got to be as close to the real thing as most of us are ever likely to get, and i cant imagine life without it now!

doggybear

I agree with Hartynips i find the game frustrating an rewadring but sometime it makes me so cross

barosanu

yea this game its giving the players some feelings. some other games are just for fun and entertaiment.but this, you involve in the game.the cm and fm series is the only game i ever play more than a week.and now is the only game that i play.

mirjalovic

this game is a legend
fm 05 make me so addicted with fm series.
no prob with so many bugs in fm08.....i still waiting for fm 09........................

thanks dargo
my blog see it!
http://mirjalovic.blogspot.com/

juono

I personally love FM have played it since CM times, but I would really love it to be re-vamped for next season. The thread adamjigey started about what you wud change should b be taken note of by Si and incorporated to move the game forward

tartantroosers

I love it as well, even though I'm struggling big time with FM2008.

Mind you I have struggled with it ever since CM1993 !

boboyisha

this is the only game i know of that can make your day and at the same time make you mad for the whole day. i've actually come close to smashing my monitor before but all in all its a great game.

ncurtis4

i must admit, I nall my years of playing LMA, FIFA manager and CM, nothig quite matches up to the FM series.

There is one problem with mine though which i was wondering if it happens to others or im just the unlucky one.

As manger of Leicester City in the championship (media prediction 15th) you are given a four year contract in which the chairman, ex-pompy milan manderic, wants to win the chamiponship and be in the premiership by then. I fount myself 1st in the championship and in the semi final of boths cups by the end of the first season. Second season i secured premierleague status by finishing 16th and also reaching the final of both domestic cups and winning the FA cup for the first time in the clubs history, securing europeon football. Every monthly review from milan in the third season said that he was deeply upset i wasnt fulfilling any long term goals the club has, and my job was under threat. A europeon semi final loss to juventus and a top 10 finish was the final result of a progressive second season in the top flight for foxes. However with my contract only having one year left, Milan decides to sack me because i wasnt fulfilling his long term plans, which was to win the championship, even though i was mid table in the premiership.

Now if you ask me, thats the dictionary definition of a real punch in the crotch.

does this happen to anyone else?