Football Manager - a history from my view - FMFormation.net - Football Manager

johnireland · 04-04-08, 01:29 AM

Man have I been addicted to football manager sims. I can fully confess that this game has caused me to miss many an hour of my life and contributed to me not doing so well in school (supposed to be sleeping but was playing this game to all hours of the morning)

My first contact with a Football Manager sim was in 1992 when believe it or not I was the great age of 10. I had an Atari St (as far as I can remember) and got Championship Manager as part as a bundle package from Santa Claus one year. It really was not the hardcore football action I was looking for but eventually I came around to playing the game.

My obsession with the game was short lived and it was not until I got my first PC that I then rediscovered Championship Manager. Championship Manager 02 was released in 1995 and in my opinion rejuvenated the Football Manager Sim. It had a slick interface but most importantly, due to its DOS release, it was able to take advantage of a PC processing power. This game took up hours and hours of my life. I would sit down and be still sitting there for 12 hours solid playing this game.

This game was able to incorporate a detailed search engine and also for the first time a database worth talking about

In 96 Eidos released the first version of the game and with that came the name format we are all used to these days, calling the game Championship Manager 96/97.

Eidos brought the game to a new level and in my opinion with out them, we would not have the research and in dept knowledge in our current game. The Eidos team proactively seaked researchers to forward information regarding their own national leagues and with this information came a more realistic game.

The game players of the day loved it, to the extent that for the first time ever a Football Manager Simulator was now out selling games released for RPC like Sega etc.

Every year since then Eidos and Sports Interactive gave us many a version of Championship Manager, we had 97/98, Champ Manager 3 and 99/00 and 00/01, The later three were all released on the windows format which once again seen the game get more intense and more data loaded.

Championship Manager was now officially an established product in the gaming market and fans eagerly anticipated every new release. By the time the game had been released as a Windows version, Fans were now able to down load patches and update the game regularly. This once again added dept to the game.

2001 saw for the first time Championship Manager released on a gaming console. Although this was eagerly anticipated by the gaming community, it didn’t live up to expectation. The Xbox was limited compared to a standard PC of the time. The game on the Xbox lacked the dept and game play as users were used to on the PC.

The game continued to grow in popularity and in 2004 Championship Managers were hit with a huge shock.
After splitting from publishers Eidos Interactive, it was announced that Sports Interactive, 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 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 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. Commonly known as "FM 2005", it competed directly with Championship Manager 5 from Eidos-funded Beautiful Game Studios
Fans of the game were left in limbo, do I buy Champioship Manager (the brand I am used too) or the new game Football Manager 05.

Like most I bought the two versions of the game and soon relised that Sports Interactive were the way to go. Granted Championship Manager had all expected from a Champioship Manager title but that was all they had. The brains behind the game were Sports Interactive and with Sega on board they had a reputale publisher to help produce and grow the game.
Football Manager was born. Football Manager has seen a huge following globally and with the Internet as a major driver, we have seen tons of sites for people to swap tactics or just discuse the love of the game

In the 16 years of myself playing Football Manager sims, I have seen the game grow and grow. The current game of today Football Manager 08 has been one of the best selling titles in the games history. It has also helped grow the popularity of the Internet forum and fan site and a lot of us couldn’t imagine not having a copy of the game to hand (granted not all of us have as much time to play as we used to).
I can put my hand on my heart and say that Football Manager sims has an intergral influence on me growing up.

If anyone wouldlike to download the original game for free and see for yourself how the game (and technology) has grown, hit the link below

Champ Manager - Downloads

**liveru** · 04-04-08, 01:39 AM

I was introduced to the Championship Manager series way back in 96. I think it was CM2 96/97 package. I borrowed it from a mate. I've bought every game on it's release date since then. I bought both CM & FM in 2005 when SI and Eidos parted company and I stuck with FM.

I don't know how they've done it but SI have made such a rediculously addictive game it's unreal. When I'm not working the next morning (or have school back in the day), I am up til 3-4am playing this game. I love it.

Although every year it gets better and better, CM 99-00 was my favourite, but I think it's because Liverpool wasn't in europe that year and I had to get them there myself.

**Hartynips** · 04-04-08, 08:47 AM

Personally, I came from the LMA school of management, released on the playstations. Up until then, I'd never really bothered too much with any Footy management sim.

I bought LMA Manager 2001, I think it was the second installment in the series, on the release date from Game in Poole. Within weeks I'd played it so much my studies were suffering, I didnt go out and by the time the next version came out the disk was so scratched it wouldnt load! From that year 2001 onwards, my life style seemed to change dramatically. And so it went on right up until 2006 when a friend introduced me to FM06. It was just coming up to the release date of FM07 so I didnt buy it but the moment the newer version hit the shops I got my hands on it.

From then on, as they say, the rest is history. That game was subsequently hammered to death, my missus threatened to leave me, so then I'd deliberately take days off when I knew she would be working so I could get 9 hours solid or so playing time. (I believe many other members on here would emphasise on that) FM had become a definative "way of life"

When my father sadly died of cancer in March 2007 it was about the only thing that could distract me away from being completely miserable. It sounds crazy but while the rest of my family spent weeks greiving and talking about the good old times, there was Nips, on his laptop, leading the pack in La Liga with Athletico Madrid, on my way to a league and cup double. If I hadnt had FM to help me cope, I would've probably gone off the rails.

The one thing that really bugged me though was that I could hardly find anyone to share personally how good the game was! Nobody seemed interested. Then FM08 came out, I was hooked all over again then by pure chance in January I found FMF, a place to share your addiction!

So I can safely say that this game has got me, like thousands of others, completely and utterly on the hook. I just wish I'd had some of the experience of sharing the early days of CM and FM when it was staring, but having said that, I'm glad I found...salvation in the end!!!

johnireland · 04-04-08, 12:46 PM

Hey harty,

Thats really good of your to share your lost and how football manager helped you through it, its amazing were we find comforts ........... You know you have mates here if you ever needed anything.

Good tosee people sharing their football sim life ..... I am only thankful I ain the only one who has spent so much of their life on the game ......

**Fedorico Roma Fan** · 08-04-08, 01:35 PM

i started my obsession in '97 :P i have been hooked ever since!!

ever waking moment i used to spend on the game, until i realised i had to eat and get a job!

woodsy · 08-04-08, 02:45 PM

wow, i dident even know this game goes back so far i only started playing on fm 07 i had it for x-mas dident get it at first but then i understood the game and played it quite alot then went on to championship manager 07 but dident think much of it as soon later the disc wouldent work with my computer so i couldent use it longer..

i

**WozzaWolves** · 12-04-08, 05:22 PM

I used to watch my older cousin on the old CMs. I then began to play them myself when i was about 9 but the only thing i knew how to do was press continue :|

I got FM 07 for my birthday off my nan and i just couldn't stop playing it lol :D

Thanks Nan :P

Seth7724 · 12-04-08, 07:10 PM

I been playing since 97/98

When you used to be called Glenn Hoddle to become England Manager XD

When my brother signed Barthez and Pires for Arsenal before they even came to the prem XD

And when i become hooked on the most addictive yet inactive game ever.

Schmidy · 12-04-08, 07:14 PM

Wow, you guys started early haha, I started begining of last year at the age of 16 (Football manager 2007) I played and got bored very quickly and gave up but about 2 months later I thought I would give it ago again and bought it (first time was a friends) now my studies are taking a huge blow and its my final year.

adamjigey · 04-05-08, 06:20 PM

i personally played fm 06 was my first footy man but i had previously played all the LMA Managers and Chamionship Mnager 02/03 season, asloso premier manager 2000. and championship manager 5

barosanu · 04-05-08, 08:28 PM

when i was 14 years old i was the first time when i power on any computer.so i asked some friends to tell me some computer games.that period i was playng football at the school or in my district all the time and i think in that period i had the best form and i was a great defender playng in my class team against other classes.one class mate who know that i love recomended to me cm 2000/2001 and i found it really amazing.ive played with ac milan and palermo.after a few yeas without playng cm i tried cm 2003/2004 and i think it was the best of the series.next year after tryng cm5 and fm5 i remain with football manager.fm 2006 it was very good.i like fm 2007 and 2008 especially becouse when i see the player attribute i can see the overall atribute of the player so it helps me to see if the player is good or not