Football Manager goes MMO

[rpvankasteren]

Sports Interactive announced today they will be releasing a massively multiplayer online version of the game we all lost so much time to. If all goes to plan, Football Manager Live will see daylight in March 2008, with beta testing to start next month.

The game will be a mixture of Football Manager, fantasy sports, and an auction room. Each server will hold up to 1000 players to compete against, each creating their own club from scratch and forming mini leagues between each other. Games will take place 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and will take place in real time (90 minute matches that is).

The number of matches you play each month is said to not influence your standing in the overall rankings (of course, it would in a created league), rather the performance on average in the games will be deciding the place you hold on your server.

About the cost to play, the FAQ says the following:

it is likely to cost the price of a few pints per month to play, but because people will be staying in more often to play the game they will save money in the long run!

Haha, a funny

What is brought over from FM to FML, is the match and tactics engine. Other parts are brought over and adapted to suit online play better. The feel of the game is to be completely different.

A short list of announced features:

• Create and manage your very own football club. Choose your colours and badge, design your kit and name your stadium.

• Build your own dream team from the huge Sports Interactive database of real-world players within the Football Manager database.

• Compete in Football Manager Live gameworlds 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in your quest to top the rankings table.

• Create and run your own league and cup competitions. Take on the world or simply compete for bragging rights with your friends.

• A comprehensive transfer system allowing you to buy, sell and loan players, as well as bidding for new players with the exciting auction system.

• If you invest in an expensive squad, you'll need on-field success to win tournaments and climb the rankings to balance your finances.

• Go head to head and utilise all your football management knowledge as you pit your wits against other human players in a unique match-day experience.

• Real-time SMS alerts mean you are never far away from the action.

News of the game and information on participating in the beta test will appear at http://www.footballmanagerlive.com/


The original press release:

LONDON (April 20th, 2007) –SEGA® Europe Ltd today announced the future release of Football Manager™ Live, a brand new massively multiplayer online game from acclaimed developers Sports Interactive. Scheduled for release in Spring 2008, Football Manager Live has its roots set in the best-selling and award-winning Football Manager™ series, but has been designed specifically as a massively multiplayer online game.

Football Manager Live is a brand new concept in football management and allows you to build a club from scratch to compete against friends and rivals online for the ultimate in Football Manager bragging rights. It’s the definitive test of football management skills, allowing you to set-up mini-leagues amongst your friends, bid in player auctions and compete in live matches 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Matches take place in real-time with a range of tactical options for managers to control as they follow all the action via the realistic 2D match engine. In addition, the in-game chat option means managers can exchange comments on the virtual touchline, whilst other aspiring managers can view their competitors and learn their tactics.

Away from the stadium, users will need to control their club in a host of different ways. This ranges from the basics of choosing your club name, colours, badge and pitch size; right through to the nitty-gritty of balancing the finances and improving their squad by buying and selling players using an auction style transfer system.

The game is the brainchild of Sports Interactive co-founder, Oliver Collyer and is designed for a whole new audience of football gamers, as well as existing Sports Interactive fans.

“With Football Manager Live, we're ripping up the script that says how online football management games should work" says Oliver Collyer. "We're creating something that is fun, challenging and sociable.”

“Imagine a cross between Football Manager, fantasy sports and auctions sites and you are part of the way to understanding Football Manager Live” commented Miles Jacobson, Managing Director of Sports Interactive. “It’s great to be able to announce the game, and we can’t wait to see the reaction to the beta when it launches next month.”

Football Manager Live is due for release in spring 2008, with a beta test set to launch in May 2007. To find out more about participating in the test and to receive updates on Football Manager Live visit the official websites at www.footballmanagerlive.com or www.sigames.com

All in all it's an exciting prospect to keep a close eye on for some, but a definite no-no from the start for a lot of others. You choose where you're at.

 

[Tom]

Yeah read this on myspace earlier, i'd say it's quite exciting. A much better and more thorough thought-out plan than the cripplingly bad CMO. They've given themselves a lot of time to get it right, and with the recent boom in MMO's, it might just work.

Thankfully, theyve distanced it away from FM itself, so we can still expect more normal single-player games as well. I'd say its a step in the right direction.

 

[Áļéאָ]

woohooo
Another game that follows trends. MMO ftw

A definite no-no for me Ruud

 

[rpvankasteren]

It's actually been in development since before WoW, they claim, so it's just a bit late.

I'm with you btw. Although it is an interesting concept, I suspect it would become tedious quite rapidly and I would never be able to find the time to play anyway.

 

[Daz]

Sounds promising...

though as you guys said i can't see myself getting hooked on it, but it'll be very interesting to see how it turns out.

 

[Zlatan]

With every step SI makes now, it seems as though FM is gettin more and more mainstream and commercial.
I think SEGA has got something to do with this process.

 

[rpvankasteren]

Apparently this is totally Ov Collier's baby, but FM has definitely become more open to the public.

One reason for that could be the quality of the product ever since its early days, but another could indeed be the much bigger marketing efforts that SEGA put in compared to Eidos. I don't personally think 'mainstream' is the right word, looking at the number of negative comments around whenever there is just the slightest hint of the words 'manager' or 'simulation', but more people are aware of the game. Commercial is just another word for trying to sell your product and make a living.

One thing management games will never be is mainstream.

 

[Áļéאָ]

mainstream..hmmm

So how many ppl do you guys know that are aware of CM/FM?
Personally I dont know anyone under the age of 30 who they like football and dont know CM/FM . Now If i go 6-7 years back I dont think there's anyone, at least from what I can remember who knew what CM was.
Lame example and poorly presented, but , I do not know what/how/when something can be called mainstream, but this sounds pretty darn close to this words definition to me.

 

[Zlatan]

Well, call it EA-Sportsification than, cause that's how it feels.

Oh and BTW, maybe it used to be a game for more older people. Actually, I'm quite sure of that, cause when I started playing CM back in 2003, no-one at my school knew what it was. But now I know alot of guys from around 18 years old who do know what FM is and some of them actually play it aswell.

 

[yoyo913]

Holy sh!t !!!!!!!!

I'm probably going to get so addicted to this, unless there is a monthly fee.

Crap, apprentaly there is, well I'll see how realistic the game will be.

I'd probably get frustrated with not being the best and get pissed off of losing all the time with crap players.

I bet EA sports are upset with this seeing how much money FMO could make.

 

[Tom]

One thing management games will never be is mainstream.

You don't say many wrong things Ruud, but that's one of them. I dont know anyone who likes football who hasnt heard of CM or FM. About... 60/70% of those have also played it. Even my Dad and my ex-Geography teacher had played it.

Just check the charts, football games (and football management games) reign supreme in the UK at least.

 

[Áļéאָ]

Uk isnt exactly the best example. Its a lot different in the rest of the world. Fotball there is like basketball in the US.

 

[rpvankasteren]

I stand by my point. The fact that Football Manager has such a huge following does not mean there isn't an enormous amount of people still who despise the genre.

 

[Filipower]

what's the problem of it going mainstream?..the fact that they're thinking of making it MMO is because it already is known by millions and millions

 

[Zlatan]

what's the problem of it going mainstream?

The problem with becoming mainstream is that less improvement is made on the game, because everyone will buy it anyway because of the name.

When the game still had to prove itself it showed more improvement per year than nowadays.

 

[PaPaGeorGeo]

I think its a good move, Ive found the newer versions of CM/FM just dont hook you in, This may.

 

[Tom]

This is bull, the game is ALREADY mainstream. Saying CM or FM isnt mainstream is like trying to convince someone that FIFA or Pro Evo aren't.

 

[tracertong]

This is bull, the game is ALREADY mainstream. Saying CM or FM isnt mainstream is like trying to convince someone that FIFA or Pro Evo aren't.

Very true. I have just read the preview of this in PC Zone and it looks fantastic. Like a hybrid of the sun dream team and football manager , you are given £100000 to spend to build your team , have an online ranking as well. I will be hopefully gettting a beta test key