Football Manager 2007 unveiled

By Tom Bramwell Published 8 June, 2006

Over 100 new features.

Sports Interactive's preparing Football Manager 2007 for release this Christmas, and aims to deliver over 100 new features across PC, Mac, Intel Mac, Xbox 360 and PSP.

New features include setting up feeder clubs, a revamp of the youth team structure, an easier to use default skin, reworked team talks (including pre-match team talks), and manipulation of the media to address your own players - and also to try and unsettle star players at other clubs around the world with a few words of pointed admiration.

SI says it's been focusing on fan feedback for the Xbox 360 version too, helping it to deliver a user interface that offers a joypad-friendly alternative to the PC without sacrificing the game's noted depth.

Meanwhile, PSP title Football Manager Handheld will have more playable leagues, features, and network play - something absent from the first game, which came out earlier this year.

With the role of feeder clubs and the media's place in "tapping up" rows under greater scrutiny in today's football world, both features are likely to whet the appetites of FM fans keen to adopt the tactics of Wenger, Mourinho and others.

Feeder clubs will work as you might expect, says SI, allowing you to establish your small team as one that receives loan players from larger clubs or, if you're already on the big stage, to set yourself up to farm youngsters out to gain match experience. You'll have first-option on feeder club players in that case, as well as the option to schedule friendlies - you just ask your board for a feeder relationship and choose from the list compiled.

Meanwhile, player interaction through the media will allow you to praise your own players or hand down harsh rebukes, but it's the potential to make deliberately worded comments about world stars that's likely to tickle most football fans - particularly after enduring sagas like the one involving Ukranian star Shevchenko, who eventually joined Chelsea this summer after spending more than a year playing hard to get in the press.

Elsewhere, revamped youth teams now have full squads, offering a much better system for regeneration of players in the long-term game, SI says, while scouting offers more information on players and teams - with what's described as a more realistic methodology for player-scouting.

Naturally SI plans to reveal a lot more between now and Christmas, and managing director Miles Jacobson claims FM 2007 will offer the developer's "most authentic football experience yet" - paying particular attention to the new skin and its associated benefits.

"There will be a new, easy to use default skin, as well as improved hints and tips throughout the game. More in-depth feedback from your assistant manager and coaches, plus interaction with any player worldwide makes this an unmissable and very user friendly experience, and our best football game by a country mile," he said.

Expect more on FM 2007 in the coming weeks and months.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (30) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • JackThompsonsAnArse #1 6 years ago

    This article made me hard.

  • Collie #2 6 years ago

    It's certainly come a long way since the original few Championship manager titles. There's a bewildering number of features now, which is why I won't buy it: I'll end up playing it permanently!

  • indian23 #3 6 years ago

    Good luck Champ Manager!

  • KingOfSpain #4 6 years ago

    I love FM, therefore I am.

  • Kay #5 6 years ago

    Can't wait for the PSP version. Hopefully they've listened to the feedback and worked on improving the experience.

    K

  • Stickman #6 6 years ago

    /turns off _neon's life support

  • NoCodeNed2 #7 6 years ago

    The other day Arsenal bought Tomas Rosicky in FM on my PSP - that's why I love that game (gave me a warm tingly feeling that I really had won Liverpool the Premiership : )

  • ERG1008 #8 6 years ago

    *football* + *manager* in one title = yawn feast
    /slips into a coma . z Z z . . blip

    Why comment on something that you have no interest in then?
    Feeling a bit lonely?

    nob

  • Bumbuliuz #9 6 years ago

    I will be picking the pc, 360 and the handheld versions.

  • marc_si #10 6 years ago

    "Can't wait for the PSP version. Hopefully they've listened to the feedback and worked on improving the experience. "

    We're always listening to any feedback people want to give us (I've even popped up on the EG forums now and again :D) .... feel free to email me any specific stuff you want looked at (marc.vaughan@sigames.com).

  • KingOfSpain #11 6 years ago

    Marc good to see you listen to feedback, just one idea that would make the PSP version so much better.....please please please put in more text in the matches. I have no lines i could give you but i just feel that if the text went into a lot more depth it would feel a lot more "real" and also give you the impression that your tactics were making a difference.

    Maybe a few more lines after a shot, like how the chance developed and who was involved. Maybe also more text along the lines of the skill each player is using. For example, it is had to see if a player is using his positioning skills or even pace during a game.

    It would good if you could give the player a option of how much text they want in a match. Fewer lines for games you just want to speed past but for the all important cup final i like to really live the match and know everythink that is going on.

    What do you think?
    Edited by 2 at 08/06/06 @ 15:50

  • Kay #12 6 years ago

    We're always listening to any feedback people want to give us (I've even popped up on the EG forums now and again :D) .... feel free to email me any specific stuff you want looked at (marc.vaughan@sigames.com).

    I know you have Marc, it was in my thread that you posted. :)

    K

  • Yossarian #13 6 years ago

    in a perverse way I hope Juventus get relegated so I can take up the challenge of reinstating them as the number one team in Italy within two seasons.

    eagerly anticipating this, my five seasons with Palermo in FM2006 were some of the best of my eight year affair with CM/FM.

  • Yossarian #14 6 years ago

    my only real complaint to you Mr Marc Vaughan is for the love of God tone down the English bias

  • NoCodeNed2 #15 6 years ago

    @marc_si - congrats on a thoroughly enjoyable (if utterly life-draining) game!

    For the pick-up-and-playness of the handheld version, I'd like to see at least 2, poss more user settings for team picking.

    I don't know if it's just me but the number of times I switch between two or three core line ups as the fixtures pile up, it would make it a lot quicker if I didn't have to clear and re-pick each game.

    Although Assistant Pick is sometimes very useful in this regard, a couple of user defined picks would be great.

  • Latin #16 6 years ago

    I love this game but don't have a good enough PC to run it well, i.e. without having to wait 30 mins for 1 day to pass. I would have got it for the xbox 360 but how can they charge 50 quid for a game that doesn't even use the supposed power of the 360? If the next one is 30 quid like Rockstar's Table Tennis then i'll consider buying it, but until then i'll have to buy the new Pro Evo instead.

  • morriss #17 6 years ago

    Nice.

  • del_86 #18 6 years ago

    Full online play for the 360 version please.
    That way not only will myself and my mate buy it, but my brother and his pal would buy a 360 specifically for the kind of online action pc gamers enjoy now :)

    Then we can really be sad..

  • space_ace #19 6 years ago

    \o/

  • Miles_SI #20 6 years ago

    Latin - I find it strange that you say that. You'd likely play FM for a lot longer than the majority of other Xbox 360 games in a pure time sense and it's very much using the full power of the Xbox 360 - not the graphics card, maybe, but I'd suggest it's a lot more processor and memory hungry than the majority of the games out there for the machine.

    Gameplay > Polygons.

  • Latin #21 6 years ago

    @ Miles_SI, i totally agree with you about gameplay and numbers of hours i would likely play on it, but when i see the PC version selling for 20 quid brand new, and then i see the 360 version at 50 quid brand new, i feel as if i'm blatantly getting extorted. To add to this fact the 360 version adds nothing to the PC version apart from a flawed control mechanism.

    Surely you can't expect a consumer to pay 30 quid more for a game that is in fact worse than the game on another platform? The only other games that I have personally bought that are on both platforms are COD2 and Oblivion, and from what i understand both games were developed with the console user in mind and so are very suited to the 360, hence i'm willing to pay the extra. Football Manager (2005) however was only ever designed for the PC and then a crappy control mechanism was added to the 360 version and not much else.

    Personally, I think that the costs involved into putting it onto 360 are not worth the extra 30 quid, and i would much rather spend that money on the new Pro Evo or even (gasp!) the new Fifa game, both games designed specifically for the 360 and both games that offer more than their cross platform editions (even if it just be improved graphics).

  • Yossarian #22 6 years ago

    Latin, two words: licensing fee

  • KingOfSpain #23 6 years ago

    I know that the licensing fee will make console games more expensive however, just take a look at table tennis. 30 quid at Game or 25 online. They had to pay the licensing fee too and make nice sweety graphics. FM are just porting a game from the PC and changing the control system a little, im sure they could do this and charge a little less.

    FM 360 is the only SI footy game i have ever not bought. (i even picked up the SI CM games on the XBox) I was looking forward to this on the 360 but its just not value for money when you can pay 20 notes for the PC version.

  • Miles_SI #24 6 years ago

    Latin - the actual expected retail price of the PC game is £34.99, not £20. It's a standard PC game price. Some retailers have historically reduced the price to encourage more people to shop with them, and that's how it's possible to get it cheaper at some places. They could do the same with the Xbox 360 game if they wanted to, but the dealer price is higher due to the licensing fee.

    Whilst a fan of Table Tennis the game, I personally believe the reason for the cheaper price is the lack of career game - I know that it'll be played less by me because of it. Value for money is key, and FM on Xbox 360 is fantastic value for money if you are a fan of sports management games. All in my opinion, of course.

  • KingOfSpain #25 6 years ago

    Miles - Thanks for replying to the thread but it seams to me that anyone would be a fool to pay 35 pounds for any PC game. I just had a look at Game and out of thier top 20 PC games only 2 are over 30 quid nevemind 35 and this from somewhere that is normaly expensive and the main highstreet store, hardly "some retailer". If I was to look at Play.com im sure I would find even cheaper pricies. In fact I think anyone would struggle to find a store that sold most of thier new PC games at £35

    Having said that if I could only find FM for the PC for that price I would pay it due to my addiction, However, Im sure most people who buy FM for the PC will pay a lot less than the price you stated.

    This is getting away from the point. Yes we all know that PC games are cheap and that 360 games are way too expensive. This is normal and now expected by the general games buying public. When a game is £20 and can run on a "old" PC it annoys when the price for the same game on the 360 is £40 - £50.

    I dont want to sound like im being a nob here (i love you all, i really do. I would marry each and every one of you if i could!!) its just it looks like you might be putting off a few loyal FMers by your pricing.


    On a side note ( I know i have been going on a bit) is there plans for a 360 data update to take account for the summer transfer window?

    Ok i think im done now:)
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/06 @ 11:23

  • Miles_SI #26 6 years ago

    King of Spain - we have no say over the prices of our games. But I will defend them, as I think they are amazing value for money compared to the vast majority of entertainment out there.

    As for transfer updates, we only do those after the January transfer window. Whether we'll be allowed to do one for Xbox 360 at that point will be Microsoft's decision, and not ours, but we will certainly want to.

  • KingOfSpain #27 6 years ago

    Miles - I know you dont have a say on pricing your games (maybe you could have a little word with Sega) but I think you need to understand why some people will not pay £50 for a game you can pick up for £20 on a low spec PC (even if you do say £35)

    Oh and i noticed that you can pick up CM 2006 for the Xbox for £20 at play, licensing fee and all.

    Sorry if I came over like I was having a go, I wasnt. Im a huge fan of SI and FM but when even I just cant justify buying a game I love on a system that I love I think somthing is wrong.

  • Latin #28 6 years ago

    @Miles_SI, there's no point in comparing value for money against other games because no-one here is doubting that FM is one of the best games out there... what we want to know is why does a game cost almost 20 quid more on a another platform when there are absolutely NO improvements or indications that the game is different in a positive way? It's ridiculous, you're expecting people to pay more for an inferior game which was also outdated when released and now you're implying to us that it's unlikely to be updated in the future...

    I really can't see how you can defend the pricing, despite the r.r.p. of £35 for the PC version, surely you can not be naive enough to believe this is the actual price it is being sold at. Even if it did sell at this price how can you justify the different prices? surely the 360 version, by definition, is less value for money especially considering the flaws it has?

  • Miles_SI #29 6 years ago

    Latin - that's been mentioned in this thread already. The licensing cost leads to a higher dealer price. After that, it's completely down to retailers what they want to sell it for. It's the same game as the PC game, so of course it's not going to be a "budget" release on another format, it will stay in the same price bracket of full price PC, PSP or Xbox 360 games.

    King of Spain - of course I fully understand why people would buy the cheaper version if they have both platforms, and I don't think I've said anything about that. I've just said that I believe all of our games to be very good value for money, whatever the prices!

  • KingOfSpain #30 6 years ago

    Thanks for posting here Miles. I can never bring myself to visit offical forums, WAAAY to many fan boys and LEETS for my liking.

    I really like how "human" SI are and how you vist of forums. (even if we dont always agree)

  • RB_NCFC #31 5 years ago

    I've just cum!