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Football Manager 2005

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Football Manager 2005
Developer(s)Sports Interactive
Publisher(s)Sega
SeriesFootball Manager
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Sports game
Business simulation
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer over Internet(TCP/IP) or hot-seat

Football Manager 2005, known as Worldwide Soccer Manager 2005 in North America, is a football management simulation video game for PC Windows and Mac developed by Sports Interactive and published by Sega. It is the inaugural entry in the new Football Manager series,[3] and was succeeded by Football Manager 2006.

Commonly known as FM 2005, it competed directly with Championship Manager 5, the severely delayed and widely criticized effort from Eidos-funded Beautiful Game Studios.[citation needed] This competition set the stage for two major franchises in the football management genre.

History

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The roots of Football Manager 2005 trace back to the split between Sports Interactive and their original publisher, Eidos Interactive. Sports Interactive was the original developer behind the Championship Manager series, a franchise that had gained significant popularity. However, growing tensions between Sports Interactive and Eidos over the development of Championship Manager 4 led to the eventual split between the two companies.[4] This paved the way for Sports Interactive to secure the rights to the Football Manager name and build the game upon the framework of the Championship Manager series.

Eidos retained the rights to the Championship Manager name, while Sports Interactive kept the codebase and the data up to the 03/04 season update. Thus, Football Manager 2005 was largely based on Championship Manager 4 but had significant improvements and new features.

Development

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On 12 February 2004, after splitting from publishers Eidos Interactive, it was announced that Sports Interactive had acquired the "Football Manager" brand from Sega. This split marked a significant moment in the football management genre, as Football Manager 2005 became the first game from Sports Interactive published under its new brand.[5]

The developers, led by brothers Paul and Oliver Collyer, kept refining the formula that had made the Championship Manager games successful. Football Manager 2005 featured a new, more user-friendly interface, improved match engine, updated player database, and several new game features, including new 2D match viewing capabilities, a wider variety of manager-player interactions, and additional game modes for multiplayer experiences.[6]

Gameplay

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The game provided football management simulation enthusiasts with extensive control over virtually all aspects of running a football club, from transfers, training schedules, and tactics to player management, financial decisions, and media interactions.

Some of the most notable additions in Football Manager 2005 were:

  • Enhanced match engine allowing for more tactical variations and realistic gameplay.
  • More comprehensive team reports from assistant managers.
  • New media interaction features like "mind games" where managers could taunt rivals or praise players.
  • Expanded international management options.
  • Improvements in the scouting system, allowing managers to get better reports on potential signings.
  • Realistic loan system, where clubs could send young players to smaller clubs for development, and new rules on international transfers and youth academies.

The user interface also saw significant improvements, making navigation more intuitive for both veteran players and newcomers.

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As with many sports games, licensing was a significant issue for Football Manager 2005. Various changes had to be made to avoid infringing on the rights of certain leagues, clubs, and players:

  • The name of German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn had to be removed due to licensing restrictions. He was replaced by "Jens Mustermann," a generic name for unlicensed players.[7]
  • German national team players were fictionalized, a feature that persisted in other versions of the game until licensing agreements were made.
  • The French league team names had to be shortened to their city names (e.g., Paris Saint-Germain became simply "Paris").[8]
  • Various European competition names had to be changed to fictional equivalents, such as the UEFA Champions League becoming the "Champions Cup."[6]

Chinese Ban

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The game was banned in China due to the inclusion of Tibet and Taiwan as independent countries. The Chinese government deemed this as a violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty. As a result, the game was pulled from the market. Sega later issued a statement clarifying that the offending version was not intended for release in China and that a new version, compliant with Chinese laws and regulations, would be released specifically for the Chinese market. The banned version was believed to have been imported illegally, as it was not available in stores there. Despite the controversy, Football Manager 2005 remained popular in other markets.[9][10]

==Sales and Reception== Football Manager 2005 was both a commercial and critical success. It became the fifth fastest-selling PC game of all time in the UK according to Chart-Track and was Sega Europe's fastest-selling game at that point.[11] The Macintosh version, which came on the same disk as the Windows version, contributed to the impressive sales figures as well.

In the United Kingdom, the game earned a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies.[12]

Critically, the game was met with widespread acclaim. On aggregate sites, Football Manager 2005 scored 89/100 on both GameRankings and Metacritic.[13][14]

Several prominent gaming publications praised its depth, realism, and gameplay. Eurogamer awarded the game 9/10, calling it "a beautiful game of the beautiful game" and noting that it retained everything that made the series great while improving on several aspects.[15] GameSpot gave it 8.6/10, praising it for maintaining the addictive qualities of its predecessors and noting the significant additions and enhancements.[16]

The game was also a hit in Scandinavia, where publications like Gamereactor gave it high scores, calling it "the real Championship Manager 5, albeit with a different name." The Swedish version received a 9/10, praising its realism and depth.[17] Danish and Norwegian versions received slightly lower scores but were still considered high at 7/10 and 8/10, respectively.

Football Manager 2005 also won several awards, including the BAFTA Sunday Times Reader Award for Games in 2005, which recognized the game's impact on both the sports and simulation genres.[18]

==Legacy== Football Manager 2005 laid the foundation for future titles in the Football Manager series, establishing it as the premier football management game franchise. The game marked a significant transition for Sports Interactive after their split from Eidos and the Championship Manager name. Today, the Football Manager series continues to be one of the most influential and successful sports simulation games, with yearly releases building on the mechanics introduced in FM 2005.

The Football Manager franchise would go on to achieve critical and commercial success, with its in-depth realism and gameplay mechanics influencing the way football management games were developed.

See also

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Championship Manager 5 – Competitor to this game

Football Manager 2006 – The sequel to this game


==References==

  1. ^ Adams, David (9 December 2004). "The Kick-off Begins". IGN. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Football Manager 2005 release date moves forward". Eurogamer.net. 1 November 2004. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  3. ^ However, the game itself was built on top of the code of Championship Manager 4 which Sports Interactive legally owned the rights to.
  4. ^ Dransfield, Ian (26 May 2018) [First published in February 2018]. "The history of Championship Manager and Football Manager". Retro Gamer. No. 178. Future plc. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021 – via PC Gamer.
  5. ^ GamesIndustry International (12 February 2004). "Sports Interactive unveils Football Manager". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  6. ^ a b Manson, Andy (12 February 2017). "The history of Championship Manager, part two: the Football Manager years, 2004 to present". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Sujet: oliver kahn". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). 5 November 2005. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  8. ^ Robinson, James (7 March 2016). "11 things you've probably forgotten about the first Football Manager". Dream Team. News Group Newspapers. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  9. ^ "China bans online game Football Manager 2005". China Daily. Xinhua. 8 December 2004. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  10. ^ Bramwell, Tom (9 December 2004). "Chinese government attacks Football Manager 2005". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  11. ^ GamesIndustry International (15 November 2004). "Football Manager breaks SEGA sales records". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  12. ^ "ELSPA Sales Awards: Platinum". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. 2009. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Worldwide Soccer Manager 2005 for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Worldwide Soccer Manager 2005 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  15. ^ Reed, Kristan (12 May 2005). "Football Manager 2005". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  16. ^ Todd, Brett (17 May 2006). "Worldwide Soccer Manager 2005 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  17. ^ Lemne, Bengt (14 December 2004). "Football Manager 2005". Gamereactor (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021. det verkliga Championship Manager 5, om än med ett annat namn. […] genrens absoluta höjdpunkt!
  18. ^ "Studio Timeline 2005". Sports Interactive. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
[edit]

FootballManager.net – Official website

SIGames.com – Official Sports Interactive website *Football Manager 2005 at MobyGames


This extended version includes more details about the development, legacy, and reception of *Football Manager 2005*, enhancing the article with new context and insights into the game's impact.

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