Just one more game

Part 3: The Future

Do you believe that the innovation for FM games has hit a wall of late?

Most of you believe that innovation has hit a wall, and it’s all too obvious why. I mean, how can you improve on something which is already at the height of the simulation genre (I presume FM trumps the latest farming simulator)?

Some of you even believe it is regressing:

Kris V-Nilla Thunder Pollitt - Its regressing if anything.

I have to agree with Mikael with what he says about it:

Mikael Schøler - I find it funny that the question is about innovation and people talk about features they want or miss. Its not about features, it is how it is implemented. The problem with a pure manager-based game, is that the innovation needs to be there every year. We've seen FM versions that lacked innovation (upgrading the 3D matchviewer is not innovation, that's just an improvement), perhaps due to lack of new ideas. But we have also seen some great implementations in the training wizard and the transfer deadline. I could imagine that it must be difficult coming up with new innovation on a game that almost has it all. I don't think innovation is dead, but hard work is required in order to keep it flowing.

I don’t believe people can question this tough stage of development in the Football Manager series, and the focus is more on perfecting what it already has.

Chris Owen Brown - There isn't too much to innovate really. I can't think of much more that could be done.

Without moving into ownership or chairman manager - which if you think about it would be a terrible idea with no control over the actual footballing side of business - there isn’t a lot of ground-breaking stuff that could be added in the near future In my opinion.

@David_D90 - Send assistant, send assistant, send assistant, send assistant. Yawn.

@Shrewnaldo - Not entirely. But there's only so much you can realistically include in the game. Improvements needed more than new features.

@92TDucker - Because it's hard to improve on perfection.

Choose one thing you want to see in future FM instalments?

The response from this was huge, and with so many suggestions you then start to wonder why FM is hitting the wall.
Here are your top 4 suggestions that I found - drum roll please:

Manager personal life – Where you can spend your money on other ventures and generally other stuff. Personally, I don’t think this will be a great idea. I mean, when do you ever hear about Steve Bruce’s personal life, and who cares if he buys a Ford or a Honda?

Other member of the club mode – Where you select to be e.g. an assistant, a physio, a scout etc. adds another element to the game, although again this would make things different to the main game. It’s not really football manager type stuff, perhaps more “Football Physio 2013”. However, I think assistant manager could be an okay implementation, but I wouldn’t want it to be just put in without it being good and adding any value to FM, if you understand where I am coming from.

New jerseys or sponsors – I think this is a good one, I mean even if it did it randomly it adds to the realism, and can make your club seem more progressive instead of just moving on to the next season looking exactly the same.

Stadium editor – Now this might be alright to have a bigger say in, for instance standing areas are being introduced in English football again in the higher levels, so maybe you, as a manager, could have a say in such things?

Player personal lives - This seems like a good idea, things like Jack Wilshire smoking a cigarette, or your player being seen at a nightclub, and how you manage such things; how it effects the team. I think this could be a good mechanic to add to the game and I’m only presuming the amount of variety required is stopping it from being in the latest FM instalment.

Choose one thing you don’t really like / care about current FM instalments?

Most of you put press conferences as one of the things that you don’t care about, because it’s so repetitive, right? I have to agree, although no matter how much variety SI add to it, if you do it for a few seasons then surely you know all the right things to say, and nothing changes. However, I think if there is enough weight to it then it could be used in a better way.

Other than that there weren’t many other differing views. I guess Sports Interactive will have to sharpen that part of their game up.

Would you say FM is the only video game you play consistently on the PC?

Surprisingly, the majority of you only play Football Manager on your computers. I mean, there are a few of you who play Civilisation, Team Fortress 2 or Battlefield (among others), but it seems as if about 70-80% of you just use their computer (gaming wise) for FM.

To be honest though, I didn’t really expect anything different as until maybe 2 years ago I was the same. Here are the links to the responses in case you wanted a look at:
Facebook post - Twitter post

Do you buy FM every year?

Most of you guys do, although there is a minority who only buy it every second year. This is something I may do in the future, I mean if I had a job maybe I would consider buying it every year, but I’m a student living on a small budget. Anyway here are a few of your responses.

@OmaarSherif - This was my first year to buy Football Manager, and for sure it will not be the last.

Scott Hazel - Last year was the last. Not enough time in the day + plus the game is becoming a bit same old same old

Chris Kelly - Bought it every year for as long as I can remember... It's addictive as hell!!! I'd love to see a vita version so I could take it on holiday too! It's great discovering a new wonder kid and developing them into a world class player.

Scott Hayes - No, Its becoming harder to run on some systems.

I agree with Sandy here:

Sandy Cameron - Be much better if it was released every couple of years with real time updates for say £5 at the end of the season to update transfers, player ability, promotions etc

Rune Brynestad Lian - I am addicted to this game. I just have to have it.