Sega Europe and Sports Interactive have not only announced that work is already well underway on a sequel to Football Manager 2005 (known as World Wide Soccer Manager 2005 in North America) for the PC, but also that a PSP version of the game will be arriving in European stores alongside it this winter. The PC version of Football Manager 2006 will improve upon last year's through a number of new features, while the PSP version will be specifically designed to play to the Sony handheld's strengths.
"Just like the real-life game, Football Manager continues to evolve as each new season comes and goes," said Miles Jacobson, CEO of Sports Interactive. "As has become traditional over the years, the changes that we've made this time around have been inspired not only by events and trends in the real world, but also by changes which have been suggested by our ever-keen fan base."
This year, new features for PC soccer managers will include negotiations with their board of directors, halftime team talks with players, an improved player-training system, and personal management options that can be used to appease unhappy players. Player position information in Football Manager 2006 will also be much more detailed than that in last year's game, including information on players' preferred moves as well as on which positions they're most comfortable playing in.
The PSP version of Football Manager 2006 is being redesigned to make it more suitable for shorter gameplay sessions, but will retain much of the depth that the series is known for. You'll be able to manage a squad of up to 30 players from any of at least six national leagues, and you'll have to concern yourself with the media, agents, backroom staff, and the transfer market at the same time you're trying to lead your chosen team to glory. The PSP game won't feature the same match engine that's used in the PC game, but will employ the same text-based commentary system that Sports Interactive has been using and refining in its games for years.
"From the moment that we got our hands on our first PSP we knew that we were finally looking at a portable system that could do our game justice," added Jacobson. "Football Manager is well-known as being a game that people carry with them in their hearts and minds--pretty soon they'll be able to carry it in their pockets too."
