Sports Interactive may have taken its time to announce Football Manager 2008, but there was little doubt that the game was coming. The series has been updated on an annual basis for over 10 years, has been critically well-received, and holds numerous fastest-selling game records in the UK. And even though the developer has this year announced an online multiplayer version of the game, Football Manager Live, it has maintained that it wouldn't be at the cost of the single-player version of the game.
Developer Sports Interactive has recently relocated, although as managing director Miles Jacobson jokes, "like Arsenal we only moved just up the road". Now boasting an open-plan design and space for numerous teams, the office also holds a toy-filled room for Jacobson, who rose through the ranks to become studio director. GameSpot caught up with him this week to find out more about Football Manager 2008.
Eurogamer: "It's a shame when relationships end but it's often for the best. Football Manager and me had it all – long intimate evenings, weekends away, the occasional holiday. I'd thought we never split up. But eventually cracks began to appear, the physical side deteriorated, and we became strangers.
As an early adopter of pretending to manage a football team on a computer (i.e. a semi-autistic weirdo), a chronic addiction to Football Manager seemed my inevitable destiny. My first taste was the original Football Manager on the ZX Spectrum, whose bearded creator, Kevin Toms, appeared beaming on the cassette case cover."
Chris Evans reveals the truth of his younger days playing Football Manager and Championship Manager. His evil underhand tactics to win matches are unveiled for all to see.
The UK's loss of talented developers in the sports genre has been 'utterly huge' according to Miles Jacobson, the studio head of London-based Football Manager developer Sports Interactive.
In an exclusive interview with Develop, Jacobson explained that Canada's exemplary tax break rates – which peak at 40% of dev costs – was the reason why a number of British-born developers now work in cities such as Vancouver and Toronto.
