Football Manager 2008
Encyclopedia
Football Manager 2008 is the principal title of the 2008 edition of the Football Manager
series of football
management simulation games by Sports Interactive
. The version for the United States
and Canada
is entitled Worldwide Soccer Manager 2008, while the South America
n version is Fútbol Manager 2008. There are over 5,000 playable teams from more than 50 countries. The demo for Football Manager 2008 was released on 30 September 2007.
The game was originally intended to be released on 19 October 2007, but due to early shipments by many retailers carrying their game, Sports Interactive moved the release date to 18 October 2007.
Several problems surfaced in the game, most of which had been reported to SI Games via their issues forum, and as a result a "Beta Patch" was released. This patch did not fix all problems, but was released early to fix major issues. A full patch was set to be released on 9 November 2007 but was delayed, and was finally released on 22 November 2007. The second and final patch was released on 14 February 2008 and updated on 20 February to attempt to fix three major issues that remained in the game. As with previous games, the patch updates the game's database with all the latest transfers and fixes many of the game's remaining bugs.
Asia and Oceania
Mainland Europe
Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain
Switzerland Turkey Ukraine
UK & Ireland
Scandinavia
North America
South America
1 - Germany's national team is not allowed to be included in the game due to licensing rights being owned by EA Sports
' "FIFA" series
, whilst the Japanese J-League and the Japanese national team are not allowed in the game at all due to Konami
's purchase of the exclusive rights for their Pro Evolution Soccer
series.
"We are very proud to announce the procurement of a license for the French Ligue de Football Professionnel, with both the 1st & 2nd divisions covered by the license that provides real club names, logo’s and kits for all the clubs in those leagues.
We also welcome back the Dutch national team to the game, which was missing from last years game.
On top of this, we have new licenses in Italy from Sampdoria and Fiorentina."
However, due to licensing issues they are not allowed to be referred to by their proper name but the in-game competition format is exactly the same as the competition is in real life. It also uses qualifying matches.
version of the game on January 11, 2008, marking the release date for March 2008. The game would take advantage of Xbox Live
functionality for multiplayer games and leagues. Football Manager 2006
and Football Manager 2007
had previously been released for the console system.
Football Manager
Football Manager is a series of football management simulation games developed by Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game began its life in 1992 as Championship Manager; however, following the break-up of their partnership with original publishers Eidos Interactive, Sports Interactive...
series of football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
management simulation games by Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive Limited is a computer games development company currently based in Old Street, Central London and owned by the Japanese software and video game company Sega. It is the developer of the popular games Football Manager, NHL Eastside Hockey Manager and Championship Manager Quiz, and...
. The version for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is entitled Worldwide Soccer Manager 2008, while the South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n version is Fútbol Manager 2008. There are over 5,000 playable teams from more than 50 countries. The demo for Football Manager 2008 was released on 30 September 2007.
The game was originally intended to be released on 19 October 2007, but due to early shipments by many retailers carrying their game, Sports Interactive moved the release date to 18 October 2007.
Several problems surfaced in the game, most of which had been reported to SI Games via their issues forum, and as a result a "Beta Patch" was released. This patch did not fix all problems, but was released early to fix major issues. A full patch was set to be released on 9 November 2007 but was delayed, and was finally released on 22 November 2007. The second and final patch was released on 14 February 2008 and updated on 20 February to attempt to fix three major issues that remained in the game. As with previous games, the patch updates the game's database with all the latest transfers and fixes many of the game's remaining bugs.
New features
There are a number of new features -- All features in matches seamlessly follow on from the previous one
- A mini radar pitch appears during tactical changes
- Improved International management
- New skin
- Advisor system
- Improved notebook system
- A revamped captain selection
- Improved board and fan confidence system
- Transfer centre to track transfers
- Improved match engine
- The player may change pitch dimensions
- Award system overhaul
- In-game all-time best elevens
- A revamped finance system
- Collective win bonuses
- FaceGen system for new-gen players
- New calendar
Playable leagues and club cups
Africa- CAF Champions LeagueCAF Champions LeagueThe CAF Champions League is an annual international club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football . The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition, which is the premier club football competition on the continent and the...
- CAF Confederation CupCAF Confederation CupThe CAF Confederation Cup is an international club association football competition run by the Confederation of African Football.-Qualification:...
- CAF Super CupCAF Super CupThe CAF Super Cup is an annual African association football competition contested between the winners of the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup. The competition was first held in 1993 and is organised by the Confederation of African Football...
South Africa
Asia and Oceania
- AFC Champions LeagueAFC Champions LeagueThe AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...
- AFC CupAFC CupThe AFC Cup is an annual international association football competition between domestic clubs sides run by the Asian Football Confederation . Qualification to the competition is to clubs from AFC-affiliated countries which fall into the AFC's 'developing nations' category as laid out in their...
- AFC President's CupAFC President's CupThe AFC President's Cup is an annual international association football competition between domestic clubs sides run by the Asian Football Confederation .-Competition format:...
- AFF Club Championship
- A3 Champions CupA3 Champions CupA3 Champions Cup was an annual football tournament sanctioned by the East Asian Football Federation. It began in 2003, involving the league champions of China, Japan and South Korea. The host nation also invited an additional team, making this a four team tournament. South Korea was the most...
- OFC Champions LeagueOFC Champions LeagueThe Oceania Champions League 2007 was held in January 2007 with six clubs from five member associations of the Oceania Football Confederation: New Zealand, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. The six clubs were split into two groups of three for home and away matches.Auckland City...
A-LeagueA-LeagueThe A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
(Hyundai A-League) China Hong Kong India Indonesia Malaysia Singapore South Korea
Mainland Europe
- UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
- UEFA CupUEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
- UEFA Intertoto CupUEFA Intertoto CupThe UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
- UEFA Super Cup Austria Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Finland France Germany1 Greece Hungary Iceland Israel Italy Netherlands
Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain
Switzerland Turkey Ukraine
UK & Ireland
- Setanta Cup England Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland Scotland Wales
Scandinavia
- Royal LeagueRoyal LeagueThe Royal League was an annual Scandinavian football tournament held three times between teams from the three Scandinavian monarchies , starting after the end of the regular domestic seasons of Norway and Sweden. Denmark, however, are in mid-season when the tournament starts...
Denmark Norway Sweden
North America
- CONCACAF Champions Cup
- SuperligaNorth American SuperLigaThe SuperLiga was an official North American association football competition between teams from the Primera División of Mexico and Major League Soccer of the United States and Canada, the top divisions in each country. The competition was sanctioned by CONCACAF, U.S...
Major League SoccerMajor League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
Mexico
South America
- Copa Libertadores
- Copa SudamericanaCopa SudamericanaThe Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana de Clubes , known simply as the Copa Sudamericana , is an annual international club football competition organized by the CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second most prestigious club competition in South American football. CONCACAF clubs were invited between 2004...
- Recopa SudamericanaRecopa SudamericanaThe Recopa Sudamericana is an annual football match-up between the reigning champions of the previous year's Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, South America's premier club competitions....
Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Peru Uruguay
1 - Germany's national team is not allowed to be included in the game due to licensing rights being owned by EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
' "FIFA" series
FIFA (series)
FIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label...
, whilst the Japanese J-League and the Japanese national team are not allowed in the game at all due to Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's purchase of the exclusive rights for their Pro Evolution Soccer
Pro Evolution Soccer
Pro Evolution Soccer is a series of football video game developed and published by Konami...
series.
Licenses
Miles Jacobson, MD of Sports Interactive, said:"We are very proud to announce the procurement of a license for the French Ligue de Football Professionnel, with both the 1st & 2nd divisions covered by the license that provides real club names, logo’s and kits for all the clubs in those leagues.
We also welcome back the Dutch national team to the game, which was missing from last years game.
On top of this, we have new licenses in Italy from Sampdoria and Fiorentina."
International competitions
Football Manager 2008 allows the player to compete in several of the largest football competitions in the world including:- World Cup - FIFA World CupFIFA World CupThe FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
- European Football Championship - European ChampionshipsUEFA European Football ChampionshipThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
- Copa America - Copa AméricaCopa AméricaThe Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...
- African Cup of Nations - African Cup of NationsAfrican Cup of NationsThe Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as the African Cup of Nations or African Nations Cup, officially CAN , is the main international association football competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football , and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been...
- Asian Nations Cup - AFC Asian CupAFC Asian CupThe AFC Asian Cup is an international association football tournament run by the Asian Football Confederation . It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and automatically qualifies for the FIFA...
- North American Gold Cup - CONCACAF Gold CupCONCACAF Gold CupThe CONCACAF Gold Cup is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the regional champion of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.The Gold Cup is held every two years and when it does not fall the same year as an...
- Confederations Cup - FIFA Confederations CupFIFA Confederations CupThe FIFA Confederations Cup is an association football tournament for national teams, currently held every four years by FIFA. It is contested by the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships , along with the FIFA World Cup winner and the host nation, to bring the number of teams...
- Olympics - Olympic GamesFootball at the Summer OlympicsAssociation football, usually known simply as football or soccer, has been included in every Olympiad except 1896 and 1932 as a men's competition sport. Women's football was added to the official programme in 1996.-Early history:...
- Under 20 World Cup - FIFA Under 20 World CupFIFA U-20 World CupThe FIFA U-20 World Cup, until 2005 known as the FIFA World Youth Championship, is the world championship of football for male players under the age of 20 and is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association...
However, due to licensing issues they are not allowed to be referred to by their proper name but the in-game competition format is exactly the same as the competition is in real life. It also uses qualifying matches.
Xbox 360
SI Games announced the Xbox 360Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version of the game on January 11, 2008, marking the release date for March 2008. The game would take advantage of Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
functionality for multiplayer games and leagues. Football Manager 2006
Football Manager 2006
Football Manager 2006 is a game in the Football Manager series of football management simulation games. It is available for PC, Mac, Xbox 360, and PSP platforms, and was released in the UK on October 21, 2005...
and Football Manager 2007
Football Manager 2007
Football Manager 2007 is the third game in the Football Manager series of football management simulation games by Sports Interactive, published by SEGA...
had previously been released for the console system.
External links
- Official Football Manager 2008 Site - Official game website from SEGA and Sports Interactive
- Official Worldwide Soccer Manager 2008 site - Official North American site from SEGA