Series FM Classic - A good or bad thing for FMH?

[Dec]

So Football Manager 2013 information was released last week and it bought something very eye raising for a seasoned FMH addict like myself. Now FM has always been the ‘top dog’ compared to FMH due to the playing styles and device capacities but that wasn’t the point of FMH anyway so even comparing the ‘modern FM’ to FMH is a ridiculous concept in itself. However, this could soon change as Miles Jacobson sat at his

and excitedly announced FM Classic (referred to as FMC from here on in).

So what is FMC? Well it is a stripped back version of FM that resembles the earlier games and has your staff taking over various tasks that are included in the ‘full version’. The game mode has unlockables that can be unlocked (7 of them) or bought (there’s 12/13 in total meaning 5/6 are buy only) and games are shown in highlights and not full matches.

Sound familiar? Well of course! FMC aims to be a lighter version of the full game and as Miles said in his interview with PC gamer a season will take a “few evenings not a few weeks”, therefore the mode will be aimed at people whom are like myself and are impatient or have time constraints due to family life for example, but they still want some of the depth FM brings to the table.

With the PC’s superior power there are a lot of extra features including a 3D match engine but the general feel of the game is in a similar structure to FMH with the ‘light-hearted’ approach taken due to the unlockables being added in. I personally believe that FMC will provide an insight into the possibility of what FMH can become in the future and with a core majority of the FMH features; such as team training only, no team talks and limited media, being included into the FMC game mode and it shows that Sports Interactive want to bridge the gap between FMH and FM with FMC while providing some general direction for the FMH series.

I believe there’s a case to argue whether this is a positive move for the Handheld series or a negative one. Obviously many people come to FMH as they don’t have time to play FM anymore so get a tablet and play the game as it is quicker and FMC will impact on this, though I still believe the beauty of the Handheld series is that it’s accessible whether you’re at work on a break or on the bus home you can dip in and play it. FMC won’t have this and though will be faster than normal FM it will still be slower than FMH and not be available everywhere and will require a laptop/computer to be played so therefore may be better while on a long train journey or at home when the partner is watching soap operas.

The positives will be many with people going into the full version of FM and back down as time increases/decreases naturally as the transition goes from school to College/Jobs to family life. This means hopefully more people will get into FMH albeit later in the cycle but it should give more recognition to the game due to the PC one being largely popular with the Handheld series still a niche. Also as mentioned earlier it will give the FMH game a general direction as things can be tried out, tested and modified before being inserted in the Handheld game via the means of FMC and popular things can then be added into FMH that may not be included already for 2013.

The growth FMH can do with the guidance of FMC can be huge and I don’t really see anything bad coming from this as they can work hand in hand to improve both parts of the Football Manager series. In my opinion I think this is a great thing for the FMH series and shows how much SI rate it now as they are prepared to take things such as the challenge mode and unlockables and put them in their ‘full game’; in which is nearly always in the top played charts on Steam, and this shows the success of not only FM but FMH too. Plus with the ability to play as more nations and with new additions to the FMH game in FMC it gives a little bit extra for those with time on the computer who love playing FMH like I do, it really is a win-win for Sports Interactive, FM players and FMH players alike.

What do you think about FM Classic being added to FM2013?

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[Chelsea8]

Nice one Dec . I like the classic mode and it will be a lot helpful for people who don't have much time on their hands, as you said. I don't think I will use the feature and still use the normal mode as I like the depth of the game but I think it is a nice addition .

[Ashez]

I've never played FM due to having to share my PC with 7 people, but this has caught my attention.

If i had my own PC i'd defo give it a try but i'll never move to FM because my favorite thing about FMH is Vibe .

Hopefully this FMC will indeed help FMH grow and i'm excited for the future.

Great article Dec.

[Roland]

this seems great, even if Handheld has other advantages.

but i'm more interested to understand if FMH 2013 will be released on Psp.

his interview has given little space to my hopes.

are there any hopes, dec?

[William]

Really nice read there Dec, personally having played both the PC and Handheld versions of the game I will not be transitioning to Classic as I like playing one extremely in depth and the other pick up and play. However I do agree it is a good thing for FMH, it seems Miles and the SI team see the game (FMH) as an inspiration for the main title and vice versa.

[Dec]

Cheers guys, thought I'd give my opinion on it . Glad you enjoyed it.

[Jayze]

I think it can only be seen as a good thing. If users of the PC version play Classic and like it, they may be more inclined to spend say £7 on the Ipod version.

[Poloflow]

Interesting news and nicely covered, thanks Dec I reckon a good thing, to answer your question. I can see Classic, among other things, being a vehicle to improve our beloved FMH - particularly the IOS version with enough capacity/memory for enhanced features. One thing's for sure, I dare not buy the game - I already spend hours on FMH. I'll end up single if I buy this! :blink:

[Macflyer]

Have to say I haven't tried FMC myself but rather playing the full game and FMH.

According to Miles, FMC is the answer to people who can't afford wasting time on the full game but also don't like the smaller database, fewer options, leagues, etc. on FMH.

I do believe, FMC could become FMH on future tablets if they, SI, accept tablets as a different breed than phones. Well, if the Intel Win 8 tablets make it, anybody could play FMC anywhere.

I do believe SI should stop beating the dead horse on PSP or first generation iOS devices. If they aim for a coherent FMH franchise, FMH 13 will only be as good as the weakest link in the chain. And, if the past is any indication, we see some more polish, another small feature or two rather than something groundbreaking.

But, I'll be happy if they surprise me otherwise

[MisterZhifei]

Have to say I haven't tried FMC myself but rather playing the full game and FMH.

According to Miles, FMC is the answer to people who can't afford wasting time on the full game but also don't like the smaller database, fewer options, leagues, etc. on FMH.

I do believe, FMC could become FMH on future tablets if they, SI, accept tablets as a different breed than phones. Well, if the Intel Win 8 tablets make it, anybody could play FMC anywhere.

I do believe SI should stop beating the dead horse on PSP or first generation iOS devices. If they aim for a coherent FMH franchise, FMH 13 will only be as good as the weakest link in the chain. And, if the past is any indication, we see some more polish, another small feature or two rather than something groundbreaking.

But, I'll be happy if they surprise me otherwise

Great point about beating the dead horse. I think, at the moment, Sports Interactive are trying to gain sales from Handheld on PSP, and arguably Android, rather than really creating the best game they can.

I understand with Android there is an issue with the APKs, but they should just give up PSP and go for more of a niche market with high-end devices on iOS and possibly Android. If they improve the game, I'm sure many more people would buy it on iOS and Android - perhaps even for a higher price!

At the moment, they are wasting time on PSP (albeit not much time, it seems) whereas I think that time would be better spent on markets with more potential for FMH (iOS and Android). If they target the game at the new Apple devices, and as Macflyer said, and create an exclusive game for tablets, I think they will achieve for sales and popularity, as gameplay will be better.

Having said that, this is not criticism of SI, they are a business and need to make profit from their hard work, but I think they are currently going in the wrong direction.

Great article, by the way, Dec, and I personally think Football Manager Classic will be a good thing, although it may detract people away from FMH. It is a good idea from Miles Jacobson and Co., though, as it gives PC gamers the option to go for a lighter dose of FM.

I personally play FMH not because it's portable, but mainly because its lighter. I prefer to do everything in-depth, but with the computer, it just takes too much time and I am happy with FMH, at the moment, although some minor adjustments would improve it a lot.

[Dec]

Most of SI's sales are from Android games that are 2.3 or below in software in fact 75%. If it wasn't for these then SI wouldn't make a profit on Android and as for the tablet only that makes no sense as a lot of people have an iPhone and play FMH so would be doing less for the series than they are better. However with PSP I totally agree.

[MisterZhifei]

Most of SI's sales are from Android games that are 2.3 or below in software in fact 75%. If it wasn't for these then SI wouldn't make a profit on Android and as for the tablet only that makes no sense as a lot of people have an iPhone and play FMH so would be doing less for the series than they are better. However with PSP I totally agree.

Fair enough, I didn't know about the Android sales. But surely if they released a special game for the iPad, and charged more, it would receive quite a few sales?

[Dec]

It receives quite a few sales as it is but at the moment the SI team are 2 people dealing with more consoles than there are people, plus when the game has worked well on PSP it can easily work on the iPhone and it is doing with many iOS sales coming from people with an iPod or iPhone. I bet if you ask the majority of people here who play on iOS what they play on they will say iPhone or iPod, don't change what is broken.