In just seven days, the new edition of Football Manager will launch after a successful Beta period, which has inspired great response from the invariably engaged fanbase. This is the moment that all football simulation gamers live for every year, when SI's infamous, studious dedication to the intricacies of tactics and statistical analysis meet to create the single most immersive, rewarding game on the market for football fans. We've already started to look at some of the players who will shape the game, in the shape of some
potential Football Manager 2014 Wonderkids, and as we gear up for the game's full review, and to spend more hours than is probably healthy within the game, we were given some time to speak to Miles Jacobson, Football Manager's supremo, and very possibly the franchise's biggest fan...
WhatCulture: I have to say, I'm about as big a Football Manager fan as possibly imaginable, my earliest gaming memories are actually of playing Champ Manager 2, and it's a real pleasure. Miles Jacobson: excellent - I'm glad you've enjoyed our work for so many years. That was the first game I worked on too - as a tester.
So, FM 13 was hugely popular and successful, even despite some bleating about the Steam only distribution model, were you at all surprised with the growth? M J: In some ways yes - we thought that by adding Classic mode we'd get some people back into the game, and some new people too. And were hoping that adding a Turkish translation would also help. And both of those did. But what we weren't really expecting was to be uncracked for 6 months, and that definitely had a positive effect on sales too. The Steam only thing had actually helped FM12, so we knew that there wouldn't be any issues there - people who aren't happy about those systems tend to shout very loudly, but are often a small minority. Steam have given extra possibilities to the people playing the game, like better matchmaking for network games, leaderboards, automatic updates, so most see it as a positive.
Which is remarkably impressive, and presumably cause for lots of crowing for the security team... MJ: The team behind the security are always very quiet - to the point that I can't even tell you who they are, or where they are, but they are genius' and we're very lucky to work with them.
That sounds very The Man From U.N.C.L.E. MJ: Ha - it is a bit like that. They aren't directly part of our dev team, but do work as part of the SEGA group. The brief was to make something that wouldn't be noticed, at all, by the paying customer and they did that very well.
A lot of people will reductively still talk about piracy as a victimless crime, but what sort of impact was it actually having on the series? MJ: We're actually going to release all of the figures at London Games Conference - when the game was eventually cracked, the cracked version still "phoned home", so we know exactly how many IP addresses downloaded the game, how many times it was booted from said IP address, and have been working through that data to work out how many actual people downloaded, and how many played 5 or more times. We'll also be releasing figures on what effect not being cracked had on sales in the first 6 months of release, and how the sales were affected in those countries after being cracked. I'm not one who has ever said that one illegal download is one lost sale, and the figures bear that out - but there are definitely people out there that would purchase if they can't get it for free, as the figures will show.
I was somewhat surprised to read that 10% of users had played the Classic Mode of FM13 - I actually expected it to be higher given how slick that version is. But then I suppose you already have an established base of players who sort of expect the denseness of the stats and the experience. Was the decision to bring it in more focused on new players? MJ: It was focused on new players, and lapsed players. It came about because some people at the studio found that they didn't have the time to put into the game anymore, even though they wanted to - mainly because they'd had children. So they wanted a game mode that they could play, and we did some research and found that there are lots of people out there in the same position - some had moved to playing Football Manager Handheld, some were wanting to play, but had no time. So we made a game for those people - and then realised that it's also a great way to introduce people to what we do (as is FMH.) All three games - FMH, FMC & FM, are great in their own way, but aimed at slightly different audiences. We want to be able to entertain as many people as possible.
There has to be a lot of job satisfaction that comes from making a game for yourselves, and realising it's a global phenomenon - what are you most proud of in terms of this year's version? MJ: See - that's like asking me "who is your favourite nephew". I love them all!And is there anything you really wish you could have added that had to be pushed back a little onto the pile of future possibilities? We actually cut quite a few features this year relatively late in the cycle, due to a lack of time to do it properly. We could have added a lot more things in, but then not had the polish level anywhere near where it needs to be. But it's all good, because it's a nice head start for Football Manager 2015 - we've got around 300 features set to "not move" in our features DB, so those will definitely get done. Then over 1,000 in the "probable" list. And that's before we go through 1,200+ ideas in our feature meetings. We've easily got enough ideas in our various feature databases for the next 3 versions of the game, so hopefully people will buy FM14 so we get to make some more.
I've played it a lot, that's not going to be a problem if the reviews are as glowing as I suspect they will be based on my experience. MJ: Very glad you're enjoying it - we just (literally an hour or so ago) released an update to the beta, which has over 600 fixes in it, and a match engine that we're really happy with.
We've talked a lot about scouting in the office, because we always tend to be focused on finding gems, and we play against one another in online games, but there must be logistical nightmares behind trying to make sure scouts aren't falsely overpowering their favourite players? MJ: Very much so. We have huge checks & balances before any of the data goes out into the public, which highlight anything strange in the data - so hopefully it's all sane.
The 20 rating for Shola Ameobi for penalties was spot on. If a little low in fact. MJ: Ha!
It is incredibly impressive how quick you tend to be with fixes and how responsive to the community - when you look at games like GTA V that come out basically half finished and full of holes. MJ: Well, to be fair, there's no excuse for games with bugs, and I don't think we've had a release yet that's been anywhere clean enough. But we do our best, and I'm proud of our reaction times - and interaction. Since the beta came out we've added more ways in the studio to talk to people on Twitter, as it's nigh on impossible to do tech support there. So the QA team are answering to people whether they're being asked directly, or it's me being asked, or the FM account - pointing them in the right direction to get the answer to their problem.
I suppose it must also be incredibly validating when clubs like Everton are actively using your database too...? MJ: Well, Mr.Moyes has left Everton now, and no one at the club has phoned us to ask about the new DB this year. But we should hopefully have some interesting news in that area in a few weeks - very much a "watch this space" question.
Please say you're providing information to Joe Kinnear. MJ: Ha ha.
Are there any plans to wade back into the console waters? MJ: We're coming to Vita - does that count? There are no plans for Xbox 360, PS3, PS4 or Xbox One though. If only they'd come bundled with keyboards and mice, rather than gesture control systems and touchpads, we'd have considered it. But as it is we don't think the market is big enough for us to justify not just the financial cost, but also the mental cost of taking people away from one project and onto console versions. We're still quite a small team compared to most.
Yeah, it makes perfect sense - I don't actually think console gamers are as tuned in to that sort of expansive gaming experience anyway. Do you actually get to play FM recreationally? I know you said you ostensibly make the game for you and the team, but is there an element of taking your work home? MJ: I do play it, a lot. Both from a work perspective and a fun perspective. I started a game on the same day that the beta came out to make sure I'm playing exactly the same version that the public are - and then at the weekend was playing that version, and the latest one. So I play it both as a player and as a Director. The former til March/April, then switch into full time Director mode til release. With the mobile versions, they're directed by Marc Vaughan, so I get to play those mainly as a punter, which is also lots of fun.
I suppose that allows you some removal as well - if the features are like your kids, it must be difficult to pick and choose which ones to take out for the mobile version. MJ: The mobile version is actually a completely different codebase - so they don't take features, just the ideas. And, to be fair, there are lots of ideas that the mobile team have that we nick for FM too.
There have been some notorious Wonderplayers in the past - who's been your favourite, if you have one that sticks out. MJ: Leo Messi? Or do you mean one who didn't make it? Tonton Zola Moukoukou was one I always used to buy - and he had huge talent in real life too, but lost his way a bit. He still plays now - just not at the level we were expecting. I'm very proud of our strike rate though - people always remember the players who they learn about from the game first, and the handful that don't make it, but don't often think of the hundreds of thousands of other players that our researchers rate accurately.
How much of your day is spent fielding ridiculous questions about features fans have dreamt up, or dealing with "Michael Carrick is never a 19 for passing"? MJ: This year has been mainly people asking about Sturridge, and why he doesn't have 20 for finishing. They are soon quiet after I tell them his real life shots : goals ratio. And some players do complain about their in game stats. As do their agents. No one complains in a legal way - just in a "can I have a boost here please" kind of way. The answer is normally no, unless they ask for another stat to be taken down to the same degree, or have a valid point - which sometimes they do!
Everyone's a scout these days - I actually think its one of those moments where culture has influenced real life, everyone uses FM as a guide for who their team should sign every transfer window. Again, a sure sign of the quality of the game. MJ: I've just had the following tweet.... "Is it just me, or did Premier League managers only start using the 'False Nine' after the #FM14 beta came out? Coincidence? Nope! @milesSI"
Exactly! It definitely wouldn't surprise me if Pardew had got the idea for Liverpool from it... MJ: But then we don't see ourselves making computer games really - we make football products. I have friends who work on more traditional games who are bombarded by people in the games industry wanting copies of their new game. I get maybe 10 people in the industry asking for a copy - but we have hundreds of footballers who get it each year.
Which is why the "we are football" slogan is on entirely the wrong product... MJ: They got there first! And, we're not football. We're management.
I imagine a lot of people have attempted to lean on you to bring in a playable match feature to close the gap between the two types of simulation? MJ: A few have asked - including some on the team here. But who is going to play a 90 minute game? The action games on the market aren't simulations - if you play a 90 minute game of either you're going to get huge scorelines. So turning FM into an action game would require a completely new engine - and that's just not our speciality. I'm not saying "never", just that it would be a very different game - or one that required 90 minutes of action.
Away from the game, what are your expectations for Watford? MJ: This is the first season that I can ever remember that I've said at the start of the season "we're going up". And despite not the greatest start ever, I still stick by that. Might be through the playoffs, but we'll be there or there abouts.
Ian Holloway has just left Crystal Palace. It must be slightly worrying as a Watford fan when a team gets rid, and you have a massive prospect as your boss. MJ: Argh! Hadn't even thought of that. But Zola is going nowhere. I don't think Zola will go unless a) it's a big club b) he thinks he's ready to make that move.
Cheers, Miles.