The 80s Sinclair Spectrum version of Football Manager is being remade on Steam
After several delays, it wasn't too surprising to hear Sega had cancelled Football Manager 25. But this does mean fans are having to go an unusually long time without a new instalment, with still no guarantee of when the next game will be out.
Developer Sports Interactive has insisted it's working on another Football Manager game, but there's no word on whether it'll be called Football Manager 26 or if it'll even be out this year.
In the meantime, there is an alternative: a re-release of the original Football Manager. Not the 2005 game that kicked off Sega's series, but the 1982 original that was first released on the obscure Video Genie home computer and then various other formats of the 8-bit era.
Football Manager was originally created by Kevin Toms (whose face always appeared on the box cover) and found great success on the ZX Spectrum, although versions of it were ported to almost every home computer format of the 8-bit and 16-bit era, including the PC.
Despite being entirely text only it was a huge commercial success, although the last entry, in 1992, was made without Toms' involvement and the series faded from memory.
It was revived in 2005 by developer Sports Interactive, and publisher Sega, as a means of continuing the Championship Manager series – which had always been a spiritual successor to Football Manager – by another name, although Toms was never involved in the making of the games.
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.
Toms returned to the genre in 2016, with mobile game Football Star Manager, and now he's teamed up with publisher Curveball Games to bring the game to PC.
You won't need to wait long to play it either since it launches in just a couple of weeks on August 14, the same day as the start of the Premier League season.
You can find its Steam page here and while there's no mention of pricing at the time of writing, it presumably won't be particularly expensive since the mobile versions on the Apple and Google Play stores only cost £4.99.
The announcement trailer cheekily refers to the game as 'the original, the best, and the only Football Star Manager of the year' and jokes that it has 'none of the features you've come to expect from modern gaming.' More Trending
Rather than being literally the same game though, Football Star Manager is merely reminiscent of the original game and is not exactly the same in terms of graphics or interface – somewhere between a remaster and a remake.
Much like Sega's games, Football Star Manager features real player names and teams, although they seem to be a mixture of old and new, with teams featuring both Glen Hoddle and Alexandre Lacazette.
While Football Star Manager has already been around for nearly 10 years, it'll be interesting to see how it performs on Steam, since many younger fans will be unaware that the series goes all the way back to the dawn of home computing.
Nevertheless, with Sega's next entry MIA, this is an open goal for Football Star Manager to capitalise on until Football Manager 26, or heaven forbid Football Manager 27, finally appears.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
MORE: Football Manager 2024 fan admits sadistic revenge plot against players
MORE: Football Manager says they won't release 2024 update but there's an easy fix
MORE: The 20 best Commodore Amiga games to celebrate the 40th anniversary
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Developer Lizardcube talks reinventing SEGA's classic Shinobi series for a new age of players
Speaking to the lead game designer and lead background artist for Shinobi: Art of Vengeance to talk breathing new life into one of Sega's most treasured classic franchises. Having already worked wonders with Streets of Rage 4, we discuss with developer Lizardcube the tall task of trying to make lighting strike twice with a beloved Sega series. How do you follow up successfully reviving (and absolutely nailing) a beloved Sega arcade franchise for the modern era using punchy combat mechanics and a beautiful hand-drawn art style? By doing it again, of course. Such was the task developer Lizardcube faced when first starting out development on Shinobi: Art of Vengeance – the new, upcoming entry in the longstanding series of action-platformers set to launch this August 29, 2025. After playing roughly an hour of the game already and dubbing it a 'stunning and confident retooling' of the series in my preview, I have every reason to believe that the team is stepping up to the challenge and that Shinobi fans won't be disappointed. Sure, Lizardcube had already achieved great adoration for its work on Streets of Rage 4 previously, but sketching out various street-level environments to fight across is one thing, and creating a whole suite off attractive locations set within the Shinobi ninja universe another entirely. The key, says lead background artist Julian Nguyen-You, was to significantly increase the number of art assets created for each level. The hope being to provide players with much higher degrees of detail and variety, which should make living out their kunai-throwing ninja fantasies all the more enjoyable. 'Shinobi has more huge backgrounds,' says Nguyen-You. 'In Streets of Rage 4, it was only a straight area with some diagonals, but in Shinobi you can go everywhere in a stage'. This simple change from making a beat-em-up to a layered, vertically led 2D action-platformer was enough to almost triple the workload of the art department. 'All the assets we needed to create was maybe three times, four times bigger than [those] for Streets of Rage. For that game I was alone to do all the backgrounds, and for this one we were three people'. Purely in terms of scale, then, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance has turned out to be a far more ambitious project than Streets of Rage 4 ever was, even when considering the latter's follow-up DLC. However, for as iconic as Lizardcube's unique hand-drawn art style has quickly become, the goal wasn't simply to include more for more's sake. As Nguyen-You continues, 'We tried to put many memorable things in the background like a golden dragon, or something like this, and it was many, many hours of work drawing'. For as important as Shinobi: Art of Vengeance's art is to the overall game – it's right there in the title – such glorious visuals would mean nothing were it not backed up with tight, satisfying gameplay. A playable demo of the game's first level, Oboro Village, is available to download now for players curious to check out Lizardcube's combat bona fides, but it's been clear since playing through that first stage, plus the Lantern Festival level, months ago for preview, that this isn't your grandma's Shinobi game. No, instead, the team has been careful to sprinkle in all kinds of super abilities and special attacks to make Joe Musashi's moveset more fulfilling than ever. Master of the craft 'We really tried to pay homage to the first game,' explains Frederic Vincent, lead game designer on Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. 'And it's really not easy to find the right balance between what you're going to keep from the ancient games, and what you are going to leave and to keep'. Doing this meant gifting Muasashi with a new suite of moves while being respectful to the ninja idea. 'We wanted to recapture the feeling of playing a ninja using elegant moves, fast combat… that kind of stuff. It was more about what's the meaning of being a shinobi in the modern era'. My most recent time playing what Lizardcube has cooking up took me through two new levels, Fish Market and Neo City, both of which were a great display for Shinobi's combat. Fish Market is a stage just as slimy and grubby as it sounds, but still rendered beautifully using hand-drawn sketches. Using the Shinobi Execution to dart around the stage finishing off foes, unleashing the Fire Ninpo blast attack, and of course using Musashi's iconic kunai to attack enemies from a distance, it all felt great to do while hopping and dancing around the Fish Market's ever-moving containers and slippery streets. Neo City, meanwhile, is just as glamourous as it sounds, presenting totally different enemy types and enemies to tackle using super-responsive ninja attacks. Another way Art of Vengeance aims to set itself apart is by peppering in reasons to comb around levels, with plenty of hidden areas and collectibles to discover. Such inclusions help give this iteration of Shinobi a more, Metroidvania like flavour, as opposed to the simple linear arcade stages seen in previous games. 'For each stage you will have unique challenges you have to overcome,' Vincent continues. 'It's true that there is a lot of stuff happening in the first stage, but we really manage to keep this balance until the end of the game'. From specific combat challenges to ability-enhancing medallions to track down, Lizardcube has included plenty of excuses to let players fight and move through stages their own way. 'We implemented those features because they made a lot of sense for the feeling we wanted to get. The game feel of the combat, the way we ask you to move around the battlefield, manage some resources. Basically, we wanted the player to make some choices during combat, to really pitch what they want to do'. It's now less than a month until Shinobi: Art of Vengeance launches simultaneously on PC and consoles. And although the demo currently available offers players a small glimpse of what this incredibly stylised franchise return has to offer, Vincent and Nguyen-You both hint that there are plenty of surprises left in store. Shinobi does have the unfortunate challenge of releasing shortly after the unbelievably excellent Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, but the truth is that both ninja games are pitching a slightly different twist on the 2D action-platforming template – and there's room for Art of Vengeance to carve out its own identity within that.
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Battlefield 6 beta starts with 2 days early access next week, and here's how to get involved
As part of the big Battlefield 6 reveal, EA has confirmed that the game will indeed have a beta and you can try it out for yourself before the end of August. We've had a good look at Battlefield 6 now, and it's certainly sparking excitement, with a return to the elements that made the series so unique in the first place – unbridled chaos and destruction. And you can give it a whirl for yourself in the August beta weekends. Battlefield 6 has finally been unveiled with its first reveal trailer dropping last week, quickly followed by the multiplayer reveal trailer this week. In the meantime, whispers of a Battlefield 6 beta have been circulating, with leaks hinting at two beta weekends and a couple of days early access before that and lo and behold, they were pretty much on the money. The Battlefield 6 beta is happening across PS5, Xbox Series X |S and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, EA App) and you'll be able to preload the game as early as Monday, August 4 so if you're participating, make sure to get that downloaded so when doors open, you can just jump right in. EA has also revealed the PC specs for the Battlefield 6 beta as well as cautioning players on the platform that they'll need to enable Secure Boot to accommodate the company's Javelin Anticheat system. You can check out the specs below. While there were a few methods to secure early access to the Battlefield 6 beta, those opportunities have now passed – but we're not dismissing the chance of more betas with early access, so keep an eye out and be ready for next time, as EA could utilise the same methods to select participants, and we've more details on that below! Here's all you need to know about Battlefield 6 beta early access, the complete beta timetable, what's included, and how to ensure you don't miss it in the future. And remember, although there are no rewards for participating in the Battlefield 6 beta early access phase, you will earn rewards during open weekends, so you're not missing out on much. Battlefield 6 beta early access The Battlefield 6 beta early access period kicks off on Thursday, August 7 at 8am UTC and runs until Friday, August 8, giving you two full days to get to grips with everything before it opens up to everyone. As it continues straight into the first Battlefield 6 open beta weekend, there's no specific 'end time'. Here's exactly when it starts in your local time: 1am UTC 2am MDT 3am CDT 4am EDT 8am UTC 9am BST 10am CET 11am EEST 4pm AWST 5pm JST 6pm AEST How to get Battlefield 6 beta early access The initial way to gain Battlefield 6 beta early access was to be a Battlefield Labs member (or at least have registered) before Thursday, July 31, which is when the multiplayer reveal trailer was released. Battlefield Labs allows players to trial what EA is developing behind the scenes, making it a win-win situation for all involved. No code is needed – you're simply given access on the EA account you used to register. EA has temporarily halted sign-ups, but it's worth keeping tabs on the game's social media channels so you can have another go when they reopen on the official website. Given that members received early access to the Battlefield 6 beta, we might see a similar scenario during a potential second beta. The second method, linked to the reveal, involved watching certain Twitch creators during the reveal streams on Thursday, July 31, to secure a Battlefield 6 beta early access code as a Twitch Drop. Watching streams of eligible creators for an hour would've landed you a code that you could redeem to gain early access to the Battlefield 6 beta. I'd suggest linking your EA account to Twitch in the meantime, so you're all set if EA organises something similar again. You can find the instructions for this on the EA website. Keep in mind that pre-ordering the Battlefield 6 Phantom Edition will get you a beta code, but not for early access. Considering most retailers don't charge for a pre-order until it's dispatched, you could pre-order, participate in the beta, and then cancel your pre-order if you decide it's not for you (or spot a better offer elsewhere). As for the pre-load, it should become available for everyone before the Battlefield 6 beta early access period kicks off, on Monday, August 4 at 3pm UTC which is 8am PDT / 11am EDT / 4pm BST. According to the PC specs (via EA), anticipate the file size to be around 75GB, at least on PC. What's included in the Battlefield 6 beta? Brace yourselves for the Battlefield 6 beta early access and open weekends – you're in for a treat with a chance to explore some of the nine confirmed maps, dive into four All-Out Warfare modes, and get up close and personal with four Close Quarters Combat modes. While EA is keeping schtum on the specifics for now, and the chatter so far isn't backed by solid facts, rest assured we'll bring you the latest as soon as it's set in stone. For now, feast your eyes on the full roster of maps and modes that we'll whittle down once we've got the scoop on what's making the cut for the Battlefield 6 beta. Maps Nine maps are hitting the ground running at launch, and we'll be sampling a selection during the beta: Liberation Peak Empire State New Sobek City Manhattan Bridge Iberian Offensive Mirak Valley Siege of Cairo Saints Quarter Operation Firestorm Classic All-Out Warfare modes These classic modes are fan favourites, and there's even a fresh face among them with Escalation, where "two teams battle over territory at an epic scale": Conquest Breakthrough Rush Escalation Fast-paced CQC Not everyone is cut out for grand-scale warfare. But fear not, EA has got the goods for those who fancy their action fast and furious with Close Quarter Combat modes: Team Deathmatch Domination Squad Deathmatch King of the Hill Stay tuned – we'll update you with the precise details of what you can plunge into once EA gives the green light on the Battlefield 6 beta early access.
The Guardian
14 hours ago
- The Guardian
Punch bags, penny pushers and Hillbilly shootouts: the 10 best classic seaside arcade machines
The seaside day trip remains an almost essential component of the school summer holidays, and although the big beachfront arcades have changed a lot over the last decade, they are still a magnet for small kids with handfuls of change, as well as adults hoping to spy an old Space Invaders cabinet in the back. As a child of the 1980s, coin-op video games were an obsession, but what really fascinated me were the older machines, the electro-mechanical oddities that hung on into the digital age. Here are 10 of the best – please add your own in the comments. Long before the arrival of computer chips and CRT monitors, arcade driving games featured projected images of landscapes or even scrolling paintings to give the impression of hurtling along a road. The first examples arrived in the 1930s and a few later models, such as Chicago Coin's Speedway and Sega's Grand Prix stuck around in seaside arcades well into the 1980s. I remember playing a later example, Kasco's astonishing 1979 arcade game The Driver, on the pier at Blackpool. It used 16mm footage of a real race to put you right in the action. There was a time when the rapid-fire noise of plastic pucks rebounding around large snooker-like tables was a constant soundtrack in larger arcades. Air Hockey was invented by US company Brunswick Billiards in 1969 and it quickly caught on across the globe offering a fast-paced alternative to pool and table football. You can still find them in retro arcades, especially in traditional seaside towns such as Great Yarmouth, Blackpool and Southend. These large installations feature tin horses lining up on a race track – six to eight players each sit at a cabinet in front of the course and throw balls at a target in order to move their equine racer toward the finishing line: the most accurate player wins. It seems the original version of the game, Kentucky Derby, was brought to Blackpool Pleasure Beach in the 1920s by George Valentine Tonner, an Irish-American soldier, jockey and amusement park concessionaire who also patented an early version of dodgems. Later examples swap horses for donkeys or camels, while a smaller variant, The Derby by Whittaker Bros, invited multiple players to bet on the outcome of automated horse races for a modest payback. Toy vending machines followed gumball machines into American stores, cafes and station platforms in the 1930s, but it was in 1965 that the first gachapon machine was installed in a shop in Tokyo by entrepreneur Ryuzo Shigeta. These dispensed their wares in cute little plastic capsules, and the idea caught on. More commonly known as egg machines in the UK, most 1980s seaside arcades would have a couple outside the entrance, the most famous examples being Glendale's Oranges and Lemons and Lucky Eggs machines, the later of which would dispense your prize from a rotating, clucking hen – which made it that much more special. You'd get rows of these large machines, often at the back of the arcade, giving players a number of chances to lob a basketball through a hoop, usually within a caged play area so you didn't accidentally launch the ball across the room. Classics such as Hoop Shot, Triple Jam and Full Court Fever added features including moving hoops and connected play so you could compete against pals on nearby machines. This was always where the rowdy teens hung out. Originating in the late 19th century these arcade and boardwalk amusements usually feature animated automatons, often stereotypical representations of Gypsies, witches or ancient Middle Eastern royalty. Put in a coin and the mystic character gestures, breathes and speaks your fortune (or deposits a card with your fortune written on it), accompanied by special effects such as a glowing crystal ball. Notable examples include Madame Zita, the creepy 1977 innovation Morgana, whose face is a video projection on to a featureless foam head, and Zoltar, which inspired the 1988 movie Big. Other automaton machines feature dancing puppets and absolutely terrifying laughing clowns. Beloved of young men keen to prove their masculinity, these have been around since at least 190o when the Chicago-based Mills Novelty Co released its Punching Bag model, complete with ornate oak stand. Modern versions have digital displays featuring accurate strength read-outs, but you're still just hitting a ball as hard as you can. Other strength testing machines include the Mr Muscle machine from Italian manufacturer Zamperla, which challenged you to arm wrestle with an intimidating plastic man. Also known as claw machines, these remain a staple arcade experience. You slot in a coin and use the joystick to direct an ineffectual grabber towards your desired toy. Usually, it makes a pathetic attempt before dropping the item millimetres away from the delivery chute (mostly because the claws can be set to only grip at full strength for a minority of attempts). The first commercial example is thought to be the Erie Digger manufactured in the US through the 1920s but since then well-known arcade manufacturers such as Sega and Bally have created their own examples, the former revolutionising the market in the 1980s with its UFO Catcher machines offering larger prizes and a brighter kawaii look. They remain irresistible. Light gun shooting galleries were in every arcade in the 70s and 80s, but my favourite examples were the large installations featuring lifesize scenes to shoot at, often with a wild west, pirate or gangster theme. The one I most remember playing – I think in Blackpool's Coral Island arcade – was called Hillybilly Moonshine and it had several mannequins dressed in overalls as well as a big copper distiller and various barrels and critters. If you hit the hillbillies they fired water pistols at you. You can still find these dotted about in surviving coin-op houses and they're really worth a go. Invented by Ramsgate-based manufacturing firm Cromptons in 1966 (though there were earlier variants), coin push games are the kings of the seaside arcade, dominating the floor space and enticing players with their piles of sparkling treasure surely ready to fall at any second. The original was called Penny Falls, but there are hundreds of variations now, including virtual coin pushers, which move the action on to a screen with lots of special effects. Oh, the hours I spent during summer holidays wandering the arcades of Blackpool and Morecambe, a plastic cup of 2p coins in my hand, scrutinising these seductive machines. 'Penny pushers are absolutely pivotal to the success of the British amusement arcade,' says lecturer and historian Alan Meades, author of Arcade Britannia: A Social History of the British Amusement Arcade. 'Alongside the fruit machine they are where the arcades made their money – penny pushers could last for decades – retooled with currency changes – and recouped their costs time and again.'
