Thank you very much SI!

[Kawee]

For being such a decent game developer.

I've been a gamer all my life, and I'm really disgusted by the direction the gaming industry is heading towards.

Two things in particular, really turn me off:

1. Focus on aesthetics rather than gameplay

2. The new marketing strategy of DLCs

Case in point: The Total War Franchise.

Total War has suffered from poor AI and pathfinding for the longest time, yet it has barely been improved. Instead, they're pushing the limits of how beautiful the game look with every title. Understandable, since that sells the game so well.

Imagine if we still have FM05 Match Engine, but great 3D graphics. I'd hate that. Imagine if the AI is so ********, anyone could win the league in the first year with Wigan, scoring 100+ goals. SI have stuck true to the real reason people play this game, and that is the game mechanics. We all have our complaints about the game (I'm a harsh critic myself) but we cannot argue that SI have tried to improve every aspect of their game mechanics every year. ME, tactics, training, press conference, etc, while still maintaing standards across the board. You name it.

Total War has also followed the path of many developers of squeezing out as much money from fans as possible by selling DLCs. Personally, I got nothing against DLCs per se, as long as it doesn't withhold core gameplay content. Cosmetics DLCs such as artwork and music are all fine for me. Expansion packs that also add something different is also fine, and should be encouraged, I think. However, what you get nowadays are DLCs that unlock game content. Rome Total War, a grand strategy game about ancient Rome, won't have the ancient Greeks to play unless you pay more for them. This is Day 1 DLC, which means its already part of the game, but just withheld from you. They're going to release more DLCs for you to buy if you want to play the other factions.

Imagine if FM only offers Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A and nothing else. You have to pay for other leagues. How crazy would that be!

FM is so respectful, they even allow people to share new content (facepacks and other edits) for free! FREE! People have to realize how ridiculously nice that is in this crazy gaming industry.

Thank SI. Thank you for being decent. It's crazy that it gets to point that I'm thankful for a decent game developer, but I am. Thank you

[forameuss]

Well they've already tested the waters with microtransactions. I can only see that increasing in FM14. I don't think they'll lock off content though, they'll stop at that. They're certainly a lot fairer than some developers, but they're a business at the end of the day.

[borobadger]

I'd definitely echo all of that, not many game developers listen to their community in the same way the SI do, and they actually try to use the fans ideas for the game, instead of focusing entirely on profit.

[cyborgscouse]

For being such a decent game developer.

I've been a gamer all my life, and I'm really disgusted by the direction the gaming industry is heading towards.

Two things in particular, really turn me off:

1. Focus on aesthetics rather than gameplay

2. The new marketing strategy of DLCs

Case in point: The Total War Franchise.

Total War has suffered from poor AI and pathfinding for the longest time, yet it has barely been improved. Instead, they're pushing the limits of how beautiful the game look with every title. Understandable, since that sells the game so well.

Imagine if we still have FM05 Match Engine, but great 3D graphics. I'd hate that. Imagine if the AI is so ********, anyone could win the league in the first year with Wigan, scoring 100+ goals. SI have stuck true to the real reason people play this game, and that is the game mechanics. We all have our complaints about the game (I'm a harsh critic myself) but we cannot argue that SI have tried to improve every aspect of their game mechanics every year. ME, tactics, training, press conference, etc, while still maintaing standards across the board. You name it.

Total War has also followed the path of many developers of squeezing out as much money from fans as possible by selling DLCs. Personally, I got nothing against DLCs per se, as long as it doesn't withhold core gameplay content. Cosmetics DLCs such as artwork and music are all fine for me. Expansion packs that also add something different is also fine, and should be encouraged, I think. However, what you get nowadays are DLCs that unlock game content. Rome Total War, a grand strategy game about ancient Rome, won't have the ancient Greeks to play unless you pay more for them. This is Day 1 DLC, which means its already part of the game, but just withheld from you. They're going to release more DLCs for you to buy if you want to play the other factions.

Imagine if FM only offers Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A and nothing else. You have to pay for other leagues. How crazy would that be!

FM is so respectful, they even allow people to share new content (facepacks and other edits) for free! FREE! People have to realize how ridiculously nice that is in this crazy gaming industry.

Thank SI. Thank you for being decent. It's crazy that it gets to point that I'm thankful for a decent game developer, but I am. Thank you

The game is decent enough but only decent. The lack of a rival to the football manager franchise has led in my opinion to relative stagnation in actual improvements in the game itself, there might be some improvements but some of the things you mention there aren't improvements, or things to be bragged about;

The press conferences aren't really an improvement on last years and are pretty much stale/redundant with the same questions often being asked and I'd be surprised if more than 10% of people did them anymore. (if I'm right this is often one of the 'hundreds of new things' they say this years had) I understand that there can't be an unlimited number of new questions for you to be asked in them, but overall you get the same ones every month. Additions like the deadline day might have been nice to see the first time it pops up and again in the January window, but again after the first season does anyone actually take part in them? After my first season I didn't take part in another deadline day knowing I'd see the same 4 questions popping up every time i.e. is player A going to leave, how close are you to buying player B, do you think player C will flop at team whatever, you have a lot of money will you spend it? Again only something small but when it's classed as one of the hundreds (paraphrasing because I don't have the case in front of me) additions its largely worthless.

Training: Not entirely sure the training needed to be changed this year, I preferred last years training when you could have a player training in multiple areas at ones with the same level of focus i.e. attacking, ball control, mentality etc. Now its either positional or individual attribute, so I cant see this being classed as an improvement overall.

I think game mechanics, the match engine and tactics are all too debatable to be classed as either an improvement or a downgrade, for every person who says one thing you'll get someone else saying another. They can't please everyone but when you have a divided fan base over whether the main things in your game are good or not, it's hard to class it as an improvement.

If you go back as far as 2005 then yes it will look massively better but a lot of people who have stopped playing this, and there is a lot considering how much the activity on the forums has dropped, have generally gone back to last years game.

As for the DLC thing, I couldn't see them getting away with it to the level you mention with them only offering 4 leagues to start with. The sales figures for the game don't add up to them being able to alienate a massive part of their consumer base by withholding the majority of the game, it's done a lot worse than last years game did, especially in the first 9-10 weeks. Most DLC works on the opposite path than what you're talking about, giving most of the game whilst offering small things out in exchange for money, your example was them giving us four leagues and nothing more. That would quite possibly be suicide for them.

[jasse]

smells nice doesnt it?

[MichaelBrown]

Well they've already tested the waters with microtransactions. I can only see that increasing in FM14. I don't think they'll lock off content though, they'll stop at that. They're certainly a lot fairer than some developers, but they're a business at the end of the day.

It'll be a sad day if FM goes down the route of making fans pay more to see features that we've had in previous years.

[Kawee]

@cyborgscouse

No doubt about it that monopoly usually leads to stagnation, but I don't see any evidence at all that SI is sitting on their laurels. Like I said, we all have complaints about the game, but I think that at the very least, due to the nature of the beast perhaps, SI is at least focusing on the game, rather than just the looks of it.

Competition doesn't gaurantee good products in the gaming world anymore. The FPS genre is probably one of the most competitive one out there, yet it is still filled with same-game-new-colors garbage.

[moon_goat]

Didn't SI offer DLC things so you can pay for extra features or extra something this year? Considering the game is supposed to be a simulation, and one of the main things they've always refrained from adding is difficulty modes in the game, it seems really hypocritical to be able to buy things with real money to make things easier

For a company that's always claimed to be on morally high ground, that sounds a little weird to me. Why would they stop though, it's really scummy, but why would they stop; there's nobody to compete with them, and everyone will buy the game every year.

[cyborgscouse]

@cyborgscouse

No doubt about it that monopoly usually leads to stagnation, but I don't see any evidence at all that SI is sitting on their laurels. Like I said, we all have complaints about the game, but I think that at the very least, due to the nature of the beast perhaps, SI is at least focusing on the game, rather than just the looks of it.

Competition doesn't gaurantee good products in the gaming world anymore. The FPS genre is probably one of the most competitive one out there, yet it is still filled with same-game-new-colors garbage.

Agree to disagree about SI then, I think the majority of the improvements are how the game looks whilst the others can be debated from either side and often are. I agree with you on the FPS genre though

[cyborgscouse]

Didn't SI offer DLC things so you can pay for extra features or extra something this year? Considering the game is supposed to be a simulation, and one of the main things they've always refrained from adding is difficulty modes in the game, it seems really hypocritical to be able to buy things with real money to make things easier

For a company that's always claimed to be on morally high ground, that sounds a little weird to me. Why would they stop though, it's really scummy, but why would they stop; there's nobody to compete with them, and everyone will buy the game every year.

I thought thats what the achievements were meant to unlock? Like extra money but I've never seen anything about it since, as far as the sales this years game has done nowhere near as well as last

[themadsheep2001]

I thought thats what the achievements were meant to unlock? Like extra money but I've never seen anything about it since, as far as the sales this years game has done nowhere near as well as last

This isnt true?

Football Manager ‏@FootballManager 6h

SEGA have announced their financials today and #FM13 has passed 1m sales! A full FIVE months earlier than #FM12!

Football Manager ‏@FootballManager 6h

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has bought #FM13 so far! It's being played in record numbers and for record lengths.

[Widzew]

they already have my money for FM14. I hope they do an early beta again!

[forameuss]

This isnt true?

Football Manager ‏@FootballManager 6h

SEGA have announced their financials today and #FM13 has passed 1m sales! A full FIVE months earlier than #FM12!

Football Manager ‏@FootballManager 6h

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has bought #FM13 so far! It's being played in record numbers and for record lengths.

But how can that be?! FM13 is the worst game ever made, isn't it? Everything I know is wrong. Up is down, black is white, etc etc

Didn't SI offer DLC things so you can pay for extra features or extra something this year? Considering the game is supposed to be a simulation, and one of the main things they've always refrained from adding is difficulty modes in the game, it seems really hypocritical to be able to buy things with real money to make things easier

For a company that's always claimed to be on morally high ground, that sounds a little weird to me. Why would they stop though, it's really scummy, but why would they stop; there's nobody to compete with them, and everyone will buy the game every year.

Do you HAVE to buy it to experience a part of the game? No. There's nothing wrong with it. If people want to spend their money on something they can unlock for free, let them. If it means that more money goes to developing the game next year then great.

[cyborgscouse]

This isnt true?

Football Manager ‏@FootballManager 6h

SEGA have announced their financials today and #FM13 has passed 1m sales! A full FIVE months earlier than #FM12!

Football Manager ‏@FootballManager 6h

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has bought #FM13 so far! It's being played in record numbers and for record lengths.

That can't be true at all

http://www.vgchartz.com/game/71128/football-manager-2013/Global/

this has them not having sold 900,000 copies

while 2012 had roughly the same number sold in the first 10 weeks

http://www.vgchartz.com/game/57526/football-manager-2012/Global/

[Guest]

As Sega are a publicly listed company there would be serious implications if the figures that have been officially released are inaccurate.

[themadsheep2001]

That can't be true at all

http://www.vgchartz.com/game/71128/football-manager-2013/Global/

this has them not having sold 900,000 copies

while 2012 had roughly the same number sold in the first 10 weeks

http://www.vgchartz.com/game/57526/football-manager-2012/Global/

The ones are SEGA's own figures, as its part their quaterly report (which has to be accurate for obvious legal reasons) for the market and as its their own game, its going to be more accurate than Vgartz.

[themadsheep2001]

As Sega are a publicly listed company there would be serious implications if the figures that have been officially released are inaccurate.

Yup, which is why I would always pick the report coming from any PLC, as its either right, or illegal (and coming with all sorts of ramifications).

[Svenc]

Well, in the most recent news of Sega's financial reports, FM 2013 is told to have sold 940,000 units by the end of March. In comparison, it was 710,000 units sold of FM 2012 by the end of March 2012 in reports this time last year. Obviously, these figures come short of what each iteration of FM is supposedly selling, but then the shelf-life hasn't ended yet when the report is due and secondly, there is no telling wether that includes retail only or also digital sales as well.