Conversion Capers

How the series expanded beyond the keyboard

championship Manager 2

AMIGA

One of gaming’s most ill-fated conversions, Championship Manager 2 was not meant for the Amiga. It required 8MB RAM minimum to run on the PC, and the A1200 had a paltry 2MB as standard. A cut-back version was made to run on Commodore’s machine (not by Sports Interactive), and it managed to score a miserable 12% in Amiga Format.

championship Manager 01/02 & 02/03

XBOX

Championship Manager’s first foray into the console market is surprisingly competent – well, so much that an Xbox-only update was released for the 2002/03 football season. While it didn’t change the studio’s approach to the series as a whole, it did help open things up for more ports in subsequent years.

football Manager 2006-2008

XBOX 360

A few years after the original Xbox got Championship Manager, Microsoft’s next console bagged a few versions of the rechristened Football Manager. Each version was almost on a par with the PC data-wise, and console-specific controls were well implemented. However, this was the final console release for the series.

football Manager 2006-2013

PSP

Football Manager first arrived in the handheld scene with a cut-down version for the PSP, much-loved by those who dipped in over the years. While the yearly releases saw little more than players and teams being updated, this streamlined version was fun and quick to play, and laid the bedrock for the mobile versions.

football Manager 2014

PS VITA

Sony’s follow-up handheld carried the kind of processing power that Sports Interactive believed could do the full Football Manager experience justice. Turns out, it couldn’t. While Football Manager on Vita is the total package, it suffers from being a terribly slow experience and not something easy to dip in and out of as the PSP version had been previously.

football Manager Mobile & Touch

MOBILE

All of Sports Interactive’s experience in dabbling with the handheld world has eventually led to where we are today – two portable versions of differing complexity. Mobile is quick and simplified, while Touch is available across more powerful tablets – as well as the PC – and offers a more in-depth FM experience.

football Manager live & online

2008 (LIVE) 2015 (ONLINE)

Sports Interactive hasn’t been shy when it comes to trying out Football Manager in the online world. Its initial attempt was Football Manager Live back in 2008, which lasted just three years. More recently, the studio has launched FM Online in Korea in 2015. It’s cancellation was announced as we went to press.