Football Manager 2005

Short description: 2004 video game

Football Manager 2005

Developer(s)| Sports Interactive
Publisher(s)| Sega
Series| Football Manager
Platform(s)| Windows, Mac OS X
Release|

* EU: 5 November 2004[1]
* NA: 8 December 2004

Genre(s)| Sports management
Mode(s)| Single player, multiplayer over Internet (TCP/IP) or hot-seat

Football Manager 2005, known as Worldwide Soccer Manager 2005 in North America, is a football management simulation video game and the first instalment in the Football Manager series developed by Sports Interactive and published by Sega built on top of the code of Championship Manager 4, which Sports Interactive legally owned the rights to. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X on 4 November 2004 in Europe and on 8 December 2004 in North America.[2][3]

Football Manager 2005 was the first game from Sports Interactive that was published in North America and was succeeded by Football Manager 2006. It competed directly with Championship Manager 5, the severely delayed and widely slated effort from Eidos Interactive-funded Beautiful Game Studios.[4][5] The Mac OS X version of game came on the same dual format disk as the Microsoft Windows version, so its sales were also included. Football Manager 2005 became the fifth fastest-selling PC game of all time at the time according to Chart-Track, as well as the fastest selling game from Sega Europe at the time.[6]

## Contents

* 1 Development
* 2 Gameplay
* 3 Copyright issues
* 4 Chinese controversy
* 5 Reception
* 6 Sales and accolades
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 External links
* 10 Features
* 11 History
* 12 See also
* 13 References
* 14 External links

## Development

Tensions grew between Sports Interactive and their publisher Eidos Interactive during the troubled development of Championship Manager 4.[4][5] Sports Interactive feared that they were about to be replaced, so they prepared for a split. It later turned out to be a misunderstanding.[7] Sports Interactive redeemed themselves with the season update Championship Manager: Season 03/04, where they got things to what they wanted Championship Manager 4 to be; the mutual decision to separate had already been announced before the release of Championship Manager 4.[5]

On 12 February 2004, after splitting from publishers Eidos Interactive, it was announced that Sports Interactive, producers of the Championship Manager games, had acquired the Football Manager brand and would henceforth release their games under that name, whilst the Championship Manager series would go on but no longer be related to Sports Interactive.[8] Sports Interactive retained the rights to the code and all data from Championship Manager up until Championship Manager: Season 03/04 and based Football Manager 2005 on that.[7]

## Gameplay

Football Manager 2005 compared to the previous managing game from Sports Interactive, Championship Manager: Season 03/04, included an updated user interface, a refined game engine, updated database and competition rules, pre- and post-match information, international player news, cup summary news, 2D clips from agents, coach reports on squads, job centre for non-playing positions, mutual contract termination, enhanced player loan options, manager mind games, and various other features. Gameplay consists of taking charge of a professional football team (the game also includes semi-professional, amateur, and international teams) as the manager. Players can sign football players to contracts, manage finances for the club, and give team talks to players. The Football Manager series is a simulation of real world management, with the player being judged on various factors by the club's AI owners and board.[9]

## Copyright issues

Because of various copyright disputes and restrictions, certain alterations had to be made to the game data, which took away some of the famous realism known from Sports Interactive and their previous football manager simulation Championship Manager. Due to the way these data changes have been made (using simple instructions in plain-text files called EDT files and LNC files), almost all of the above changes could be easily reversed, many of them by simply deleting the appropriate file. Copyrights issues meant that the names of all French league teams had to be changed from their full names to simply the name of the city they represent.[7] For example, Paris Saint-Germain became Paris and Olympique Marseille became Marseille. The names of Japanese league teams were also changed to completely fictional names such as Niitsu Unicorn and Katano Blaze, and the name of the Japanese J.League was changed to the N-League or Nihon League. The names of the major European trophies were changed to fictional names. The European Cup or Champions League became the Champions Cup, the UEFA Cup became the Euro Cup, and the Intertoto Cup became the Euro Vase.[10] The Germany national football team never picks real players and instead only ever use greyed-out fictional players.[7] The name of the famous German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn had to be removed from the game and was replaced with the name Jens Mustermann (Mustermann translates from German into English as Sample Man and is the German equivalent of John Doe or Joe Bloggs, a placeholder name). This is because Kahn does not allow his image or name to be used in certain computer games and it is speculated that his name was changed to Jens in this game (the name of his main goalkeeping rival Jens Lehmann) as a light-hearted dig at Kahn.[11]

## Chinese controversy

Football Manager 2005 was banned in China when it was found that places such as Tibet and Taiwan were included as separate countries in imported releases. China banned the game because it felt that it "threatened its content harmful to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity ... [that] seriously violates Chinese law and has been strongly protested by our nation's gamers". SEGA published a statement in reply, reporting that a Chinese version of the game, complete with Taiwan included as part of China, would be released. They also stated that the offending version was not translated into Chinese as it was not supposed to be released in China. The offending games were believed to have been imported or downloaded, written to CD, and boxed to be sold in illegal software shops in China.[12][13]

## Reception

Reception

| Aggregate scores

Aggregator| Score
GameRankings| 89%[14]
Metacritic| 89/100[15]
Review scores
Publication| Score
Eurogamer| 9/10
GameSpot| 8.6/10
Jeuxvideo.com| 16/20[16]
PC Format| 90/100[17]
PC Gamer (US)| 90/100[18]
VideoGamer.com| 9/10[19]
Inside Mac Games| 7/10[20]
Gamereactor (SE)| 9/10
Gamereactor (DK)| 7/10
Gamereactor (NO)| 8/10
FZ| 4+/5

Football Manager 2005 received favourable reviews from critics. Both GameRankings and Metacritic aggregators rate it at 89 out of 100. Kristan Reed of Eurogamer called it "a beautiful game of the beautiful game" and gave it a 9 out of 10.[21] Brett Todd of GameSpot deemed it "every bit as thorough and addictive as its predecessors", giving it 8.6 out of 10, and remarked that this is the first time a game from Sports Interactive is being published in North America.[22]

The Swedish Gamereactor called it "the real Championship Manager 5, albeit with a different name", and "the absolute pinnacle of the genre", giving it 9 out of 10. The Danish and Norwegian Gamereactor were a little less favourable, giving it a 7 and an 8, respectively.[23] The Swedish FZ liked the fact that real-world local news like Expressen, Svenskafans.com, and Fotbolldirekt.com were in the game and added to the realism.[24]

## Sales and accolades

Football Manager 2005 received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[25] indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[26] It also won the Sunday Times Reader Award for Games at the 2005 Bafta Game Awards.[27]

## See also

* Business simulation game
* Championship Manager 5
* Football Manager (1982 series)
* Premier Manager
* Premier Manager 2004–2005

## References

1. ↑ Fahey, Rob (October 13, 2004). "Eidos shares hit all-time low on Championship Manager 5 fears". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/eidos-shares-hit-all-time-low-on-championship-manager-5-fears.
2. ↑ "Football Manager 2005 release date moves forward". 1 November 2004. https://www.eurogamer.net/news-011104-fmmoves.
3. ↑ Adams, David (9 December 2004). "The Kick-off Begins". https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/12/09/the-kick-off-begins.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Manson, Andy (11 February 2017). "The history of Championship Manager, part one: from 1992 debut to the Eidos split in 2003". https://www.pcgamesn.com/championship-manager-series/championship-manager-football-manager-history-making-of.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Dransfield, Ian (2018-05-26). "The history of Championship Manager and Football Manager". Retro Gamer (Future plc) (178). https://www.pcgamer.com/the-history-of-championship-manager-and-football-manager/. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
6. ↑ "Football Manager breaks SEGA sales records". 15 November 2004. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/news151104fm2005sales.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Manson, Andy (12 February 2017). "The history of Championship Manager, part two: the Football Manager years, 2004 to present". PCGamesN. https://www.pcgamesn.com/football-manager-2017/history-of-championship-manager-part-two.
8. ↑ "Sports Interactive unveils Football Manager". 12 February 2004. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/news120204footballmanager.
9. ↑ Boxer, Steve (28 August 2018). "A league of their own: six of the best football video games". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/aug/28/six-best-football-video-games-fifa-pro-evolution-soccer.
10. ↑ Jambo (6 July 2005). "re: Euro Vase". https://www.neoseeker.com/forums/25083/t558415-euro-vase/#m8861029.
11. ↑ "Sujet: oliver kahn" (in fr). 5 Nov 2005. https://www.jeuxvideo.com/forums/1-9090-963489-1-0-1-0-0.htm.
12. ↑ "China bans online game Football Manager 2005". Xinhua. 2004-12-08. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-12/08/content_398445.htm.
13. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (9 December 2004). "Chinese government attacks Football Manager 2005". GamesIndustry.biz. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/chinese-government-attacks-football-manager-2005.
14. ↑ "Worldwide Soccer Manager 2005 for PC". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/pc/919828-worldwide-soccer-manager-2005/index.html.
15. ↑ "Worldwide Soccer Manager 2005 for PC Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/worldwide-soccer-manager-2005/critic-reviews/?platform=pc.
16. ↑ "Test: Football Manager 2005". November 2, 2004. http://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0000/00004734_test.htm.
17. ↑ James, Dave (December 2004). "Football Manager 2005". http://www.pcformat.co.uk/reviews/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=33726&subsectionid=680.
18. ↑ "Football Manager 2005". November 1, 2004. http://gamesradar.msn.co.uk/reviews/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=32558&subsectionid=1609.
19. ↑ Morrison, Andy (December 14, 2004). "Football Manager 2005 Review". https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/football-manager-2005-review.
20. ↑ Scarpelli, Michael (October 10, 2005). "Football Manager 2005". http://www.insidemacgames.com/reviews/view.php?ID=635.
21. ↑ Reed, Kristan (12 May 2005). "Football Manager 2005". https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_FM2005_PC.
22. ↑ Todd, Brett (May 17, 2006). "Worldwide Soccer Manager 2005 Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/worldwide-soccer-manager-2005-review/1900-6118164/.
23. ↑ Lemne, Bengt (2004-12-14). "Football Manager 2005" (in sv). Gamereactor. https://www.gamereactor.se/recensioner/3075/Football+Manager+2005/. "... det verkliga Championship Manager 5, om än med ett annat namn. ... genrens absoluta höjdpunkt!"
24. ↑ Xplejjn (2004-11-11). "Football Manager 2005" (in sv). https://www.fz.se/recension/344-football-manager-2005.
25. ↑ "ELSPA Sales Awards: Platinum". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. 2009. http://www.elspa.com:80/?i=3944.
26. ↑ Caoili, Eric (26 November 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Gamasutra. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/112220/ELSPA_Wii_Fit_Mario_Kart_Reach_Diamond_Status_In_UK.php.
27. ↑ "Studio Timeline 2005". https://www.sigames.com/studio/studio-timeline-2005.

## External links

* Official website
* MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

## Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

## History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

## See also

* IGDB - game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/.
2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/.
3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1.
4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521.
8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media.
9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned.
10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner.
11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames.
12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games.
13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/.
14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/.
15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/.
16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/.
17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames.
18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628.

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