Football Manager 2016 Announcement: Release Date and New Features #FM16

[El Presidente]

I'd be surprised if it didn't look exactly the same as it always has. Generically boring stadiums and 23 fans sounding the same 50,000. No wonder some love the instant result button.

Think I'll play the demo first. IF the assistant and Staff are actually a HELP to get better then great. If it's the same level of incompetence I won't bother.

At last you can actually see a manager in the technical area. A little overdue.

[markantony]

Such a backwards idea

It might suit you as an individual but its akin to cutting your nose off to spite your face.

Less sales = Less money for SI = Less development. If you took it to the extreme No sales = No FM next year so instead of getting a better product you would get nothing at all.

So are you suggesting that no matter how bad the game is we should buy it because otherwise the next game will be worse?

[markantony]

Touchline manager? Don't care

Create a club? Don't care

Fantasy comps? Don't care

Unlockables? Don't care.

All this is gimmicky rubbish.

Expanded Press? Just brilliant. The most boring and least useful aspect of the game just got expanded. Does this mean I'll get told four times that "the public will want a proper answer" not just three times?

This is really underwhelming for me.

[grade]

So are you suggesting that no matter how bad the game is we should buy it because otherwise the next game will be worse?

No, what he says is, no money, means less employees, less development, either features or upgrades.

I sort of on the lines, more money, more development new features that adds fun of the game and less repeatitive features, meaning more balance between fun and realism.

[Cougar2010]

I'm saying if all the FM fans decided not to buy FM16 because a part of it wasn't as good as they thought it should be it wouldn't result in a better FM17. It would have the opposite effect as there wouldn't be a FM17 at all.

So instead of getting a game they are fairly happy with and wanted to play they would end up with nothing at all.

[grade]

I'm saying if all the FM fans decided not to buy FM16 because a part of it wasn't as good as they thought it should be it wouldn't result in a better FM17. It would have the opposite effect as there wouldn't be a FM17 at all.

So instead of getting a game they are fairly happy with and wanted to play they would end up with nothing at all.

But if the case of buying the game, isn't in some way supporting the way SI current road of development? I mean, if I don't agree with the current road? what if I want Si to take a different road? What exactly should I do in this fantasy case? Should I buy or not? or do I critise the game here and hope that the thread goes well?

[markantony]

Well, if the game is substandard I won't pay for it. FM16 looks pretty poor to me at the minute.

[Cougar2010]

But if the case of buying the game, isn't in some way supporting the way SI current road of development? I mean, if I don't agree with the current road? what if I want Si to take a different road? What exactly should I do in this fantasy case? Should I buy or not? or do I critise the game here and hope that the thread goes well?

Well if you don't like the long term path SI are taking FM down then its not a problem as you wouldn't be bothered if the game was there or not.

Its more the fans who want FM to continue that should support SI. For those fans not buying the game doesn't serve the purpose they want it to and communicating their thoughts to SI is a much better way of potentially affecting future versions.

Well, if the game is substandard I won't pay for it. FM16 looks pretty poor to me at the minute.

I agree with you & I'm also somewhat underwhelmed with the features mentioned but as others have pointed out improvements to the core part of the game don't make good headlines for the general public.

At the end of the day there is only so much you can do with football, remember it hasn't changed much IRL over the last 100 years.

[markantony]

But.......the thing is that game developers rarely listen. Largely because there isn't really an effective way to convey things to them.

All they look at is the sales figures and conclude more = we're right. We both know the forummers are a small fraction of actual players.

[samrnpage]

I personally feel the "Create a club" is a Gimic and only aimed at the younger audience. For a person like me it's just not needed and not realistic at all to have "Sam's FC" in the champions league. Stupid imho and in danger of turning FM into a game for kids that like COD and FIFA, but I can why people will like it. Same with the "Design a manager".

To me the most exciting features are the features that add to the realism for example:

Dynamic rivalries, for years ive wanted this feature, taking a non league Manchester club like FC utd of Manchester to the champions league and not having a rivalry with man utd/city was dull and ruined the game for me.

Match of the day style highlight show - probably only watch this 2-3 times a season on FM but itll be cool touch.

Former players testimonials - adds to the realism

The finance screen looks much better

The injury insurance for players

The Key battles

I like the idea of a Fantasy draft away from the main game, playing that with mates will kill an hour or two!

[forameuss]

But.......the thing is that game developers rarely listen. Largely because there isn't really an effective way to convey things to them.

All they look at is the sales figures and conclude more = we're right. We both know the forummers are a small fraction of actual players.

Except they don't. In any development sphere. That's an incredibly simplistic way of looking at it.

I personally feel the "Create a club" is a Gimic and only aimed at the younger audience. For a person like me it's just not needed and not realistic at all to have "Sam's FC" in the champions league. Stupid imho and in danger of turning FM into a game for kids that like COD and FIFA, but I can why people will like it. Same with the "Design a manager".

So you don't like it, so it automatically must be aimed at kids? Maybe if you had a bit of imagination, you might think up a few uses for it that some might find interesting. Maybe I want to put a home-town club that wouldn't otherwise be in the game into the lowest level of Scottish football. Or maybe I should grow up, since thinking that must make me oh so immature.

[YOUNGSTEVE]

Touchline manager? Don't care

Create a club? Don't care

Fantasy comps? Don't care

Unlockables? Don't care.

All this is gimmicky rubbish.

Expanded Press? Just brilliant. The most boring and least useful aspect of the game just got expanded. Does this mean I'll get told four times that "the public will want a proper answer" not just three times?

This is really underwhelming for me.

I agree. This years game is very uninspiring, & as another forum member said in another thread, one of the most low key build up he can remember. No doubt it is all singing & dancing on social media with the kids.

[RiverReveal666]

I agree with you & I'm also somewhat underwhelmed with the features mentioned but as others have pointed out improvements to the core part of the game don't make good headlines for the general public.

While I agree, the trouble with this is that I have yet to hear anything that improves the core part of the game that has got me excited either.

Revamped media? Didnt we have that a couple of years ago which just turned out to be a few more questions?

Dynamic rivalries? Thats Ok, but I have been recreating this myself in FM15 using the editor, it will save me a bit of time though.

New database with PA/CA changes? You would think, after years of the data team changing PA for players every new game that PA could be a bit more dynamic in game by now. Again something I can change with the editor.

UI changes? If they could find a way to implement a useable UI with the sleek professional look of FM14 I would be happy. Will wait for the 3rd party UIs to come out, something pre 2015 I never had to use.

I really wish FM and had a competitor now. I wouldnt expect it to be better, but I would love to see some fresh ideas that would make SI sit up and take notice. I appreciate balance and innovation do not come hand in hand, FM has now grown so large and in-depth that a change to any part of the game would require other parts having to be completely rewritten. This year though is the first year where my excitement for the new version is super low. Last year I had a feeling that stagnation of the series was setting in and from what I have heard and seen about FM16 that feeling is turning more into confirmation.

[spankie]

I personally feel the "Create a club" is a Gimic and only aimed at the younger audience. For a person like me it's just not needed and not realistic at all to have "Sam's FC" in the champions league. Stupid imho and in danger of turning FM into a game for kids that like COD and FIFA, but I can why people will like it. Same with the "Design a manager".

Create a Club might be gimicky, but as a FMT player that willl be the only way I have of generating a club that I have an attraction for and might keep me playing for more than 2 or 3 seasons before moving away from the game. There will be no pre-game editor for FMT.

The best, most enjoyable and memorable game of FM I've ever played was in CM94 when I put Watford into the lowest possible league with "fake player" and worked my way up into eventually winning all of the silverware in a single season. I can even remember the name of my first signing, a midfielder called Des Dawes from Arsenal.

So perhaps this gimminck will be the best way to bring back enjoyment of the game for me.

[forameuss]

While I agree, the trouble with this is that I have yet to hear anything that improves the core part of the game that has got me excited either.

Revamped media? Didnt we have that a couple of years ago which just turned out to be a few more questions?

Dynamic rivalries? Thats Ok, but I have been recreating this myself in FM15 using the editor, it will save me a bit of time though.

New database with PA/CA changes? You would think, after years of the data team changing PA for players every new game that PA could be a bit more dynamic in game by now. Again something I can change with the editor.

UI changes? If they could find a way to implement a useable UI with the sleek professional look of FM14 I would be happy. Will wait for the 3rd party UIs to come out, something pre 2015 I never had to use.

I really wish FM and had a competitor now. I wouldn't expect it to be better, but I would love to see some fresh ideas that would make SI sit up and take notice. I appreciate balance and innovation do not come hand in hand, FM has now grown so large and in-depth that a change to any part of the game would require other parts having to be completely rewritten. This year though is the first year where my excitement for the new version is super low. Last year I had a feeling that stagnation of the series was setting in and from what I have heard and seen about FM16 that feeling is turning more into confirmation.

But none of those things are really considered the core of the game, apart from the database. Things considered core to the game would be the AI and the ME. Which no-one has seen.

The competitor argument always comes up, but there is absolutely zero chance of this mythical competitor coming in, and even less chance of that competitor causing SI to say to themselves "By Jingo, I guess we better pull our socks up chaps!". Probably because they aren't doing anything wrong. A competitor is at least a decade away from producing anything on either the ME or DB front that can compete, and in that ten years SI will have moved too. It's now an impossibility from a technical perspective. And even if one suddenly popped up, I doubt you would see much of a change anyway. Because, I reiterate, they're not sitting there just phoning it in. They're trying to build a game within their vision that pleases the fans. That doesn't fit in with some users, fair enough, but to say they're complacent or phoning it in is totally unfair.

And it always needs to be said - all we know is a few headline features. Not one person has actually got their hands on the game and played it. They've already said - but not elaborated on - that the ME and AI will be improved. If they have improved those two things greatly, the announced features will pale into insignificance, and the game will be proclaimed the best thing ever. Or they could be worse, and the game's a turd. It's completely unknown, so seeing rain and proclaiming it's the apocalypse just makes people look silly.

[EdJames]

I would call the cross-platform thing both "revolutionary" and "ground-breaking". To me, being able to play the same save on different devices really is a huge change.

Except you've completely misread the feature. You can't play FM16 on your iPad, what you CAN do is play a save from the diluted version of FM16, FM Touch, on your computer.

VERY, VERY different thing and not something most will want to do. Now the ability to continue an FM16 game on your iPad WOULD be revolutionary.

[dllu]

Except you've completely misread the feature. You can't play FM16 on your iPad, what you CAN do is play a save from the diluted version of FM16, FM Touch, on your computer.

VERY, VERY different thing and not something most will want to do. Now the ability to continue an FM16 game on your iPad WOULD be revolutionary.

Well, thank you for having gone through the thread and read my post from a month and a half ago.

I haven't "misread" anything. I understand that we're talking FM Touch only and to be honest I probably won't be using it myself. I don't expect the full version of FM to reach other devices any time soon, and I don't think it would work very well anyway. I'm just saying the possibility in itself is quite revolutionary to me.

UI changes? If they could find a way to implement a useable UI with the sleek professional look of FM14 I would be happy. Will wait for the 3rd party UIs to come out, something pre 2015 I never had to use.

Thank you! I'm just so glad I'm not the only one who thinks the FM15 UI was a massive step down from FM12-13-14...

[RiverReveal666]

But none of those things are really considered the core of the game, apart from the database. Things considered core to the game would be the AI and the ME. Which no-one has seen.

The competitor argument always comes up, but there is absolutely zero chance of this mythical competitor coming in, and even less chance of that competitor causing SI to say to themselves "By Jingo, I guess we better pull our socks up chaps!". Probably because they aren't doing anything wrong. A competitor is at least a decade away from producing anything on either the ME or DB front that can compete, and in that ten years SI will have moved too. It's now an impossibility from a technical perspective. And even if one suddenly popped up, I doubt you would see much of a change anyway. Because, I reiterate, they're not sitting there just phoning it in. They're trying to build a game within their vision that pleases the fans. That doesn't fit in with some users, fair enough, but to say they're complacent or phoning it in is totally unfair.

And it always needs to be said - all we know is a few headline features. Not one person has actually got their hands on the game and played it. They've already said - but not elaborated on - that the ME and AI will be improved. If they have improved those two things greatly, the announced features will pale into insignificance, and the game will be proclaimed the best thing ever. Or they could be worse, and the game's a turd. It's completely unknown, so seeing rain and proclaiming it's the apocalypse just makes people look silly.

I would say the UI is a pretty core part of a game like FM, but that may just be me!

If you don't think SI would say "by Jingo lets pull our socks up chaps" then it must be great to live in your world. Once one company achieves total dominance of its market then risk aversion sets in, how can a business persuade a shareholder or in SIs case a publisher (the not exactly financially secure SEGA) to spend money on new features and innovation that may not work. SI are doing absolutely nothing wrong, they are doing what any business does, but as a consumer and a fan of the series I want more and I will always want more and I think SI themselves will want to hear that people who have loved the series for decades will still want more. You can see it as people seeing rain and proclaiming an apocalypse if you want, I see a stickied thread set up by SI to discuss the newly announced features of FM16, expecting people to give their opinions, both good and bad on those said features. I see people who care about the game doing just that.

I actually love the ME currently, sure it has issues sometimes but its one area of the game where I think its pretty much where it should be at this point in time, its the other parts of the game which I feel are getting left behind. The AI improvements would certainly be welcome.

[forameuss]

I would say the UI is a pretty core part of a game like FM, but that may just be me!

Fair enough, I just don't see it that way. The interface is pretty interchangable with the extensive skinning support, so I wouldn't consider it a core mechanic.

If you don't think SI would say "by Jingo lets pull our socks up chaps" then it must be great to live in your world. Once one company achieves total dominance of its market then risk aversion sets in, how can a business persuade a shareholder or in SIs case a publisher (the not exactly financially secure SEGA) to spend money on new features and innovation that may not work.

Can I play the game you made then? Just seems you know a lot about the games industry, and the inner psychological workings of developers.

Yeah, that's a load of rubbish. You're essentially saying that they don't see any point in improvement, because who is going to stop them? The bolded part is particularly ridiculous. You want a reason why they should spend money on new features? How about a little thing like continuing to be profitable. Users are far, far more smarky than they ever have been, and if SI released something with no new features whatsoever, or phoned in a release, then their profits would take a hit. For a small company like SI - regardless of how much of a market leader they are - a considerable hit in profits is a huge deal.

But you got one thing right - it is pretty great to live in a realistic, sensible world, rather than wherever you've pulled your "facts" from.

[RiverReveal666]

Fair enough, I just don't see it that way. The interface is pretty interchangable with the extensive skinning support, so I wouldn't consider it a core mechanic.

Can I play the game you made then? Just seems you know a lot about the games industry, and the inner psychological workings of developers.

Yeah, that's a load of rubbish. You're essentially saying that they don't see any point in improvement, because who is going to stop them? The bolded part is particularly ridiculous. You want a reason why they should spend money on new features? How about a little thing like continuing to be profitable. Users are far, far more smarky than they ever have been, and if SI released something with no new features whatsoever, or phoned in a release, then their profits would take a hit. For a small company like SI - regardless of how much of a market leader they are - a considerable hit in profits is a huge deal.

But you got one thing right - it is pretty great to live in a realistic, sensible world, rather than wherever you've pulled your "facts" from.

I think thats the point that a lot of people are making about FM 16, that the new features in this series arent exactly ground breaking, you said in your previous post that you are waiting for changes in ME and AI, they arent new features per se and SI will be the first to tell you they get worked on year in and year out anyway. So to use FM 16 as an example, as this is the FM 16 new features thread is the series stagnating based on the features announced? In my opinion it is and I have given my opinion on why.

Your second paragraph is pretty much the reverse opinion of mine, Im not saying its wrong but if you are going to be sensitive about me speculating about the inner workings of developers its a bit odd for you to then do the same thing in the next paragraph.

The last time I saw someone quoting "facts" was Rafa Bentiez!

[forameuss]

I think thats the point that a lot of people are making about FM 16, that the new features in this series arent exactly ground breaking, you said in your previous post that you are waiting for changes in ME and AI, they arent new features per se and SI will be the first to tell you they get worked on year in and year out anyway. So to use FM 16 as an example, as this is the FM 16 new features thread is the series stagnating based on the features announced? In my opinion it is and I have given my opinion on why.

Your second paragraph is pretty much the reverse opinion of mine, Im not saying its wrong but if you are going to be sensitive about me speculating about the inner workings of developers its a bit odd for you to then do the same thing in the next paragraph.

The last time I saw someone quoting "facts" was Rafa Bentiez!

I didn't say I was waiting for any features, new or otherwise. What I am waiting for is for, you know, the game to actually be released before I make any kind of proclamation on whether it's good or not. Let alone any long term proclamations of whether the entire series has stagnated.

And maybe I was doing exactly the same (I wasn't, but let's play along) but then given I am a developer, I think I have more of an idea of the mindset. And even if I wasn't, I wouldn't immediately jump to accusing them of pretty much being lazy because of no competitor.

[RiverReveal666]

Stagnation and laziness are different words. SI are most certainly not lazy. If you managed to get that from my original post then no wonder you have so much angst in your posts. SI developers have set up a sticky thread about the new feature set of Fm16, they have left it open for people to pass comment and opinion on. If you don't like opinions then that's your issue, I can see what you are trying to say but I am saying something different. By telling people who have an opinion that there's no point discussing anything about features until, you know, they have the game in their hands before passing judgement is disingenuous to the thread SI devs have set up. My original post has been up for 2days and no dev or mod has had a problem with it, so I'm not sure why you have.

At the end of the day everyone here wants FM to be the best game it can be. That will probably be best served by getting the thread back on topic about features than whether an opinion is right or wrong.

[themadsheep2001]

Stagnation and laziness are different words. SI are most certainly not lazy. If you managed to get that from my original post then no wonder you have so much angst in your posts. SI developers have set up a sticky thread about the new feature set of Fm16, they have left it open for people to pass comment and opinion on. If you don't like opinions then that's your issue, I can see what you are trying to say but I am saying something different. By telling people who have an opinion that there's no point discussing anything about features until, you know, they have the game in their hands before passing judgement is disingenuous to the thread SI devs have set up. My original post has been up for 2days and no dev or mod has had a problem with it, so I'm not sure why you have.

At the end of the day everyone here wants FM to be the best game it can be. That will probably be best served by getting the thread back on topic about features than whether an opinion is right or wrong.

There is a difference between commenting on what tidbits have been out vs trying make a complete assessment on a game that's not been released and then saying SI have stagnated (they havent). Especially when you don't know then rest of what's in the game (yet), nor the fact that many features will take more than one iteration to become reality. As for the features list. Miles has things on a list till FM18 last time I saw him tweet.

[RiverReveal666]

There is a difference between commenting on what tidbits have been out vs trying make a complete assessment on a game that's not been released and then saying SI have stagnated (they havent). Especially when you don't know then rest of what's in the game (yet), nor the fact that many features will take more than one. As for the features list. Miles has things on a list till FM18 last time I saw him tweet.

I was commenting on what has been announced so far and last year's features set. I play full fat FM and don't use classic and imo the game hasn't progressed much in that time. If it gets announced next week there's been huge revamp of training or player development I will be delighted with that and my view will change on what has been announced so far. Miles has had lists going forward for many years past as well, it turned out that for me, the list for 15 and 16 so far hasn't featured features that make me think the mode I use is moving forward. That's not SI being lazy as they have concentrated on other things and I don't expect everyone to agree with me but as a consumer of the product that's my opinion.

[Frank Abbondando]

I found FM16 for £23.99. Not sure where everyone else is looking...

[Wizard boy]

If new updates about what features are in fm16 are not on here then where are they including videos?

[HUNT3R]

If new updates about what features are in fm16 are not on here then where are they including videos?

The opening post has links to the football manager website where you can see the features and videos.

[RiverReveal666]

Has something changed this year with news? Didn't Miles used to do a daily reveal or something? I didn't even know until today that reveals might not be over, would be great if there are still some big ones coming!

[HUNT3R]

Has something changed this year with news? Didn't Miles used to do a daily reveal or something? I didn't even know until today that reveals might not be over, would be great if there are still some big ones coming!

The opening post has links to the main features. From that page, there's also a link to bonus features that were 'revealed' almost every day on twitter.

[Firehouse]

So I just saw the new video of match engine. Some stuff looks good, but part of it is like taken from Eastside Hockey Manager, due to all the sliding that seems to never get better.

And condition bars look awful IMO.

[all4everdragon]

Just fine the new video graphic improvements or any others will require us to improve our computers, something not possible to everyone, so it's great like it is. Hope condition bars also reflect player's performance more accurate because until now it's common seeing players in worse condition running like hell.

[grade]

The match video, it looks like a work in progress. It stutters a bit, the animation seem to look an improvement, but isn't "OH MY GOD!" kind of moment.

But I want to ask you guys and ladies, about something Miles tweeted? What is the difference between brand new and new? I'm a simple guy, who doesn't have a linguist degree, neither English is my main togue or am I social inclined/troll! This is genuine question.

[Guest]

What was his full tweet & the one he was reply to? Context can significantly change the meaning of a single word so it is important.

A couple of examples are;

'new' means an update of a product already in existence while 'brand new' means a never before seen product that has no parts that are in another similar product.

or

Buying a second hand card means you have a new car but it's not brand new, a brand new car is one where you're the first owner. Sorry, Kriss but it felt like the best explanation.

[themadsheep2001]

What was his full tweet & the one he was reply to? Context can significantly change the meaning of a single word so it is important.

A couple of examples are;

'new' means an update of a product already in existence while 'brand new' means a never before seen product that has no parts that are in another similar product.

or

Buying a second hand card means you have a new car but it's not brand new, a brand new car is one where you're the first owner. Sorry, Kriss but it felt like the best explanation.

I can confirm that there are 3,937 new animations.

2,681 are brand new. 1,256 new, but replacing old ones.

Not including "mirrored" ones.

Grade, 1,526 are "upgrades" and the 2,681 are entirely new additions increasing the total number.

[fabioke]

Football Manager 2016 | FM16 | Match Engine | Goal Highlights

[Mr U Rosler]

I'm praying we can turn off the condition bars, talk about breaking immersion.

Other than that, its looking good.

[Spedding]

I'm praying we can turn off the condition bars, talk about breaking immersion.

Other than that, its looking good.

yes its optional can be turned on or off.

[fabioke]

Football Manager 2016 | FM16 | Match Engine | Goalkeepers

Very sad to see that nobody cares to post this content on the forum.

[grade]

I continue to think that lack of focus on these forums about FM16 features have been seriously lacking.

As of the bideo itself, liked some movements of GK, however some of the footage lack flow in the overall video, like they used a very low spec PC that barelly have proper tech to run the 3D. Yet again, not very impressed with the features and specially with the marketing of FM16 overall.

Note: I'm all foward for innovation, but again the heart and soul of FM community is these forums and I find them very neglected this year.

[forameuss]

I continue to think that lack of focus on these forums about FM16 features have been seriously lacking.

As of the bideo itself, liked some movements of GK, however some of the footage lack flow in the overall video, like they used a very low spec PC that barelly have proper tech to run the 3D. Yet again, not very impressed with the features and specially with the marketing of FM16 overall.

Note: I'm all foward for innovation, but again the heart and soul of FM community is these forums and I find them very neglected this year.

But, rightly or wrongly, it isn't now. It's social media. I imagine if this place was the bustling core of activity and serious debate, then they may have used it more (they'd still have used social media mainly though) but it isn't that these days.

The marketing has paled in comparison to previous years though. In my opinion. SI know what they're doing - marketing campaigns that look great in planning can fall over in practice, so I'm sure if they deem this a relative failure (which they probably won't, the game will still top charts) then they'll change it for next year.

[Mr U Rosler]

The reality is facebook/twitter posts will reach far more people than this forum.

In fact its a marketers dream, you can market to a large audience who are already interested in your product, for free.

Why would you need to spend £ thousands on a big campain?

Still, wouldn't hurt for someone to spend 5 minutes keeping the forum upto date for those of us who support it.

The ME looks great, movement is looking more realistic and at last keepers seem to be getting up quickly after a save instead of just lying on the ground.

Can't wait!

[fabioke]

The reality is facebook/twitter posts will reach far more people than this forum.

In fact its a marketers dream, you can market to a large audience who are already interested in your product, for free.

Why would you need to spend £ thousands on a big campain?

Still, wouldn't hurt for someone to spend 5 minutes keeping the forum upto date for those of us who support it.

The ME looks great, movement is looking more realistic and at last keepers seem to be getting up quickly after a save instead of just lying on the ground.

Can't wait!

Exactly just copy/pasting. Even a student or a forum member could do this if designated.

We aren't talking about marketing but about informing the community that has supported you in good and in difficult times (CM/FM split).

I have studied enough marketing to know that neglecting your core audience can have serious long term repercussions.

[grade]

That is exactly what I'm affraid of, Fabioke.

[YOUNGSTEVE]

Exactly. Organisations ignore their core audiences at their peril. Once they lose interest or move away it is not easy to get them back. The social media crowd are here today gone tomorrow, & are not the people who will support something like FM year on year.

[forameuss]

Hyperbole much?

They're not ignoring their core audience. If this forum represented their core audience, then the game would already be dead. The vast majority of members on this site, will also have an account on Facebook or Twitter, and you don't even need to have a Twitter account to view anything there anyway.

Their marketing isn't as good as it was last year, but to treat it like the death knell of anything is ridiculous.

[fabioke]

Hyperbole much?

They're not ignoring their core audience. If this forum represented their core audience, then the game would already be dead. The vast majority of members on this site, will also have an account on Facebook or Twitter, and you don't even need to have a Twitter account to view anything there anyway.

Their marketing isn't as good as it was last year, but to treat it like the death knell of anything is ridiculous.

Given the effort/reward and effort/risk ratio I can't understand the current strategy.

Ironically we are very on topic with this discussion.

[forameuss]

Given the effort/reward and effort/risk ratio I can't understand the current strategy.

Ironically we are very on topic with this discussion.

I'm not saying I agree with the strategy in any way. I've said several times that the marketing for FM16 has been pretty poor compared to FM15, which I quite liked. What I disagree with is complaining that not basing it totally around the forums is going to lead to some horrible alternate future and that FM will die. I can see why they've used social media, but don't agree with it.

In the end, this "core" community is going to buy the game or not buy the game, irrespective of marketing. The ones they really should be targeting are casual social media users. That's pretty obvious.

[Jimbokav1971]

Football Manager 2016 | FM16 | Match Engine | Goalkeepers

Very sad to see that nobody cares to post this content on the forum.

Either you haven't been around here very long, (not looked at how long you have been here), or you just haven't been paying attention.

Miles has stated time and time again, that the forum, (that's us by the way), is a valuable resource and one that he and SI don't take for granted. What he has also said however though is that because the forum has such passionate people, (I'm guessing he means people like you), that there are some things that he can "leave to the Community" and that this allows the valuable limited resources of the SI team to focus on what we want them to focus on, (ie. the game).

I don't do facebook, but I love Twitter and I follow both Miles and the Football Manager account and MIles has approx 61,000 followers and Football Manager has approx 174,000 followers.

As a comparison..... just let those numbers sink in for a minute....... there are currently 229 people in GQ.

The point I am getting is.... why would Miles waste his own time coming in here to post something to 229 people that he has just tweeted to 61,000, when he knows fine well that one of us who is interested in discussing it, (or ridiculing it), will do it for him.

He certainly wouldn't want to pay someone to do it when we are going to do it anyway, (and that's the big comparison).

This forum is great, but it can also be a right royal pain in the arse, (especially at this time of year). Do I want Miles in here right now? Absolutely not. Do I want someone else to be in here right now? No, not at all. They announce the info how they want to announce it and we are smart enough to keep up.

These forums almost have a life of their own. They are of huge benefit in many ways, but ask one of the Mods how enjoyable it is in here compared to back in the day? It's really not a pleasant environment at all.

If I was an employee of SI, there is no way on Earth I would choose to log in here and post under my SI name, (and many used to). The communication that we used to get directly from what was a much smaller team back then was phenomenal, but there is only so much abuse and sniping that you can take and now although I'm sure they do peek in here, they do so anonymously.

Now you are already getting updates from Miles and FM on twitter, and if you aren't gthen people like you and me will psot them in here to discuss so you will still find out.

Just relax eh!

[RiverReveal666]

The point I am getting is.... why would Miles waste his own time coming in here to post something to 229 people that he has just tweeted to 61,000

I think that right there says everything about why SI have moved to the social media side of marketing. On a personal level I did prefer other years ways of marketing but you see those numbers and you cant argue with the change this year.

Before anyone says that 229 people right now isnt reflective of the amount of forum users log in over the course of a day/week consider this: Even taking into account that over the course of a day/week those numbers from individual forum member IPs would increase, that would probably be offset by how many of the forum posters are already part of the 61,000 anyway.

Also this thread as a whole has been viewed 34,000 times since the OP back in early September, Im not sure if the 34,00 is unique IPs or just a total view count but either way Miles can nearly double that with one tweet in one moment. Im not keen on twitter but thats impressive.

[MBarbaric]

i doubt anyone here is saying forum is better for promoting game than social media. what seems to be the problem for certain part of forum (myself included) is that on this forum (official developers forum) you can't find news on game that is released in less than a month. that seems a bit odd. especially as it would be enough to copy paste twitter updates into one thread once a week.

sure you can find that info if you look, but this is devs forum after all !?!