Football Manager 2009 dated, detailed

Sports Interactive plans to release brand new Football Manager games for PC and PSP on 14th November.

Star attraction for PC (Football Manager 2009) fans will be a flashy 3D match engine, according to an official video unveiling by studio boss Miles Jacobson.

This feature has been in development for three years and been tested rigorously by the Football Manager Live (MMO) beta crowd. Here action can be rewound whenever you wish, and a TV view adopted that makes the game fullscreen, cluttered with only user-selected data windows.

Incidentally, the 2D engine remains as a fall-back for preference or slower computers.

Other improvements include improved assistant manager feedback and greater media involvement, including press conferences and transfer rumours. We're told relationships with journalists will be key, and Jacobson warns to watch your words as they may come back to bite you.

The transfer system has been completely rewritten to be more efficient and accurate, and board confidence has been transformed. Plus, refreshed data for a record of over 350,000 players and staff has been implemented. In the hunt for authentication, SI has also mimicked real-life financial modelling from around the world.

Threads and threads of community feedback have also led to a redesigned user interface and the inclusion of widescreen support. And female managers.

Football Manager Handheld for PSP has had its fair share of overhauls as well.

Up to three additional leagues from around Europe can now be picked to run alongside your starting table, and SI has got the 2D match engine from the PC version up and running. This has two views: full-match or zoomed-in.

On top of this are a choice of two skins, one light and dark; apparently Jacobson and team couldn't decide which one to to add, so both were chucked in.