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Football Manager 2008 on Xbox 360 will not be ready in time for Christmas, the game’s creator has revealed.
Miles Jacobson, MD of SEGA-owned developer Sports Interactive, also explained the football management sim’s absense from the PS3, saying the team “would never do a game in the first year of a console“.
Jacobson told Pro-G that the 360 delay was due to the team working on the game’s control method and interface. The 360 version of FM 2007 drew some criticism from gamers who found navigating the game’s interface sluggish and frustrating.
Jacobson said: “The interface and the control method on the last 360 game wasn’t good enough. Thankfully we’re with a publisher who would rather we got it right than churn it out again. One of the good things about being a part of SEGA is that if we turn round to them and say we need a bit more time then as long as it fits in properly fiscally for them then they’re happy to let us do that. We’re determined to make the console experience as enjoyable to play as the PC experience, which I don’t think we had last year.“
The news will disappoint Xbox 360 owners who had hoped the game would be out in time for the holiday season following the PC version’s October 19 release date announcement yesterday. However, Jacobson moved to reassure 360 owners that it will be worth the wait.
“When we’ve got it right, when we’re happy with it that’s when we’ll release it. That’s the right thing to do. I wouldn’t want to release something that’s half-arsed. We apologise if that disappoints any of our 360 fans but I would hope that they would rather get something that’s better slightly later than something that’s not better earlier,” he said.
Jacobson also confirmed that Football Manager 2008 wouldn’t be coming to the PS3 because the developer would have had to take on “loads of staff” and is “incredibly choosy about the people who join“.
He denied the lack of a PS3 version had anything to do with the console itself, instead suggesting the team would consider the machine for future Football Manager games.
“I’m sure we could have done it but we’ve got to do what’s right for us and what’s right for the gamers long term. We haven’t had the features meetings for next year’s game yet, those are happening in November. That’s the point that it will get brought up and we’ll see whether anyone here is interested in doing it. It’s a possibility for the future. I’m not ruling it out, but we haven’t made a decision yet. I don’t see why it can’t happen. Certainly from a technical standpoint it’s a powerful machine.“
For the full interview with Miles Jacobson, check the site tomorrow.
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