Football Manager(TM) Arriving On PC And Console For Christmas 2007!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE





LONDON (8th June, 2006) - SEGA Europe Limited. is today proud to announce the next step in Sports Interactive's genre-defining Football Managerä series. Packed full with more than 100 new features, Football Managerä 2007 is set for release on PC, Mac and Intel Mac, as well as the Xbox 360ä video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Football Manager Handheld on Sony's PlayStation Portable handheld entertainment system (PSP) completes the format line-up, with all platforms set for a Christmas 2006 release.

The Football Managerä team has taken the fans comments on board and have introduced a host of new features across all formats. Feedback specifically on the Xbox 360ä version resulted in the Sports Interactive team compiling a new user interface to allow players to have a joypad friendly experience whilst still retaining all the depth of the game. Football Manager Handheld also sees an upgrade with more playable leagues, more features and, for the very first time, network play allowing you to compete against your friends on your PSP.

"We are constantly striving for perfection and are on track to deliver our most authentic football experience yet", commented Miles Jacobson, Studio Director of Sports Interactive. "There will be a new, easy to use default skin, as well as improved hints and tips throughout the game. More in-depth feedback from your assistant manager and coaches, plus interaction with any player worldwide makes this an un-missable and very user friendly experience, and our best football game by a country mile."

With all-new features, improved gameplay and a depth only seen from Sports Interactive, Football Managerä 2007 and Football Manager Handheld offers a management simulation that is second to none. To whet the appetite of every Football fan, SEGA and Sports Interactive have unveiled just some of the new features available with more features for all platforms to be announced in the coming months.

Features for Football Managerä 2007 PC/Mac/Intel Mac/Xbox 360ä:

Feeder Clubs - Brand new to Football Managerä 2007, and one of the most requested features on Sports Interactive's forums has been the addition of feeder clubs to the game. This new addition works in all the ways you would expect it to in real life. You can establish your club as the small team who receives loan players from a larger club or a large club looking for support getting your youngsters match experience by loaning them out. Have the first option on players from clubs, and schedule pre-arranged friendlies each season by simply asking your board for a feeder relationship and choose from the list they compile.

Youth Revamp - A complete revamp of youth teams sees full youth squads for each team that has a youth set-up, thus giving a much better system for the regeneration of players in the long term game.

User Friendly - Football Managerä 2007 gives players a new easier to use default skin, along with hints and tips throughout the game, and an improved tutorial. In addition to better feedback from your assistant manager and scouts as well as lots more media, customisation and multiple row selection, all this adds up to the most user friendly Sports Interactive game ever.

Scouting Revamp - A complete revamp of the scouting system inside the game leads to more information about players and teams being made available to managers, as well as a more realistic methodology for player scouting. This system allows scouts to grow and improve their knowledge-base of the world's football players.

Player Interaction - You can now talk to any player in the world via the media. Player interaction allows you to tap up other teams stars or see if players will buckle under the pressure. An effective manager must use the media as a motivational tool - why not praise your own players in many different ways or shout at them for loss of form?

Team Talks - For more varied ways to talk to your team, SI have worked hard to deliver vastly improved team talks at half and full time. Not only this, but pre-match team talks will now be making their first appearance in Football Manager - so you can send your team out onto the pitch with a specific briefing.

Football Managerä 2007 for PC, Mac, Intel Mac and Xbox 360ä are set for release Christmas 2006. Football Managerä Handheld for PSP will also make the Christmas 2006 launch. For further information go to www.sigames.com or the completely re-vamped www.footballmanager.net website.

About SEGA® Europe Ltd.
SEGA® Europe Ltd. is the European Distribution arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA® Corporation, and a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. The SEGA® Europe Ltd. Web site is located at www.sega-europe.com.

About Sports Interactive
Sports Interactive (SI), is the world's leading developer of sports management simulations for home computers. SI's pillar titles cover a range of sports, including football (the Football Manager series), ice hockey (the NHL: Eastside Hockey Manager series) and baseball (Out of the Park Baseball). Founded in 1994 and based in Islington, North London, SI has a full-time staff of 36 and employs the services of more than 1,500 part-time researchers across the globe. The company's games have enjoyed an unparalleled history of commercial and critical success, with six of its creations among the UK's Top 20 best-selling PC games of all time. Further information on the company and its games is available from the SI website, www.sigames.com.