The essential football management console game gets its definitive PlayStation 2 and Xbox edition with "LMA Manager 2006", coming this October.

Download the trailer movie for LMA Manager 2006, now available at: www.codemasters.co.uk/lma2006 (in Downloads)

Football managers rejoice! A thorough evolution in Codemasters' LMA Manager series, the genre-leading football management console game, is coming this October.

Promising a defining moment for PlayStation 2 and Xbox football management games, LMA Manager 2006 is set to become the star player for the 2005/2006 footy season.

The series that has led console football management gaming for over 5 years, is being put through an intensive training regime to reach new heights in management game mechanics and visual reward.

In this evolution year, the LMA Manager development team has innovated once again and is utilising a new game and database engine for the most powerful edition ever.

LMA Manager 2006 will introduce greater depth with a hugely realistic Transfer Market system. As the core element of any football management game, the brand new Transfer Market AI enables more complex contract negotiations, greater personality from individual mangers, and advanced decision-making by players. No more straight "Yes" or "No" to transfer offers, you can go deep into negotiations discussing contract clauses, staggered payment options, player-swap deals, and transfers in advance.

Already the most visually rewarding match experience for managers, LMA Manager 2006's 3D match will bring players to life with more emotional animations, including shouting, frustration, jostling, and (ahem) gesturing.

Star players will also have individual skills and tricks such as overhead kicks, spins, and turns and, for the first time, managers can be seen taking charge from the dugout and they're armed with a range of new tactics and more complex dugout shouts.

"We're squeezing as much as possible from the PlayStation 2 and Xbox for LMA Manager 2006 to facilitate the new Transfer Market system and we're making some radical changes to the player training system" explains John Jennings, the game's producer.

"There's a complete overhaul for the visual presentation using a fresh contemporary design and the 3D match is also getting more animations and a refined AI system. We've got a prototype of the new 3D engine running now and it's shaping up impressively.

"The 3D match pretty much defines what LMA Manager is all about - letting the manager make his decisions based on what he sees players actually doing or gets told about them by his staff, rather than continually looking at a page of stats. We're looking to introduce this philosophy to our training section and other parts of the game too."

With more real football management at all levels - from grass roots, domestic, to European and with more teams to manage than ever before, including additional French and German leagues, LMA Manager 2006 is coming to PlayStation 2 and Xbox this October.

Warm up for the must-play fixture in your living room in the ever-busy LMA forums at www.codemasters.co.uk/lma2006

- ENDS -

LMA MANAGER 2006: The best football management game for PS2 and Xbox just got better!

• New game and database engine for the most powerful LMA ever.

• The most realistic Transfer Market system with complex contract negotiations.

• The continued evolution of the 3D-match to show player reactions as the match progresses.

• All new look and contemporary styling for intuitive interface and stats screens.

• More teams than ever for real football management at all levels: grass roots, domestic, and European.

• New 'Football One' Interactive TV station - your window on the football world.

• More real-life stadia with more customisation options than ever before.

• New fully featured Training section with 3D Training Match and In-Depth Training Report.

• Online Content Sharing: More interactive elements for the massive LMA online community.

NOTE:

Until LMA 2006 kicks off, you can take control of the second half of the 04/05 season this Friday, 25th March, with the fully updated retail edition of LMA Manager 2005 for PlayStation 2, with all the transfer and stats updates from the close of the transfer window, available at retail for £29.99 RRP. Downloadable stats updates now also available over Xbox Live.