Football Manager 2012 officially released today

I have to admit I am a big fan of football management simulation games and the biggest of them all Football Manager released their latest instalment earlier today.

Football Manager is the biggest selling football management game ever. It seems to break its own records every time a new edition comes out and this year looks set to be no different.

Dream

Most fans will obviously never get the chance to manage their boyhood heroes to victory but Football Manager gives you a chance to live your dreams and guide your heroes to success. It doesn’t matter if you’re a conference side or a Premier League side you can still achieve your goals on the game.

Addicted

For anybody that has never played Football Manager it is one of the most addictive video games I have ever played. Its right up there with Battlefield Company and Call of Duty for me. You can lose literally hours of your life sitting at your computer playing it and not even notice.

In the hope that your team wins promotion, avoids relegation or wins the league title. Its surprising how involved you get with the game. You can spend hours setting up tactics and training and then lose in the last minute through an own goal. You start to get a small insight into the minds of real football managers.

Challenge

The game can provide you with the ultimate challenge of taking a side in non-league into the Champions League and building a whole club from next to nothing. Or managing in a country that you have very little knowledge of and winning the league.

There is no better feeling playing a video game than winning the Champions League trophy with Chester City or Wrexham having dragged them up from non-league (that’s not from nothing by the way those clubs have long histories but you get what I mean). You get an enormous feeling of achievement (sad I know).

Relationship

The game itself should come with a health warning this game could seriously damage your relationship. Luckily enough I haven’t yet let it take over my life. However a friend of mine on one of Football Manager forums did actually lose his girlfriend because she got fed up with him playing the game.

So if you have never played the game before be warned it can consume your life. Some people spend hours producing websites, stats and graphics dedicated to Football Manager and gamers should be thankful for those people.

They usually give their services free of charge to help us fellow gamers enjoy our experiences more than we would without their help.

Obsessed

I know my obsession with Football Manager is sad but its part of my overall football addiction. I’m not the only one though. There are millions of people at this very moment playing Football Manager on their pc.

I’m not just talking about fans either. I know at least two Arsenal players who have bought the game and were looking forward to playing it today. Good luck boys, I’ll be beating you online later on. That’s the good thing about Football Manager and video games in general, they bring people together.

It doesn’t matter where you live or your status in life everybody seems to love playing video games and football games are a big part of that industry.

Love

I play Football Manager and other football games because I love football and I can’t get enough of. I don’t lie about my obsession or try and hide the truth. I am simply obsessed but then again I suppose that’s how I ended up here writing these editorials.

If I didn’t have love for the game I couldn’t do this job. I apologise to my regular readers if this article was slightly indulgent its just I had to reveal my true feelings of excitement. Normal football service will be resumed with tomorrows article, thank you!

I would like to know how many of our readers have purchased Football Manager 2012?