Football Director DS

kobashi

Champions League
19 May 2004
Sports Director have announced the launch of Football Director DS, the first football management game for Nintendo's hugely-popular handheld video game console, the Nintendo DS.

Designed by veteran football management game designer Roger Womack (whose credits include Championship Manager, FA Premier League Manager and Football World Manager) and developed by Bradford-based Four Door Lemon, Football Director DS brings all of the tactical and strategic depth that's expected of a contemporary football management game to Nintendo's handheld console. The game's authenticity is strengthened by its official Football League licence.

Completely new to this format - and filling the gap for the 50 per cent of UK Nintendo DS owners who are football fans* - the game has been developed from the ground up to take advantage of the Nintendo DS’ unique hardware configuration.

With an intuitive, Nintendo DS stylus-driven interface, Football Director DS is remarkably easy to pick up and play. However, this ease of use has not been achieved at the expense of gameplay, as the creators have packed in enough tactical and strategic depth to make it a serious mobile option for even the most dedicated hardcore football management gamer. The game experience is flexible enough to be played in bite-sized, five-minute chunks or alternatively over longer, season-conquering sessions.

‘The release of Football Director plugs one of the very few gaps in the Nintendo DS' extraordinarily broad software roster... and it does it in some style,’ says Peter Sleeman, Managing Director of Pinnacle Software, the worldwide distribution partner for Football Director DS. ‘This game has been beautifully conceived and executed and, as a result, will appeal to anyone with an interest in football, from the casual armchair fan to the hardened management simulation aficionado looking for a mobile 'fix'.’

Taking complete control of his or her favourite team, the Football Director player grows and moulds a squad by judicious dealings in the transfer market; drawing from the game's database of around 3,800 players drawn from all of the major leagues across the globe. This squad can then be developed into a winning unit using the game's exhaustive training and tactics functions.

As in real life, however, the true test of a team's mettle only comes when the transfer activity ends, the tactics are set and the players cross the white line. At this point Football Director DS players take their place in the virtual technical area to direct proceedings as matchday events unfold 'live'.

As the name suggests, though, there's more to Football Director DS than simply selecting and preparing a team. In addition to building and coaching a title-challenging squad, the player also gets to choose his or her own non-playing staff, hiring and firing to create the ideal backroom team to support the entire playing staff; from first team stars to youth team hopefuls. And the management responsibility doesn't stop there either, as the player also takes responsibility for his or her club's financial performance, having full access to the club's accounts and control over wages, contracts and dealings with the bank.

Football Director DS Features:

Officially Football League license allows full use of relevant teams, statistics and player data.
Complete control over first team, youth team and backroom staff.
A vibrant international transfer market allowing the player to sign top players from across the globe.
Comprehensive statistical records allow the player to keep track of both team and individual player performances.
Tactical options give the player control over formations, playing style, defensive strategies and levels of aggression.
The realistic match simulation delivers all of the facts and figures needed to make substitutions or strategic changes as matches unfold.
Post-match analysis of all matches and a full results service.
Intuitive, Nintendo DS stylus-driven interface allowing quick and easy access to all screens and data.

Football Director DS will be released through Pinnacle Entertainment in September 2008
 
Sounds really good, there was a GBA game (David O'Leary's somethingorother, I forget the year) and being a GBA game you'd expect it to be crap, but it had the gameplay of SWOS and all the player names were real, with teams down to the 3rd/4th division (in England at least).

I played that religiously until I'd figured out where all the "sweet spots" were, where the goalkeepers would always save the ball or miss the ball etc. - but it lasted me about a year. I've always wanted something to fill that void since (this doesn't let you play the matches I know but it sounds cool anyway, seeing as I think FM & CM on the PSP are both awful, and the FIFA games as well).
 
Seeing as this guy has a hand in Championship Manager, I'd be more than happy to play an updated CM1 on my DS :))
 
Seeing as this guy has a hand in Championship Manager, I'd be more than happy to play an updated CM1 on my DS :))

give me an updated version of CM from the Amiga days and I will buy you a copy just to show how happy I am.. :)
 
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Sounds really good, there was a GBA game (David O'Leary's somethingorother, I forget the year) and being a GBA game you'd expect it to be crap, but it had the gameplay of SWOS and all the player names were real, with teams down to the 3rd/4th division (in England at least).

I played that religiously until I'd figured out where all the "sweet spots" were, where the goalkeepers would always save the ball or miss the ball etc. - but it lasted me about a year. I've always wanted something to fill that void since (this doesn't let you play the matches I know but it sounds cool anyway, seeing as I think FM & CM on the PSP are both awful, and the FIFA games as well).

Yea I had that, that was class.

If I recall though, didnt it have a bug in - I cannot remember exactly, but it was something like if a game was drawn, either each team got 2 points, or got no points.

Something like that, but it ruined the season mode for me anyway...
 
Well, if it's good enough for Peter Sleeman, Managing Director of Pinnacle Software, the worldwide distribution partner for Football Director DS then it's good enough for me.
 
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/DS/Football+Director+DS/news.asp?c=8283

by Jon Mundy

Poor little DS. It's got everything in place for a cracking football management game – dual screens to handle all the information, touchscreen technology for quick and intuitive navigation, a sizeable casual/non-gaming user base to lap it up – and yet where are they all?

Thankfully, as those of you who keep an eye on our news section will know, the fine chaps at Pinnacle Software are set to release Football Director DS. And no, contrary to the title, that doesn't mean you get to sit in the stands annoying the manager with your meddlesome ways.

Quite the contrary, in fact. In this game you get to take on the role of manager, head coach and penny-pinching executive all at once, like some kind of less-despicable Roman Abramovich. We took an early build of Football Director DS for a spin to check out its pre-season form.

Early signs are extremely positive, with a clear and easily navigable interface and crisp, uncluttered styling. Excellent use is made of the DS's real estate, with both screens being put to good use. Everything runs through a strip of icons on the left hand side of the lower screen, and there's a valuable tutorial facility in place the first time you enter any screen.

You'll need it, because each main menu branches off into several others, detailing your squad, individual player abilities, transfer lists, finances ®€" everything you'd expect from a fully fledged footy management game. The important thing to note is that we didn't get lost once, even early on in the game. Everything's accessed via the touchscreen, which works absolutely beautifully in this context.

Come match day, you have the option of viewing the game or just receiving the result. If you choose to view the match you'll be treated to a live text-based breakdown of major events such as goals, yellow cards and scoring chances, all backed by the sound of a roaring crowd that 'oohs' and 'ahhs' at appropriate moments.

The tactical options seem quite straightforward and stripped back, but we'll have to wait until we've spent more time with the review code to see if you can really mould a team around your own footballing ideology. You're certainly able to tinker around with the team's training schedule to help with this process.

The transfer system seems fully featured, with a nice full roster of official players from the fully licensed football league – no Robin Goggs playing for Manchester Reds here. We didn't spot the option to part-exchange players or offer to pay in instalments, but you can include a sell-on percentage if you want to add a little sweetener to a deal.

So, Football Director DS is shaping up to be a very tidy management simulator. It certainly has the structure in place, but you'll need to check back here for our forthcoming review to see if it has sufficient depth to suck you all the way in.
 
Come match day, you have the option of viewing the game or just receiving the result. If you choose to view the match you'll be treated to a live text-based breakdown of major events such as goals, yellow cards and scoring chances, all backed by the sound of a roaring crowd that 'oohs' and 'ahhs' at appropriate moments.
Shite.

Not interested, if it doesn't have a 2D engine (no matter how basic), then you don't know what's going on. I tried to get used to Football Manager on the PSP and as great as it is, being "told" you've scored or conceded a goal is useless. You have no way of seeing what's going wrong in your formation. No engine, no deal.
 
I used to love the old Championship Manager engine, holding the space button to make the match go faster :LOL:
 
There's a difference in licenses between "playing" games and "managing" games - the playing games have visual representations of the players so they require image rights, whereas managing games are either generic-looking players in a 3D engine or dots in a 2D engine.
 
There's a difference in licenses between "playing" games and "managing" games - the playing games have visual representations of the players so they require image rights, whereas managing games are either generic-looking players in a 3D engine or dots in a 2D engine.

Ahh - I thought it was just about names.
 
The video looks good, it would have been a must-buy, if FM hadn't been given a 2D engine on PSP this year. Can't wait for that!
 
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