September 11, 2008
WORLDWIDE SOCCER MANAGER 2009 SET
TO FEATURE NEW REAL-TIME 3D MATCH ENGINE
The most realistic representation
of the world of soccer management is back and set to hit the Games for Windows
platform from Microsoft and the Apple Macintosh on November 18th
SEGA® of America, Inc. and Sports
Interactive today announced that Worldwide Soccer Manager™ 2009 for the Games
for Windows® platform from Microsoft and the Apple Macintosh will be released on
November 18, 2008 and will be distributed exclusively in North America at
Amazon.com. Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 hosts a vast array of all-new features
including the debut of a real-time 3D match engine making it the most in-depth
soccer management game ever created.
The Worldwide Soccer Manager™ match
engine is being brought into full 3D with motion captured animations for each
player, developed in conjunction with SEGA’s in-house studio, Sports R&D
Division. Players can now watch their matches in real-time 3D from multiple
camera angles, and replay any part of the match using a new match time bar that
flags the key moments in the game. Players can also customize their match view
by choosing the information they would like to view during the match, be it the
latest scores or player performance stats for the match; arranging this
information on-screen using a new drag-and-drop widget system lets players
customize their match day screen to best manage their team.
“With the 3D view of the match
engine, and dozens of animations for each player, this year is definitely one of
revolution for the Worldwide Soccer Manager™ series,” commented Miles Jacobson,
Studio Director of Sports Interactive. “We always said that we wanted to make
the in-game match engine fully 3D but that we wouldn’t do so until we were
confident that it was technically possible, and after nearly 3 years work and
with huge thanks to Sports R&D Division, it’s now here.”
Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 will
implement Major League Soccer-specific rules in order to better simulate MLS
team management parameters. An example of this is the MLS Designated Player Rule
added to ensure that teams are able to sign one player outside of the salary
budget; or by gaining a second designated player slot in a trade. You can also
offer your designated player slot to other teams.
Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 will
also allow players to receive additional help from their Assistant Manager with
pre-match and in-match feedback on how the team is performing as well as hints
provided on how the team could play better. Having the advice of a good
Assistant Manager will be an invaluable asset when players can’t figure out why
their tactics aren’t working, why the opposition seem to effortlessly demolish
their team or why a new signing isn’t fulfilling his potential.
Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 also
sees the introduction of press conferences for the first time. Players will
attend press conferences before and after matches with local and national
journalists. They must choose their answers carefully because their responses
could come back to haunt them in the media at a later date. The media system has
also been vastly improved to provide the player with an unprecedented level of
detail on what’s going on at their club and the in-game soccer world as a whole.
The entire trade system has been
completely overhauled and re-written providing an even more realistic simulation
of real-life soccer, with the addition of trade rumors so you can view the
hottest news on which players are being speculated on and who’s said to be
interested in securing their services.
Players can be trained to learn a
wide variety of ‘preferred moves’ to add to their game on the pitch that are
applicable to their played position; for example, central defenders can be
trained to hold onto possession or wingers can learn to cut inside to bypass the
full backs.
Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 also
allows gamers to play as a female manager for the very first time. The game will
also be fully updated for the new 2008/09 soccer season with all the latest
league, team and player data, featuring over 5,000 playable teams from over 50
countries and more than 350,000 players and staff from around the world, drawn
fresh from the famous Sports Interactive database.
Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 for
the Games for Windows platform from Microsoft (Windows XP & Vista) and Apple
Macintosh (OS10.3.9 and above) are set for release on November 18, 2008.
Additional features will be announced closer to the launch of the game in
November.
For further information on Worldwide
Soccer Manager 2009, please go to
http://www.sega.com/games/?g=527.
