Previews// Premier Manager 2008

Andy Gray: You can drill down in the discovery as much as you like. You can say 'go find in the Premiership', or you can just go for an English right back between the ages of 20 and 25.

I think to be fair the majority of people who buy PM are gonna sign some players in summer, continue through to Christmas, sign a few players, continue through...


Jon Seymour: These features come in to keep people playing. I strive to be 8-out-of-8: an 8/8 trainer with an 8/8 training centre on top of buying the players and trying to get the best team on the pitch

We're not catering to the tastes of the anal stats guy like Champ Man or Football Manager. It's more for the guy who wants a quick fix of ' let's play a season, switch it off, play another season tomorrow'.


Andy Gray: Essentially, we can't compete with the level of depth and the level of stats, and just the sheer size and weight of Football Manager and Championship Manager, so we approach it from a different angle of 'let's make it accessible for people who... aren't skilled enough yet at football management games to take on something like that. Or, someone like myself, who's not really into the detail, who just wants a game to play. [grins]

And also for people who're busy, cos people lose their lives to to football management games. Whereas this is a lot more – 'pick up and play' – is the phrase I use all the time for it.


Jon Seymour: I think maybe Champ Man and Football Manager, they're not for the gamer, they're for the football nut, whereas we're aiming for the casual gamer.

The depth is there. There's finance if you want to be anal about that, but we don't really make a big deal out of that. That's why, on the progressor we'll just show one figure for what's coming in and out.


SPOnG: Do you think you'll bring it to next-gen platforms?


Jon Seymour: We're currently planning next-gen. Whether that comes out next August...


Andy Gray: I think with the kind of game PM is, not a lot of people who play it will own a PS3 or a 360 yet.


SPOnG: Would the horsepower of next-gen systems add anything to the game?


Andy Gray: The way it stands, probably not.. But, if we're going to do a next-gen game – I'm sure we will at some stage – we're going to have to appraise what we put into it.

It's something we're aware of, but we don't need to panic about.


SPOnG: A lot of games that are coming out on the PS2 are coming out on the Wii too and little else. Do you see PM on the Wii?

Jon Seymour: I'd like to see it on the Wii, but all the games that come out at the minute – you seem to have to use the controller. That's what it's all about, and I can't think of anything you'd do with a management game – you'd just use it as a mouse.


SPOnG: Thanks guys.