FIFA Manager 09

FIFA Manager 09 is the 2009 successor to the FIFA Manager series from EA's sports brand, EA Sports, following up FIFA Manager 08. FIFA Manager 09 was developed by Bright Future and published by EA Sports. It was released October 30, 2008. On the 29th October 2008, the first database update was released, including the first division of Cyprus and the necessary adjustments.

The demo was due to come out and the incorrect version was wrongly put on the EA servers, EA removed it but players have still been able to download it from other sources. The official website says the demo is due out in a couple of days.
Match Engine

The match engine features more sounds, new pitch textures and new player faces, most of these are taken from FIFA 09. It also sports a new interface during the match.
It also has a new improved text mode, with lots of new commentary with internet ticker style scores of other games happening while yours is. A text mode editor is planned but no release date is given.

Tactics

This year does tactics a little differently, it replaces the 5x5 grid (which had on/off ball movement) with a selection of new settings. Options are available for: - Attacking mentality - Tackling hardness - Run frequency - Time wasting - Passing (Risky or cautious) - Passing Style (Long or short) - Cross height - Crossing frequency

Merchandising

This section of the game has been re-written from scratch, rather than selling items, you sell by category.
The game now acknowledges holidays with new categories specifically for those times. Also, signings from abroad will give you the opportunity to sell scarves of that player's nation. To further capitalise on this, it's possible to open up shops in different countries to boost sales.
It is also possible to market your merchandising through an agency, this will lead to increased sales.


Staff

Staff now have categories they fit into on the recruitment screen to reduce the amount of items in the dropdown lists. For example, there is a "management" category with the likes of assistant manager. There are new staff positions such as fitness coach, lawyer and psychologist.

Scouting
The scouting is very similar to last year's installment, it has a few new tweaks with filters and such but the game now has a scouting difficulty option when creating a new game, the exact effect of this is still not known.

Dressing Room Chemistry

This option now gives new conversation options with players, you can tell players to "be stronger" and try improve quickly, you can tell them which areas of the game they need to improve in and the option to advise a player to look after a new signing as long as they speak the same language.
Manager trust now plays a part in player morale, if a player has no trust in his manager he may get unhappy and request to leave.

Transfer System

The transfer system has been improved quite a lot since last year, the main issue people had was with swap deals being too easy, this year they're alot harder.
When negotiating a new contract there are new options, for example, a release clause if the team doesn't qualify for European competitions. The strengths/weaknesses section has also been expanded with new items.
Also available is the option to pick players you're interested in but leaving the assistant manager in charge of all the negotiations.

Youth Players

It is now possible to offer other team's youth players contracts, as long as they're 16 years old or over.

Talent System
In previous installments, a 5 star system has been used with a 6th star added for legendary players. This year it's been turned into a 10 star system, although 5 stars are shown the number is devised by the colours, an empty star counts as 1, a gold star counts as 2. (For example, 4 gold stars and 1 empty star would equal a talent rating of 9).
The game only features four 10 star players in the default database. 11 star players are possible according to the official website.

Story of the Season

The newest feature is the story of the season, after certain events a "cutscene" will show. This will happen after getting a job, winning a competition and after transfer windows.


System Requirements

- Pentium 4 2.6 GHz or equivalent (2.8 GHz in Windows Vista™)
- 1 GB of RAM (2 GB in Windows Vista™)
- DirectX® 9.0c Compatible 3D accelerated 128 MB video card or equivalent (must support Shader Model 2.0 or greater - see supported chipsets in section 12)
- DirectX® 9.0c Compatible Sound Card
- MS compatible mouse
- Keyboard
- Please note that 16 bit colour is not supported


Required Operating Systems

- Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista™ SP1
- Note that Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME and Windows NT 4.0 are not supported.

Required Software

- DirectX® 9.0c
- Notes on Video Card Support

Supported chipsets

- ATI Radeon X700, X800 series (Radeon X800 Pro not supported)
- ATI Radeon X1xxx series
- ATI Radeon HD 2xxx series
- ATI Radeon HD 3xxx series
- ATI Radeon HD 4xxx series
- NVIDIA GeForce 6800
- NVIDIA GeForce 7xxx
- NVIDIA GeForce 8xxx
- NVIDIA GeForce 9xxx and higher
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 and 280

The following chipsets will allow you to play the game, but not the 3D match / 3D elements
- ATI Radeon 7500
- ATI Radeon 8500
- ATI Radeon 9200, 9250
- NVIDIA GeForce FX series
- NVIDIA GeForce 2 (GTS, MX, Ultra/Ti)
- NVIDIA GeForce 3 (Ti)
- NVIDIA GeForce 4 (MX, Ti)
- Matrox Millennium (P650, P750)
- Intel GMA 900, 950
- Intel GMA X3000, GMA 3000