Xbox World 360 nets exclusive Football Manager blog

24/10/05 - Future's Xbox World 360 has secured the signature of best-selling management game, Football Manager 2006. In a transfer coup of Owen-to-Newcastle proportions, the masterminds behind the game have signed to contribute regular blogs to the magazine's thriving site.

Sports Interactive, the team behind the legendary game series, will bring Xbox World 360 readers blog exclusive insights and updates direct from the development of their 360 version of Football Manager, due in Spring 2006. Those blogging for Xbox World include producer Grant Appleyard and Managing Director Miles Jacobson, along with all the key Xbox 360 dev team members, and the first instalment, already online, reveals how it felt to unveil the Xbox 360 version of FM2006 at the Microsoft's X05 event in Amsterdam.

"Football Manager is one of the greatest football games ever made," said Xbox World 360 Editor Tim Weaver, "and we're excited to have signed up Sports Interactive to deliver exclusive development extracts for our readers. If the updates from Miles and the team are half as compelling as the game itself, the blog will have more twists and turns than a Ronaldinho stepover."

The new issue of Xbox World 360 is available in shops on Thursday 27th October with a coverprice of £4.99 and features the first ever verdict on Xbox 360 game, Project Gotham Racing 3 and exclusive pictures of Splinter Cell 4.

For the latest Football Manager updates, and the musings of the Xbox World 360 team visit www.xbwfootballmanager2006.blogspot.com

ENDS

About Future

Future plc was founded in the UK in 1985. Today, it publishes over 150 special-interest consumer magazines worldwide with strong portfolios in the computing, games, music, automotive, sports, crafts and leisure sectors. It is the fifth largest magazine publisher in the UK. Future employs 1,450 people in offices in the UK, US, France and Italy. Over 100 international editions of Future's magazines are also published under licence in 30 other countries across the world. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol FUTR).

For more information:

Will Guyatt, Media Relations Manager, 01225 822517

About SEGA^®

SEGA Europe Ltd. is the European Publishing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA Corporation, a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. SEGA Europe's web site is located at www.sega-europe.com

SEGA^® is a registered trademark of SEGA Corporation. Football Manager and Sports Interactive are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sports Interactive in the UK or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About Sports Interactive

Sports Interactive (SI), is the world's leading developer of sports management simulations for home computers. SI's pillar titles cover a range of sports, including football (the Football Manager series), ice hockey (the NHL: Eastside Hockey Manager series) and baseball (Out of the Park Baseball). Founded in 1994 and based in Islington, North London, SI has a full-time staff of 35 and employs the services of more than 1,500 part-time researchers across the globe. The company's games have enjoyed an unparalleled history of commercial and critical success, with five of its creations among the UK's Top 20 best-selling PC games of all time. In 2004 SI signed an exclusive five-year agreement with SEGA which will see all games it produces within that period published by the global computer and video games giant. Further information on the company and its games is available from the SI website, www.sigames.com.