Premier Manager is a series of a football management video games started in 1992. Published by Gremlin Interactive, it was first developed by Realms of Fantasy, later passed to Spanish company Dinamic Multimedia. The later games were later published and developed by Zoo Digital Publishing (later renamed as Zushi Games), who bought the rights from Infogrames and hired some members of the original Gremlin staff.[1] The latest releases in the series were developed by Urbanscan Limited, a company established by Gremlin founder Ian Stewart.[2]
| Premier Manager | |
|---|---|
 Covert art for Premier Manager 2003–04 on the Game Boy Advance | |
| Genre(s) | Sport |
| Developer(s) | Dinamic Multimedia, Realms of Fantasy, Runecraft, Urbanscan Limited, Zoo Digital Publishing |
| Publisher(s) | Focus Entertainment, Gremlin Interactive, Zoo Digital Publishing |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Game Boy Advance , Mega Drive, Windows, Nintendo 64 PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 |
| First release | Premier Manager 1992 |
| Latest release | Premier Manager 2012 (PC) 2012 |
Games in the series edit
- Premier Manager is the debut game in the series for the Amiga, DOS and Atari ST platforms. Developed by Realms of Fantasy and published by Gremlin Graphics in 1992, this game allows up to 4 players to manage a team in the FA Conference League. Premier Manager was also released for the Sega Mega Drive in 1995.
- Premier Manager 2 is very similar to Premier Manager. Released in 1993, it now has a maximum of 2 players. There are increased functions in this version. It was developed for the same platforms as its predecessor. The Mega Drive version of Premier Manager is based on Premier Manager 2.
- Premier Manager 3 is a refined version of Premier Manager 2. It featured full match graphics plus customisable formations. Gremlin Interactive later released the Premier Multi-Edit system, allowing players to edit the built-in player and team data. A Deluxe version was released which updated the player data to the new season. It was released on the Amiga and DOS platforms.
- Premier Manager 97 is the first game not developed by Gremlin Interactive, with development shifting to Spanish developer Dinamic Software, who made the popular PC Fútbol series. The game was PC Fútbol 5 without arcade mode. For the first time, it gave the player the option to coach a Premiership team from the start. It was released on PC and Mega Drive.[3]
- Premier Manager 98 is just a simple database update of Premier Manager 97. It turned to be the last game to achieve moderate success and positive reviews in the series. It was released for Windows in 1997 and Sony PlayStation in 1998.[4]
- Premier Manager: Ninety Nine was released only in Europe in 1999 for the Windows, PlayStation and Nintendo 64. The Nintendo 64 version was released as Premier Manager 64. This title was the final game in the series released by Gremlin.[5]
- Premier Manager 2000 was developed by Infogrames Studios and published by Infogrames. It was released in 2000 for the PlayStation. In 2003 it was given a budget re-release by the new Premier Manager intellectual property owners Zoo Digital Publishing.
- Premier Manager 2002/2003 Season was developed by Runecraft and published by Zoo Digital Publishing, releasing for PlayStation 2 in November 2002 and for Windows the following year.[6][7]
- Premier Manager 2003–04 was the first title in the series developed and published by Zoo Digital Publishing, releasing for Game Boy Advance, Windows, PlayStation 2 in November 2003.[8]
- Premier Manager 2004–2005 was developed and published by Zoo Digital Publishing, releasing for Game Boy Advance, Windows, PlayStation 2 in November 2004.[9]
- Premier Manager 2005–2006 was developed and published by Zoo Digital Publishing, releasing for Game Boy Advance, Windows, PlayStation 2 in August 2005.[10]
- Premier Manager 2006–2007 was developed and published by Zoo Digital Publishing, releasing for Windows and PlayStation 2 in August 2006.[11]
- Premier Manager 08 was developed and published by Zoo Digital Publishing, releasing for Windows and PlayStation 2 in August 2007.[12]
- Premier Manager 09 was developed and published by Zoo Digital Publishing, releasing for Windows and PlayStation 2 in August 2008.[13]
- Premier Manager 10 was developed and published by Zushi Games, releasing for Windows in 2009.[14]
- Premier Manager was developed by Urbanscan and released for PlayStation 3 (via PlayStation Network download only) in July 2010, featuring teams from the 2010–11 English, Italian, Spanish, French, German and Scottish Leagues.[15]
- Premier Manager 2012 was released by Urbanscan for PlayStation 3 in November 2011 and PC in February 2012.[16]
External links edit
References edit
- ^ Bramwell, Tom (9 July 2003). "ZOO revives Premier Manager". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (18 July 2011). "Gremlin Graphics back in the game". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
- ^ "Premier Manager '97". IGN. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ "Premier Manager 98 (1997) release dates". MobyGames. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ^ "Premiership Material: Interview with the developers of Premier Manager '99". Ultimate PC (18). Rapide Publishing: 30–33. January 1999.
- ^ "Preview: Premier Manager 2002". Official PlayStation 2 Magazine (UK) (Special Edition: Sports Games). Future Publishing: 98. June 2002.
- ^ Hill, Mark (September 2003). "Reviews: Premier Manager 2002/2003". PC Zone (132). Future Publishing: 84.
- ^ "Premier Manager 03/04". IGN. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ "Premier Manager 2004/2005". IGN. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ "Premier Manager 2005/2006". IGN. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ "Premier Manager 2006-2007". GameSpot. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ Boyes, Emma (18 April 2007). "Premier Manager 08 goes for goal". GameSpot. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ Bramwell, Tom (14 August 2008). "New PAL Releases Roundup". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ "Premier Manager 10 for Windows (2009)". MobyGames. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ "Introducing Premier Manager – Exclusive PSN Football Management Game". PlayStation Blog. 2010-07-29. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
- ^ "Premier Manager 2012 PC, PS3". Gamepressure.com. Retrieved 2022-01-30.