Football Manager 2012 - Announced!

[stevegrant]

Everyone is required to activate the game with Steam this year.

Even if you buy the retail box version??

[Matthew Le God]

Even if you buy the retail box version??

 

Yes

 

SEGA statement...

 

Each year we give you an update on the status of copy protection and activation of Football Manager and the decisions taken as we know it’s a hot topic for many of you, although for many others it’s not really an issue at all.

 

As you may remember, last year we decided against any activation as we couldn't find a solution that we thought struck a balance on combatting piracy and not penalising the genuine consumer. We did make our position on anti-piracy pretty clear though, we see it as a big problem for our game and we said we'd continue to look for a solution that stopped, or made it very difficult to pirate the game and play it for free.

 

This year we have found what we believe is an acceptable solution. Any version of Football Manager 2012 bought on disc will have to be activated through the Steam network, so therefore purchasers will have to have an internet connection for initial activation. This is a one-time only activation which requires you to sign up for a Steam account (which is free) and to install the Steam client and once it has been done the game can be played offline by turning on Steam's Offline mode. With those two simple steps done there are no more hoops to jump through or steps to take.

 

We appreciate that the vast majority of people reading this post on the forums are genuine consumers of the game, and that having to activate is not as simple as putting the game in the drive and playing. However we hope that, as a fan of the game, you feel that having to do a one-time activation is worth it to try to prevent others playing the game for free and stealing what you purchase with no punishment, and with no contribution toward the future of Football Manager and it's development. Make no mistake, if a quarter of the people that usually pirate the game switch to purchasing Football Manager 2012, the sales of the game worldwide would more than double. This would lead to increased development budgets and more benefits for all of you who do buy the game.

 

We've taken this decision because we believe that the steps the consumer has to take are not excessive, and that as a one-time only measure with no tracking or reporting it is not too intrusive. Having worked with Steam for a few years now we also believe that their system is ever improving and gives Football Manager players a good service of free auto-updating, achievements and other great benefits without cost or hassle.

 

We hope you understand and support the decision. It's by no means taken lightly, although I hope for the vast majority of you it's nowhere near as big an issue as we treat it as being.

 

In summary:

• You need to connect to the internet to activate Football Manager 2012 on PC and Mac before you start playing it

• To activate you will need to sign up to, and install the Steam client

• Once you have activated Football Manager 2012 you can then play it in Steam's "offline mode" - meaning you do not have to be connected to the internet to play

• Saved games are stored locally on your machine, but you can play Football Manager on any machine by signing into Steam and selecting it from your purchased games

• Staying connected to Steam will mean Football Manager 2012 is automatically updated with any patches or data updates released

[Smirking_Saint]

It will still be pirated, this just makes those genuine customers, as they say, jump through hoops

[Matthew Le God]

It will still be pirated, this just makes those genuine customers, as they say, jump through hoops

 

Pirated still perhaps, but will be much harder for them to do so. It is hardly much of a hoop to jump through for genuine customers and offers a number of other benefits to them.

 

There are more than 4 people playing pirated copies of FM for every legitimate customer, which highlights how bad the problem is. You can't blame publishers and developers for at least trying to protect themselves. Of course not all of those that steal FM would ever by a legitimate copy if they could no longer get a pirated version, but only a small % of them changing their ways and acting legally would increase development budgets and help make a better product.

Edited 23 September, 2011 by Matthew Le God

[ThreeSixty]

Pre order on GreenManGaming. £19.16 using code ONLYO-NDIGI-TAL20

 

Can use my referal link and we'll both get £5 credit for new customers

 

http://www.greenmangaming.com/?gmgr=yisaligu

[Smirking_Saint]

Pirated still perhaps, but will be much harder for them to do so. It is hardly much of a hoop to jump through for genuine customers and offers a number of other benefits to them.

 

There are more than 4 people playing pirated copies of FM for every legitimate customer, which highlights how bad the problem is. You can't blame publishers and developers for at least trying to protect themselves. Of course not all of those that steal FM would ever by a legitimate copy if they could no longer get a pirated version, but only a small % of them changing their ways and acting legally would increase development budgets and help make a better product.

 

Fair points

[skintsaint]

well i think last years anti piracy idea lasted 6 hours from release, i wonder how long a torrent will take this year to appear after release.

[Gingeletiss]

Might just be me (an IT illiterate!), but I find that steam, slows my computer down. I used it when it first appeared, but not since, much quicker without it.

[DG]

Was considering getting this for the first time in years, but steam? **** that.

[Matthew Le God]

Was considering getting this for the first time in years, but steam? **** that.

 

What do you have against Steam? At least give the free demo a try.

[Smirking_Saint]

TBF the past two years introduction of steam have put me off a little, its such a pain in the ars*.

 

And yeah it does make things a little longer

[Thedelldays]

so basically, you have to have internet connection to first play the gameNice one ffs

[Matthew Le God]

so basically, you have to have internet connection to first play the gameNice one ffs

 

How many people in 2011 that can afford a computer good enough to run FM, don't have access to the internet? You only need the internet very briefly to activate it on Steam, after that you can put Steam into offline mode and run the game without the internet.

 

If you are going to blame anyone, blame the criminals that get the game from Torrents and download it illegally.

[Black Sea Saint]

hands up who doesn't have the internet

[stevegrant]

FM runs slowly enough at the best of times, without forcing people to run more software in the background. If I'm buying a game that is predominantly for offline use, I don't expect to have to register with a third party - completely unrelated to the game itself - in order to run the damn thing.

 

Rather than pleading poverty (which is nonsense, in the year to March 2010, SI made a profit of more than £2m, which is nearly 30% of its turnover and an increase from £300k), perhaps they should attempt to discover why so many people pirate their games, other than the obvious "I want stuff for free" brigade.

[Colinjb]

hands up who doesn't have the internet

 

Errr......

[Matthew Le God]

FM runs slowly enough at the best of times. Without forcing people to run more software in the background.

 

Does it? Runs absolutely fine for me, with a lot of nations running. Steam makes no real difference at all.

 

If I'm buying a game that is predominantly for offline use, I don't expect to have to register with a third party - completely unrelated to the game itself - in order to run the damn thing.

 

Blame the pirates, not the developers and publishers. Yes, its not great that developers have to do this, but it really does have very little impact on the gaming experience. Plus you do get automatic updates.

 

Perhaps they should attempt to discover why so many people pirate their games, other than the obvious "I want stuff for free" brigade.

 

Why do you think people steal FM then? I think the "I want stuff for free brigade" as you called it, is pretty much the only reason.

Edited 24 September, 2011 by Matthew Le God

[Thedelldays]

How many people in 2011 that can afford a computer good enough to run FM, don't have access to the internet? You only need the internet very briefly to activate it on Steam, after that you can put Steam into offline mode and run the game without the internet.If you are going to blame anyone, blame the criminals that get the game from Torrents and download it illegally.

trust me, where im going simply does not have internet access..I have got rid at home and will now have to go out of my way to activate the gameI dont care about anyone else, this new thing does not suit me what so ever...

[Matthew Le God]

trust me, where im going simply does not have internet access..I have got rid at home and will now have to go out of my way to activate the gameI dont care about anyone else, this new thing does not suit me what so ever...

 

SI/SEGA do apologise for this in the statements they have made, however the number of people in your situation is relatively tiny compared to those stealing the game and as a business decision this makes sense going forward imo. Not ideal of course, but blame the thieves.

Edited 24 September, 2011 by Matthew Le God

[Saint_clark]

trust me, where im going simply does not have internet access..I have got rid at home and will now have to go out of my way to activate the gameI dont care about anyone else, this new thing does not suit me what so ever...

 

Shore leave in Pompey?

[Ludwig]

FM runs slowly enough at the best of times, without forcing people to run more software in the background. If I'm buying a game that is predominantly for offline use, I don't expect to have to register with a third party - completely unrelated to the game itself - in order to run the damn thing.

 

Rather than pleading poverty (which is nonsense, in the year to March 2010, SI made a profit of more than £2m, which is nearly 30% of its turnover and an increase from £300k), perhaps they should attempt to discover why so many people pirate their games, other than the obvious "I want stuff for free" brigade.

 

Regardless of the reasons, I'd guess that this decision wasn't made by SI.

[Matthew Le God]

Regardless of the reasons, I'd guess that this decision wasn't made by SI.

 

Correct, SEGA made it. And they have been making huge losses, so makes perfect business sense to at least try and prevent piracy. FM is one of their few success stories, and trying to prevent pirate copies seems a sensible business plan (if they have found a method they are confident in).

Edited 24 September, 2011 by Matthew Le God

[Matthew Le God]

Here is Miles Jacobson (Sports Interactive's managing director) take on it...

 

This was always going to be an emotive subject. Any form of copy protection is. There's no conspiracy theory about SEGA posting about it though - they normally do so, as it's a publishing thing, not a development thing. It is their job to come up with recommendations in this area, but we were consulted about the various options available. This is by far and away the best one that was presented to us, from a user perspective, a business perspective and a protection perspective.

 

No one from SEGA or SI would say that using the system that we are means that the game will not be cracked at some point. It's bound to be. But with the exception of FM2009, every version of FM has been available to pirate before the retail release. During that few days, every year, retail see pre-orders being cancelled. Every year retail see pre-orders not being collected, even those with "free gifts" and where deposits have been paid. If it can be made that those people who legitimately buy our games this year get to play it before those that are pirating, that will be a good thing. If it can be that way for a few months, weeks, or even days, after that release, we do believe it will make a big difference.

 

We are also not saying that we believe that if the game isn't cracked, all of those previous pirates will buy it. I do not believe that 1 pirated copy = 1 lost sale. The vast majority of people who pirate it won't pay the money for it, certainly not at launch. But I do believe that a proportion of them will do. And those extra sales, for however long the game can be protected, will lead to an increase in dev budgets, and therefore better, or more, games for all.

 

Dave from SEGA gave some stats out earlier in this thread which were slightly inaccurate. It's not the case that there are 3 people playing pirated copies of FM for every 1 legitimate customer - there are more than 4 people playing pirated copies of FM for every legitimate customer. And to the question on whether that takes into account people who have bought who play with CD cracks, it doesn't matter, as even if every single person who bought FM played with a CD crack, there would still be 3 people playing pirated versions for each 1 legitimate customer who has decided to install a 3rd party, illegal in the majority of countries, CD crack.

 

There are people claiming on here that the reason for doing this is just to kill the second hand market. That's simply not true - it didn't even come into the conversation when discussing protection for this year. According to the licensing agreement for the game, whether you've read it or not, it's against the license to re-sell the game. As it is for the vast majority of PC games. The vast majority of retailers who deal in second hand games do not trade in PC games, whatever the protection is. And the replayability factor of FM is huge, so second hand isn't something that has affected us in a major way at all.

 

One big thing that was taken into account when looking at the various systems available was how many people, given the choice with FM11 of whether to install the game via Steam or without Steam, chose to install via Steam. The results surprised me, with the majority of people deciding to install through Steam.

 

There've been questions about what I think of the reaction, given that it's 17 pages so far. Well, obviously I'm disappointed when anyone says they aren't going to buy our next release, and I doubt there's anything that I'll be saying here that will appease those people. But the reality is that those being negative in the 17 pages are mainly the same people - about 50 in total. The negative reaction from a few people is very similar to that when Total War announced that they were going down this route. And when Civ went down this route. I'm sure both Creative Assembly and Firaxis were just as disappointed to be losing some long term customers as I am - but that doesn't change the decision that has been made, nor change my belief that from the options we had, it's the best one for all.

 

We will, continuously, look for other ways to provide our games to people as long as it doesn't compromise the security that is needed. I've been vocal about how I really like the OnLive system, for example, and this is something we'll continue to investigate. That does require you to register, though, and does require an internet connection permanently to play, so certainly won't suit all if we do go down that route.

 

There've been many posts about the problem being the installation of third party software on your machine, but that's just a part of life when it comes to PC games. Whether that be Direct X, graphics drivers, Windows/MacOS, font rendering technology, web browsing tech or other middleware, anytime you install a game, or application on your computer, you require third party software.

 

People have also asked "what about those who don't have an internet connection". When we had activation for FM2009 which was done both online and via telephone, less than 4% of people, globally, chose to use the telephone route. Some of these people had a net connection, but didn't want to authenticate that way (as per the huge threads at that time). So, again whilst it's disappointing that some people genuinely don't have a net connection and might miss out, this was taken into account with the overall decision, and there wasn't an option presented to me by SEGA this year that didn't involve purely online activation.

 

There has also been talk about other PC titles on here that will get your money instead. I've seen the following being mentioned so far (apologies if I've missed any) - Call of Duty, Battlefield, Fifa Manager, FIFA, Batman & Rage. Battlefield, FIFA Manager & FIFA on PC will all require EA's online system, called Origin, and for you to register with them. Rage is Steamworks, as we are. Call of Duty uses Activision's new online system. I do not know about Batman's authentication method, or whether it has one.

 

You've asked how we're letting people know about this. Well, apart from the forum thread, there was a mailshot on Friday to hundreds of thousands of our registered customers to let them know about it, as well as telling them about the blogs and the release date. Since then, pre-orders have gone up massively with our pre-order position at Amazon in the UK (for example) going up from the mid 20's into the top 10, peaking at 5 and currently at 7, which is way higher than we normally are at this time of year. There will also be, front of pack in between the SI logo and the age rating, in big letters, the words "requires internet connection to activate", which was insisted upon by me for us to be able to go ahead with this. I will be chasing SEGA first thing on Monday to ensure that all retailers who have packshots online switch to the final packshot, rather than the one they are currently using.

 

I, like many of the people who aren't happy with the decision, am also a very principled person. There are certain chains that I don't eat at. There's even a local sandwich shop that I won't go to anymore as they wouldn't change the bun on a sandwich I wanted (the original had sesame seeds on them, and I have a nut allergy) when they'd done so dozens of times in the past. I am well aware that some people will not buy the game purely on principle because we have gone Steam only this year and, as I said above, I'm very disappointed by that. Despite my own principles though, I fully understand and support the decision that has been made, given the options presented.

 

I also think that Steam itself is fantastic. I have more than 80 games on my account. They are massively helpful at every turn to help us get the game integrated with their features, like achievements, and allowing people with PC's & Mac's to be able to play games on both systems. SEGA's customer support team will be on hand if anyone does have an issue, as always, on top of Steam's support.

Edited 24 September, 2011 by Matthew Le God

[saint_stevo]

i'm sure there will still be a way to play a torrent version

[Matthew Le God]

Lots of improvements to international management.

 

From Miles Jacobson's blog...

 

Today I’m going to talk about international, rather than club, management, and the new features and changes we’ve made in this area.

 

For a start, we’ve tried to make it so that there’s a little bit more to do, and see, when you’re managing an international side. This includes an increased amount of news, and a better replication of what an international manager does between matches, as well as making the build up to tournaments a bit more exciting.

 

As an example of this, we’ve added provisional international squads to the game for the first time. This means that in advance of the major tournament, you can name a squad of up to 30 players, where applicable.

 

But how do you choose which of the players to then drop from the 30 to the 23? By having friendlies before said tournaments, of course. You should be able to fit in 3 or 4 into the time allocated to these in advance of having to name your final squad.

 

The media in real life love speculating about who is going to be in the squad, so a week before the preliminary squad announced, you’ll get a news item telling you who is injured or suspended, so might not feature.

 

You’ll also find increased news items during the tournament too, but I’ll leave you to discover those for yourself!

 

Both in and away from tournaments, there’s a lot more feedback on how the youth international teams are doing and who is performing well, so help indicate who you might like to move into the main squad.

 

There are also lots of new international manager press conference questions, to add more depth to that part of managing an international team.

 

In time for the Olympics, we’ve added in under 23 managers, and tried to improve the squad selection process so that overage players are included, but still with the club managers being allowed to refuse for them to be in the squad.

 

Nations also now have an overview screen, with information such as the countries nickname, population, rival nations, formation year, when they joined the world governing body, the managers profile, when the next match is, their current world ranking, major clubs in the country, major transfers, top players and a world ranking history throughout the time you are playing Football Manager 2012.

 

We’ve also added in a few new international competitions, and not just inside the game, but have also added the ability to put more of these kinds of competitions into the game via the data & competitions editor. Some examples of these would include the East Asian football federation cup qualifiers, the Pacific games, an expansion of the Gold Cup, the ASEAN football championship and the Asian Games.

 

And we’ve added the new rules regarding international allegiance for players, so those that have only played in friendlies can still choose to declare to play for another nation that they qualify for.

 

One thing that’s become more prevalent in real life is also the bidding process for tournaments, with more interest from both the media and the public regarding bids for international tournaments, with 3 different types of news for this process for the invitation for putting in bids, the bids deadline, and the host announcement – plus some club related touches which I’ll go into a little bit in the miscellaneous blogs.

 

The successful bidders in these tournaments even look at building new stadiums now if their country is selected to host a major tournament.

 

But my personal favourite of the international management new features is one that was, erm, ripped off from something that we at SI did for the mirrorfootball website in advance of the previous world cup, providing you information on players to watch out for in the forthcoming big tournaments depending on which nations or competitions you’re subscribed to.

 

Oh, and don’t forget that the team report which was discussed in the recent scouting blog is available for all international managers too. And there’s a new international round up screen for club managers, so you can see more information on how your international players have performed whilst they’ve been away playing for their country!

[Benali Saint]

Stream? Sod that. Tried it a couple of years ago.

I cant see me getting it this year. The first time I wouldnt have got it.

[Matthew Le God]

Steam? Sod that. Tried it a couple of years ago.

 

And what was wrong with it? Works perfectly fine for me.

 

I cant see me getting it this year. The first time I wouldnt have got it.

 

At least give the free demo a try.

[stevegrant]

How have they come to the conclusion that there are 4 pirated copies for every legitimate one? Surely if they know where the pirated ones are originating from and who is downloading them, they can pursue those people, rather than inflicting ridiculous restrictions on those who do pay for the game?

[Matthew Le God]

How have they come to the conclusion that there are 4 pirated copies for every legitimate one? Surely if they know where the pirated ones are originating from and who is downloading them, they can pursue those people, rather than inflicting ridiculous restrictions on those who do pay for the game?

 

Who said they know exactly where the pirated games are? In any case it is pirated in the hundred's of thousands, you can't prosecute them all, only a tiny %. Your suggestion also doesn't stop the game being pirated in the future.

 

What "ridiculous restrictions" have they imposed? Making everyone activate the game on Steam has no real impact on the gaming experience and gives the user benefits of auto updates. The only people that won't be able to play the game are those without an internet connection to activate it (you can put it in offline mode thereafter). Which in 2011 is a tiny % of the gaming market.

 

Maybe the game will still be pirated, maybe it won't. We don't know yet so can't really comment. You can't blame them for trying to protect their intellectual property and business from basically what are thieves.

Edited 26 September, 2011 by Matthew Le God

[ThreeSixty]

Always forget there are people who hate steam.

 

I for one, welcome our Valve overlords.

[Matthew Le God]

For those that like long career games, this is a game changing feature (quite literally), has been in development for a few years and FM12 is where it will see the light of day.

 

Miles Jacobson's blog today...

 

Although we release a version of Football Manager each year, there are always some features that take longer than the one year cycle to get right. The 3d match viewer introduced in FM2009 was being worked on in various guises for 3 years before it was unleashed onto the world. Last year’s competition editor was in the works for a long while, as was dynamic reputation.

 

With FM12, we introduce something that has also been worked on for a few years, and it’s something that’s been requested a lot in the last couple of years, particularly amongst those that tend to have long term career games.

 

It’s always been the case that the more leagues you have running in the game at any time, the slower time will seem to move, due to all of the extra matches to be played, and data to process. That meant that, for people who want to be able to move around Football Manager’s 50+ playable countries leagues, they would be getting a slower experience than those who, say, just want to manage in the Scottish Premier league.

 

You now have the ability to add and remove countries to your saved game each season.

 

For those of you who have been following the different announcements for Football Manager 2012, you’ll know this already, of course. But we’re still getting lots of questions about exactly how it works so, hopefully, this blog will explain that!

 

Essentially, at any time during the season, you can go to the “add/remove” league, and choose a countries league, or a level of a countries league, and, err, add or remove it.

 

If you add a new league, or a new level to a league (and by that I mean that if you’d started a game running just the top division in a country, and wanted to add the next level down should it be available in the game), it tells you the date that the league will become active, which tends to be a few weeks in game before the league is due to start.

 

But where do all the players come from? Anyone who has played the game in the past will know that with inactive leagues, not all the teams have full squads like they do if the league is active. So if you’re 5 seasons into your career, and decide to add another league, surely those teams won’t have enough players and the whole game world will be imbalanced?

 

That was probably the hardest part of adding this feature in to crack, but crack it we have. What happens is that when the league is added, it works out exactly how players would have progressed in the game should they have been playing in active leagues. It doesn’t play out all the previous seasons’ matches, as that would make it a very slow and long process, but the players skills will change as though they were there all along – including youth players being released by clubs if they aren’t good enough, and players retiring if they get old.

 

Also, if you add a league some 20 years into your game, it is unlikely that many players from the original DB still survive, so the game also knows how to fill such teams with older newgen players, to simulate newgens that would have come through the club youth scheme if the league had been active all along.

 

Taking leagues away is also easy, so if you aren’t happy with the speed of your game, you can remove a countries league, or just a level of the league.

 

You can also use this feature with custom leagues, ones that you can make with the Football Manager data editor, or download others edited leagues online, although they need to be in place when you first start the game.

 

And if you are someone who plays the demo before release and then like to continues their demo saved game with the full game, you'll be able to add leagues to this save too.

Edited 29 September, 2011 by Matthew Le God

[doubleonothing]

I used Steam when it first came out with FM. And for some reason everytime I wanted to play FM, Steam would kick in and want internet access to do various things. Had to delete it and re-install without steam.

 

Going to be a bugger on a ship with a stupidly slow internet connection to activate the damn thing. Will it be a one off thing or is it going to keep asking for internet access?

[Ludwig]

I used Steam when it first came out with FM. And for some reason everytime I wanted to play FM, Steam would kick in and want internet access to do various things. Had to delete it and re-install without steam.

 

Going to be a bugger on a ship with a stupidly slow internet connection to activate the damn thing. Will it be a one off thing or is it going to keep asking for internet access?

 

One off.

[Matthew Le God]

If all goes well, the demo will be out next weekend.

[RedArmy]

lol @ thinking steam will stop me from downloading it. Novices.

[Matthew Le God]

[Matthew Le God]

[Tokyo-Saint]

Looks to be the worst year yet for FM and maybe the first time I won't buy it. MLG will obviously defend it blindly, cut and paste stuff from the party line but the biggest change this year appears to be that you have to run it on steam. Not much good if you want to play it while away from home etc.

 

As for possible changes MLG, what about a year selector. Go to a year of your choice, maybe in the last 20 years and manage from there. I know you are going to say the data needed would be huge but with that kind of attitude we would never have gotten past championship manager Italia. A decent ground breaking change like that would have people really wanting to go out and by an updated copy.

[Matthew Le God]

Looks to be the worst year yet for FM and maybe the first time I won't buy it. MLG will obviously defend it blindly, cut and paste stuff from the party line but the biggest change this year appears to be that you have to run it on steam. Not much good if you want to play it while away from home etc.

 

At least give the free demo a try before dismissing the game entirely.

 

Is the ability to add remove countries/leagues not a game changing addition for FM12? That has been in development for a few years as it is very complicated. There are plenty of others of great new features that you will see if you play the demo.

 

As for Steam, you only need the internet to activate it once, after that you can put it in offline mode and still play it.

Edited 4 October, 2011 by Matthew Le God

[Matthew Le God]

Lots of improvements to the match viewer this year, plus footage of Saints in FM12...

 

Edited 5 October, 2011 by Matthew Le God

[Ludwig]

Looks to be the worst year yet for FM and maybe the first time I won't buy it. MLG will obviously defend it blindly, cut and paste stuff from the party line but the biggest change this year appears to be that you have to run it on steam. Not much good if you want to play it while away from home etc.

 

As for possible changes MLG, what about a year selector. Go to a year of your choice, maybe in the last 20 years and manage from there. I know you are going to say the data needed would be huge but with that kind of attitude we would never have gotten past championship manager Italia. A decent ground breaking change like that would have people really wanting to go out and by an updated copy.

 

You can play it away from home, if you have a laptop and you could also login and install it (using your Steam account) on a computer anywhere (maybe even able to play straight off the disc in offline mode - on other computers). It's not that bad and there are certainly worthy additions this year - some (albeit smaller ones) we probably haven't even found out about yet.

[Matthew Le God]

PC Hardware Requirements:

OS - Windows XP/Vista/W7

Processor - XP : 1.4GHz or Faster; Vista/W7 : 2.0GHz or Faster

Supported Processors: Intel Pentium 4, Intel Core, AMD Athlon

Memory - XP : 512MB RAM; Vista/W7 : 1.0GB RAM

Hard Drive Space - 2GB

DVD-Drive - 4x Speed

Video Card - 128MB.

Supported Chipsets - Nvidia FX 5900 Ultra or greater; ATI Radeon 9800 or greater; Intel 82915G/82910GL or greater.

Earlier cards may only display 2D Match Viewer Mode and are not supported. Laptop versions of these chipsets may work but are not supported.

Sound Card - DirectX 9.0c compatible

DirectX - Version 9.0c (included)

LAN - TCP/IP compliant

Input - Keyboard, Mouse.

 

Mac Hardware Requirements:

OS - OS X 10.5.8/10.6.x or higher

Processor - Intel Processor

Video Card - Nvidia Geforce 7300 GT or greater; ATI Radeon X1600 or greater.

[Minty]

If all goes well, the demo will be out next weekend.

Demo just being rolled out literally now, slightly ahead of schedule.