KansasCityShawn

I'm a 41 year old dad of three that loves the management side of sports games. I joined to keep up with the latest GM games. Currently playing OOTP 22, FM 23, FHM 9 and Game Plan Hockey Manager (which I found on this site). Looking to make a few friends and discuss game strategies.

I'm not too sure what my first ever manage sim game would have been. I think it would be... Championship manager. I remember vividly playing Championship manager 01/02 - as mentioned, this is a very dangerous game, as you will not want to stop playing it, ever!
 
I don't get too drawn into many games. World of Warcraft, supposedly people die playing this game? I can't play it more then about a week at a time, and now, I don't ever play it. But I can list the games I have been totally addicted to and have stole large portions of my life:
 
NHL 94 (still does in 2014!)
Extreme Warfare Revenge 4.2 (Wrestling Sim)
Championship Manager 01/02
Eastside Hockey Manager 2005
Eastside Hockey Manager 2007 - the single greatest manager sim ever made. I have played this game for too many hours.
Giants Killers - a soccer sim on the old Dreamcast console was really, really good!
Football Manager 2008 - the best FM game there is!
 
My story however isn't 'how I started playing' but it's a story nonetheless!
 
Out of the Park Baseball 8. I'd known about OOTP but never really bothered. I loved VR Baseball 97 on the PSX and I always had MLB games, NFL games, NHL games etc. They were shown on TV here in England so it was interesting to see a different style of sport then what we are used too. However, I always would load up OOTP 8, click around and imagine that, yes its a great game, if you can understand it! I had the Football manager UI layout burnt into my brain and I couldn't get used to OOTP. After some months I finally loaded it up and thought, no, I am going to learn this game once and for all. So I sat and read and clicked and read. I had wikipedia open to learn the baseball ratings and slowly I managed to understand who was who, and what screens did what. From there I've bought ever OOTP (just got 15 today!) and It even motivated me to go and play baseball for my local team 'Oldham North Stars'.

If the player is terrible, I don't bother. I use it if there is a log jam at a position and I know it's going to anger the current starter. Give them one more season as to not cause conflict.

The end of December 2022 is when I took a chance on the genre for the first time. Frustrated with the state of the video game industry, I was looking for something new to play during the Steam winter sale. I noticed OOTP 23 was $10 and bought it. 160 hours later I didn't regret my decision. I started looking for other games in the genre. I wanted to try games in every sport I could find. My new obsession right now is DDS:CB 2023 which I've already put 175 hours into.

Other games I own and plan on playing in the future
OOTP 24 - Looking forward to the updated features
DDS: PB 2023 - Want to build a combined universe between CB & PB
Eastside Hockey Manager - picked up for $2. Even though it's older wanted to see what it offered.
Motorsport Manager - Got it on sale and interested in the idea of running a race team.
Football Manager 2023 - Not a fan of the sport but still wanted to see what it offered.
FHM9 - Liked OOTP, figured I would give it a shot.