The news comes just 20 days short of the game's 5th birthday. The title will officially close on April 30, 2010.
The game leaves behind several thousand players, one of whom told CVG today:
"The forums at CMO are rife with discontent. We've been left high and dry without any real explanation. With several thousand players worldwide this decision just doesn't seem to make any sense."
CMO was co-developed by Beautiful Game Studios and Swedish studio Jadestone.
Looks like this one may be a victim of Square Enix's takeover of CM publisher Eidos. We're digging for answers, people.
im totally gutted by this as i have found this game to be very satisfying to my needs,
there are truly thousands of customers who will now have a hole in there lifes with the loss of this game, which had developed more into a community,
with no simular online games out there to come close to cm-online in regards to reality, there is a massive gap in the market where our money could now have gone.
no answers on why this has happened and yet no comment on wether there is a new game to replace it in the pipeline.
were basically in limbo as to where to go next, and the majority are clinging on to the hope that there will be a new release for us to move our "community" onto,
hopefully you can get definitive answers as we as loyal paying customers obviously didnt deserve an explanation nor seemingly important enough to even warrant a reply to the hundreds of emails sent to all companies involved.
Im Completely gutted and dumbfounded that a brief statement was made by Jadestone, and we was told to point all our questions in the direction of Eidos, who I must add have failed to respond to anyone's emails. Even Square Edix have pointed me back in the direction of Eidos. I spend nearly £1000 a year on cmo and spend hours upon hours of my time on agame which is a marathon and not a sprint, However it will now be no more.
This is awful customer servie and sincerley hope anothwer online football manager game is on its way similar to CM-Online, as its without doubt the best on line game i have ever played. I really hope someone gets the answers we all want, to put closure on this issue, Cos we are not talking peanuts which i have invested in the years i have been playing
I am glad a respected body such as CVG have shown an interest in the events which have taken place in the Championship Manager Online World.
Thousands of fans paying £3.99 per team and many of these thousand having several teams did not even get told properly why CMO is closing. Jadestone tried as best as they could to explain but for legal reasons could not divulge the full reasons why. Only Square Enix and Eidos have the power to do this. Thus far they have failed to do so.
This is simply shocking, the large loyal fan base of CMO, may of whom have played this game since it began almost 5 years ago are just being treated like something that has been trod in.
Please look much further into this CVG, there are mnay thousands of CMO fans who expected so much more and be treated with a lot more respect... Leave no stone unturned, rattle those cages, this story is a meaty one and the game title huge in the gaming world....
this is a game played for the future... future players and plans...We all feel like we have been putting the effort in, for no reason. Just to be cast aside with a thank you for our money, but left with a nasty taste in our mouths because after April 1st, besides screen shots of what was, it will all be gone. The reasons ? The biggest has got to be that no one involved gives a rats backside about us gamers and just want to allienate us. Apart from that, we are told nothing Besides, "we are not allowed to say".
CMO is argueably the best online management games and it is on the verge of extinction. we at the community of cmo have found this shocking news rather strange and we want to get to the core of the decision. we feel has loyal fans to the beautiful game, we deserve a proper explanation to this ridiuclous decision. We use our hard earned money month in month out to experience the most realistic management game to ever live and we all are prepared to keep this game going. it is enthralling , addictive and has been an immense part of our recreational time for almost half a decade. we want championship manager online to remain open.
CMO has become more than just a football game, it became a place where fans could exchange banter and debate the weeks football in the best atmosphere around. The loss of that community along with the game makes this a sad time for online football. At the very least there should be an announcement from Eidos to explain to those customers like myself who have put years into the game what the plans are for the future.
Ive been playing championship manager online for over 4 years now and have enjoyed every minute of it. while its not the perfect online football manager experience its is by far the best and i never once thought about quitting!
To be given the news a few days ago that the game was closing, was devastating! we havent been given the facts as yet but as we understand it Eidos has been bought by square-enix, meaning Jadestone can no longer run the game.
The forums have been all go these past few days, with some very unhappy people. Thousands of managers play and enjoy this game and it is shocking that a franchise this big is being allowed to disapear from existence.
There's no doubt that this was the best online football management game out there, with real player and team names etc. Sure there were flaws, and it never quite realised its potential, but it still blew all the others out of the water.
I feel that Jadestone/Eidos/Square Enix should have given the customers of the game a better explanation as to why this decision has been made. It would make a lot more sense if it was being brought back in house to Eidos/Square Enix, because the Championship Manager franchise is one of the biggest in the gaming world. I hope that CVG can find out a bit more!
I feel, along with many from the CMO community (and it is a community), the way this has been handled is nothing less than shameful. With many people having spent much money over many years to be treated like this, I sincerely hope CVG can get to the bottom of this and ensure that Square Enix / Eidos give us loyal CMO gamers the answers we crave. We deserve better, and this can only damage the Championship Manager brand.
To be honest, I truly feel as though I'm still in deep shock/denial about the whole thing. There felt like something brewing up over the last few weeks, but I would never have predicted this in my wildest dream/worse nightmare!
I'm 29 years young, and have been (PROUDLY) playing Championship Manager since Year 8 of Secondary School. The offline PC version was the only football management game worth playing. So for many years I (and many of my mates) was a willing slave to it's allure. Then in 2007 I stumbled across CMO, and my love for the Championship Manager franchise soared to new heights. From that moment on, even the offline version become 100% redundant to me. At 26, I was finally ready to turn my back on a game I had been playing since I was 13. But I wasn't turning my back on it entirely, I was ascending onto a new level.
Without a shadow of doubt, CMO is the best Football Management game there is, ever was, or ever will be. Period!
The fact that it'll cease to exist after the 30/4/10, is an absolute travesty. To say I'm gutted would be the understatement of understatements.
In my optimism, I'm PRAYING that they'll be some sort of 11th hour redemption, or a rebirth after it's inevitable closure after the 30th? I live in hope?
God Bless CMO, for it will live in memory for ever!
I've been playing CMO since it first opened its doors to Beta testers (so more than 5 years ago) and really do wonder what I will do when it closes. The news came as a complete shock to me and I dont think it has sunk in completely yet.
CMO is my home page, its the first website I go to every time my laptop is turned on, and its the first thing I do in the morning.
The reason so many managers are upset by the closing of CMO is that like me they have managed their sides for so long (I have managed two of my teams for more than 4 and a half years) and these sides are more than just 0's and 1's to us - they are family.
Hopefully some clear details will be forthcoming in the not too distant future so we can all start to recover.
To be honest, I truly feel as though I'm still in deep shock/denial about the whole thing.
Jesus, what a bunch of nerds, talking like this is some kind of tragedy. Not only is this just a game, but a totally s**t one at that(as are all football management games). I'm sure you'll all find a new prettified Excel spreadsheet to act out your boring football fantasies.
apophis was u not one of the managers that got kicked out for cheating all the time yes i thought u was so do not bring your bitterness on here trying to spoil our quest for some proper response & answers from eidos this is and the majority are hoping still will be the best online football managment game around so if you dont like the posts on here please go back under your rock and think of something else to do cheers jolly
Absolutely heartbroken, best game ive ever played. hope it can be saved i would give almost anything to keep this going. it was truely a sad day when i heard the news
This is a truly terrible decision by Eidos to close this wonderful game. It has been poorly marketed and managed but has a good fan base and with the right guidance could bevome far bigger than it already is. For many managers this is not so much a game as a way of life. Surely someone will see sense and save this great game before it is too late. Fight On!!
So confused with this decision, with so many paying managers why not just put the price up if it is a financial issue or get those free managers to become subscribers after a month if they want to continue.
The timing is questionable, they took our payment and then announced that the game is closing, shows no respect to its customers.
I and many others have emailed Eidos but no responses or explanation, I don't think they want us to know the real reason whatever it may be.
So gutted and just don't have the motivation anymore to continue playing this game, but like many other managers i will play till the end and hope the decision can be overturned and the game's future being back on.
We all have spend so many hours and days (some even years) on building a team and reputation, and for what?
I know its just a game but in the past 8 months it has become part of my life. First thing in morning will be to check how my team has got on, or if my bids been accepted. But now if feels all wasted. The least us customers could receive is a valid explanation for the closure.
Fingers crossed, we mustn't give up guys there still is few months to go and anything can happen.
also confused about decision to close cmo, we cannot understand the attitude of eidos who will not even answer our questions as to why the site is closing down..as a loyal paying member I think the least they could do is to issue a statement as to why the game is closing, after all they have been happily taking our money month in month out
A total disgrace the way it has been announced, Jadestone have done the correct thing and announced it in game but they can't comment on why and their hands are tied, there has been no correspondance whatsoever from Eidos or Square-Enix on the matter. I have been a member for nearly 5 years and am abolutely gutted. The CMO community deserve better than this, so come on let us know what's happening!
The decision to remove Concorde from service was the first time that the development of human flight took a backward step and in my view the closure of CMO does the same for online football management. (And both decisions will have been made on financial grounds.)
After playing football management games by post, offline and online, I finally found my 'home' on CMO, which I have played for more almost 5 years. No one ever claimed that the game was perfect, but it is by far the best online football management game available and yet it had the potential to be so much more.
What the game needs (needed?) is investment and Eidos decision to close the game is very disappointing. The way the many loyal CMO players have been treated is almost criminal.
I find it mind boggling that an online game, one of a kind, which if marketed properly would get thousands of members, is simply being ditched.
The current marketing campaign compares to that of a year 2 school pupil as i found the game by accident more than an advert on a website or paper, tv etc.
This game should be bought and marketed properly and there is definitley money to be made as if it was to go there is nothing like it, there are versions that are along the same lines but dont have anywhere near the fan base, quality and none have the official player names.
The game must be saved, i wouldnt like to think ive spent my hard earned money (ok, student loan) on a game thats simply going to die out
Many thanks to CVG for posting this. Ive sent eidos 4 emails, trying to get an email, or in contact with any person at Eidos that I could give my questions to. I got the respons "There is no feedback email address we are able to give out".
Ive been subscribing to their services for over 4 years, and put money in for it each month. They cant even give me an email. I love Championship Manager Online, its the best online football managergame out there and Ive put so many hours in there, I think I deserve atleast an answer!!
Shutting it down is one thing, not giving straight answers to customers is a total different.
I love CMO and its a shame to see it go down the pan without knowing why. Its got a loyal fanbase and great community and we're all gutted to see it finish.
Absolutely Gutted when i saw the Post "End Of An Era" as i logged in to my World21 Account. To find out in as little as 2 Months time that this great online manager game is to come to an end... And as many have put it we have no real explanation why! So its about time the Loyal Paying Customers was given an answer to there questions! I have been a member for around 2 years now and am still enjoying the game and am very disappointed that it seems to be coming to an end.... Hopefully we will get some answers and hope that this is not the end of a game we all enjoy so much.
I would like some answers too. 5 years of investment and time for this? Doesn't make sense. There are enough managers on the game to make it work. There needs to be some communication with the community, some open dialogue. If the new company just thinks we'll all sign up to a new version in a year's time or something, they might be in for a shock. People have invested a lot of time. And money. Please investigate.
one or two kudos whatever they are , if you never played the game then you wouldnt understand, you really should leave this to the people that care about this subject and continue fondling yourself tomb raider you geeks..is that better dowling??????????
The reason there are posts from people with only 1 or 2 Kudos (whatever they are for) is because someone mentioned this article on the CMO forums and so many people like myself have created an account on here just so we can comment on this article.
I've been playing football management games for many years now and CM online is the only one worth playing as you can spend as little or as long as you like each day perfecting your team and still feel very much part of the game and active,friendly community. It has real teams and players which is a must for any management sim and runs at a realistic pace. It's the only management sim game for real football fans and must be saved.
We all like playing games lads but to be heartbroken over a game ending Man you lot need to get a social life its a fecking GAME not a way of life people! You lot give gaming a bad name...Losers!!!(in more then one way)
cm-online closing is probably the worst news i have had in a while, its part of my daily routine, and its part of my poorly worked finances. Take the game away and the missus will have more money for shoes!!
I really hope something can be done to keep this game alive, as its a massive community for us all, and the game brings excitement and banter.
Square enix and eidos need to tell us(the customers) what is happening. do they have future plans for the game? or is this the end?
Ive spent around £600 over the last 4 years on this game, and im sure that is low compared to alot of managers who play, building up our squads with potential future stars....be now there is no future. I saw cmo almost as an investment, put money in and reap the rewards of fun. But now it seems that like most of my choices on the stock market, this is deadwood too.
Just want to add my thanks to CVG for looking into this and hopefully finding some answers! I love the game, and was shocked to hear the news about the closure. The way we have been treated is nothing short of shocking, with no appreciation being shown for years of subscription. We were basically told one day that the game is closing down, and that no details as to why it was closing would be provided.
I have one hope: that you guys we'll see the enormous potential of CMO and re-open it. It needs proper advertisement and management but you have a core of a few thousand fans which have been through a lot and still support the game. If you do a market research you'll see that this game can grow world wide. You just need a solid team of professionals who understand soccer, with good technical abilities who will not impose arbitrary rules on the online football managers. So if you can do the proper market research and find the right people to run it you’ll have a golden ticket in your hands.
I have played CMO for 4 years and 8 months now. During that time I have seen a community develop like no other. In terms of game play there can be no sterner test than to play against real human opponents as you do in CMO. I have won numerous hard fought trophy's during this time and have had the pleasure of being involved in some unbelievably tough negotiations for even the most average of players! This is a unique and special game and should be the template for its genre's future not the past. I could never go back to playing the PC game after this no matter how technically advanced it becomes. Where is the banter? Where is the achievement in getting a computer to sell you Lionel Messi? I managed to talk a real person into doing it and it was a buzz I'll never forget! The saddest thing is that for a game which prides itself on community and the personal touch the one thing now lacking is precisely that. In my working life I carry the burden of having to make big decisions every day that effect peoples lives. I do not hide from those concerned, I do not refuse to explain my decision making processes to them and I am always prepared to justify my actions. I am accountable. CMO was closed by faceless unaccountable individuals who still do not have the moral courage to face their public. The game closure message was delivered by proxy. When paying customers have invested time and money for nearly half a decade they deserve the very minimum of an explanation. I believe that a significant proportion of us would pay double the subscription fee if it meant we could carry on playing so it cannot be about the money. At the very least the concept of subscription increase does not appear to have been explored. I can't imagine that 'they' are planning on unveiling a replacement game because if that were true they wouldn't alienate their loyal and target customers in this manner. So what is it?
Absolute disgrace how all the members at CMO have been dumped like this, with thousands of PAYING customers and a huge gap now appearing in the market for an online Football Manager community - there must now be an internet gaming company astute enough to see the potential CMO has and the business to be made from this and either buy the rights or game out right.
Still can't believe that CMO may no longer be very soon.
Come on EIDOS, atleast you let us, your subscribers, know the actual reason why you are shutting down this game..!! If you want to ignore the pleas and cries of your loyal subscribers you will pay heavily for it... History always repeats for consumer ignorant companies like you....
Totaly gutted with this news. CMO has become a part of my daily routine and it will be sorely missed by a great number of people. Hopefully the powers that be can come up with something to save the game. If this decision has been made on financial grounds, then i am sure that most people who play the game will be open to other ways of increasing the revenue that cmo can produce, if it means the game can carry on.
Its to me very strange that they just stop CMO and the way they the announced it. There are many manegers enjoing this game and i have been ther 3 years and 4 months, every morning to watch my games i played against another manegers. SAVE THE GAME
Thats what made it so special.It was attached to real life. To all those thinking we were up to our armpits in CMO because of the game alone, think again. Judgements/values/Stats all based on Real life....so knowledge of the real football world is essential. I have researched youth team players at teams i had never heard of. It allowed us football fans to emerse ourselves into a game, about something we alreday love deeply. Lara Croft is ok, but give me an FA cup Final, any day. tsk Z for left X for right tsk tsk
I am absolutely gutted that CMO - THE BSET ONLINE FOOTBALL GAME is closing. I have been a member for nearly 4 years now, and have logged on every day (including when i go on holiday abroard). I have nurtured my Sheff Wed team in W4 to be the best Sheff Wed team in all the worlds (got it to a level 7.32) I started at level 0,7 in league two. I am now the reigning Champion of the Premiership (for the last two years running) - I am very proud of that.
I am gutted for the above reason, but not this reason alone. I have made a whole host of new friends from all around the world - too many countries to mention. This game has united the enitre world in a small way and for that rreason I will miss the game very much. I have played other on-line management games and NOTHING come close to this game.
It will be a huge loss to the on-line gamiong world.
Here is the thing, CMO by Jadestone have been good, full of faults but still, good.
For many people like myself, it has been the one website on the Internet that we have visted EVERY day through addiction.
Obviously there are a lot of things that could have been done better with a larger budget and hopefully there will be a shiney new version that blows us away, BUT!!!! (big BUT!!!!)
...it makes no sense completely shut the game down and have managers who have put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears into building their squads (for 5 years!) and then opening an un-tested new version that will have lost all of its customers probably to another game like Football Manager Live.
Keep the current CMO alive and build from there.
One more comment, how the hell did Jadestone not make this game work, what a balls up! Should have listened to their customers on the forum who constantly complained about 1) training, 2) game engine, 3) cheats, before concetrating their efforts on things like "achievements", "redesign" and "free" acc**ts. IMHO you deserve to lose the contract.
I only signed up to a premium CMO account 2 days before the announcement that it was going to be canned! Gutted. Its a great game that could be awesome with a little investment. I think they've made a mistake. The GUI is pretty rich for a web app and I think RIA (Rich Internet Application) is the way to go. Their marketting has obviously failed if they can't make a profit out of this. I think the free version is probably too good - they would be better off limiting the free version to 2 months to get people hooked.
its annoying that they've decided to end a game, that by its nature needs a lot of time spent playing it to appreciate how completely engrossing it is. what makes it worse is that many have also coughed up a lot of money getting thier teams to where they are on cmo. to have no real explanation as to why our time and money appear to now have been wasted is disgraceful. will there be another online management game from eidos? probably. will i be trusting them enough to spend the money and time that i have on cmo, not to suddenly have the rug pulled from under me, with them shutting it down out of the blue? i'm not so sure. message to eidos manager: andy dodd thinks he deserves more playing time it'll be a huge shame if it goes!
i cannot believe this is ending, no reason given at all. Looked forward to checking in every day to see if my player had gone up in rating, very addictive game.
Gutted that someone can not see the potential in such a game. Interesting that it is now getting some good publicity in the sense that people will hear of it and realise just how loved this game is.
I've played this game for 5 years and it's swedish predecessors for yet some years. The fact that the game has its realistic approach on football has made the discussions and the people in the games' community more interesting and fun compared to any other online game or football community I know of.
I hope this will help us to get some answers what has and will happen. To just let go of such loyal and knowledgeable customers is beyond my understanding. Thank you CVG for your efforts in bringing up this topic.
VERY angry at the news that CM-online is to be shut down. Have played this game for nearly 4 years. Happily.
I understand that the timing of this couldn't be worse. Square Enix having just taken over Eidos as Eidos have taken the games licensing from Jadestone.
BUT surely someone must take responsibility for looking after THOUSANDS of upset yet loyal customers.
I would like to see this matter resolved as soon as possible. It has so far been dealt with very poorly. Square Enix have seen fit to post their ownership rights on the bottom of Eidos webpages already, so THEY should take responsibility for sorting out this DEBACLE.
As far as I can see Phil Rogers and Tim Ryan are in charge of Square Enix/ Eidos Europe as appointed by Yoichi Wada and his Japanese crew, so the buck stops with them.
Would love to see your web-publication contact them for their feelings on the matter.
Thank you for the coverage of our plight.
Oh, to RedDwarf, DangerMouse and SS. A bit unnecessarily hostile n'est-pas? We're only on here to thank the web-site for their support. I don't really think your negative and aggressive input is needed. You can have your little world back soon enough, kids.
EIDOS, please state your reasons behind why you think CM-Online should be shut down... Is this your reaction to your trustworthy and loyal subscribers..?? Please let us know your reasons...
Still have 9 accounts/teams and I'm totally addicted to the game. Why are they shutting down this beautiful footy man game? I think we deserve some sort of explanation or maybe some alternatives to go to. Don't know what to do with my spare time now!! Please help in getting us some answers. Can't live without CM online. Even now I know that the game is closing I can't leave my teams for some computer manager who will setup all wrong tactics. Cheers Grand Master Bo Manager Leicester/Rushden&D/Lazio/AZ/Morecambe/Coventry (twice)/Newcastle and Zaragoza
I have loved CM online from the day i started playing the game. To say i am absolutely gutted that the game is closing down is an understatement. I have been playing the game for over 3 years now and have never got bored of it. i have a good core of friends on the game and have met some brill characters that i'd like to stay in contact with. i eat, sleep and breath this game! Apart from my family life thid is at the top of the tree in which i devote my life too, i love it that much. i am still in shock! Why oh why have Eidios come to this decision with no explanation what so ever, they owe it to us stakeholders as we are all paying customers. If anyone from Eidios reads this then please take into account how much we all love this management game, and please take our feelings into account. We have all put alot of time money and effort into this game and to have it all taken away like this is devastating!! Save CMO Please
I'm disappointed. It isn't like playing most other games, it takes knowledge of football both tactically and the playing world to succeed in the game. That is why so many people hand over hard earned money to play it. It is a carry over from saturday afternoons at the game, of the indulgence we have for football.
I truly hope the decision is changed and it is carried on in some form.
not really pp82, considering we have all been made aware of this article through our own in game forums on CMO, we want to get as many people posting on here as possible to try and find some answers from Eidos, who may feel a bit more pressured to make some kind of comment if someone like a respected games website CVG are looking into it. Hence CMO members are creating profiles on here in order to post, leading to everyone having 1 kudos, as they are new accounts, whats funny about that?
Well having been a member for just under 2 years, I have realy taken to the game, but would not be against a new game starting if thats what was planned, but would be nice to get some information from Eidos/Sqare Enix, and the sooner the better!
Very bad news, CM-Online has become part of my daily routine and have really enjoyed playing it over the years. I like so many of the other guys just want some answers, the community are genuinely upset/dismayed/devastated at this news and we all we ask is for some answers. Will the game be re-branded? or relaunched? or will it shut for good and if so why?
I have played football-sims since early 90's and I have tried every online sim. CMO is by far the most realistic and enjoyable game with real players and teams. I am sad to see that the owners and developers don't see the potential in such a game.
It is very sad that Championship Manager Online is being closed down and will finish at the end of April. This is the only decent football manager game out there, as this is the only one that is fairly realistic. There are sill some flaw's within the game, which are continously being rectified, but just as they are getting there Eidos are now pulling the plug. Fun was had, but all seems like a complete waste of time !
Very bad news, CM-Online has become part of my daily routine since the start and i have really enjoyed playing it over the years. Just hope this really isnt the end of the best football manager game online
Very bad news, CM-Online has become part of my daily routine since the start and i have really enjoyed playing it over the years. Just hope this really isnt the end of the best football manager game online
Massively disappointed that Eidos / Square Enix have decided to pull Championship Manager Online. Subscribers are more disappointed at Eidos's lack of communication with their customers - apart from a notification from their licensors Jadestone in the forums who said their game would be shutting. We aren't prepared to let this lie - and we will campaigning as much as possible to persuade Square Enix keep this game alive. It's bad PR for them to not respond to their customers who have been paying on average £12 a month for the past few years.
This game isnt just a game, it is a lifestyle. It is a real shame if this game is taken out of our lifes. These kind of games keeps the footballinterest up, and i thought that was the meening...but i guess it all comes around to money...as everything else in the world. Too bad, really too bad.
Cannot understand why the game is closing? Cannot understand why Eidos thinks so little of its reputation to treat people this badly in response. I shall be avoiding all things Eidos from this day on.
When i received the news that CM-Online was being pulled , i felt disappointed, then i thought its ok i will replace the daily ritual and anticipation with another online game. Just let me tell you thats its not possible. CM-Online is the best of the best. Ok we had complaints but they where managed , talked through and mitigated.
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Man you lot need to get a social life its a fecking GAME not a way of life people! You lot give gaming a bad name...Losers!!!(in more then one way)
Its to me very strange that they just stop CMO and the way they the announced it. There are many manegers enjoing this game and i have been ther 3 years and 4 months, every morning to watch my games i played against another manegers. SAVE THE GAME
