When the game “goes gold”, and it MUST become a paid game, it will be better. Though even 300 managers pauing 5$ per month will give only 1500$ which can cover only server costs and…perfect Brazilian coffee =) Have you thought about making this game profitable ? What are your ideas ? Maybe some facebook applications or iphone clients ?? I want this game to evolve and I think the developers deserve some decent money for their job.
Guys, we all are living in the 21st century and everyone older than kindergarten has a credit card or other online payment options. This game is currently an investment of the developers who spend their money, time, ideas and dreams on it. Some of us are making donations (I don’t) but as for me, I think that donation is a bad idea. I also don’t like the ADs because I never click on google ads or those “marrow transplant” or “fantasy American football games”.
I am not an IT guy or someone who has his own server, but at the moment I am an iphone user and from time to time I read articles about iphone game developers earning HUGE money (100,000$ and more) selling their games and also selling ad space in their games. I’ve read that some guy had about 3$ for every 1000 views.
And I’ve also read somewhere that now Apple lets the developers make games with monthly subscriptions. As for now, I don’t know any other online soccer management games on iphone. Of course, iphone adaptation will maybe change the game a lot, but I what if 10000 people download it for 3$ and you will get 70% – more than 20000$. At least enough to start talks with possible investors (for example, even I wouldn’t mind to become a co-investor of a POPULAR and PROFITABLE project, even if it is 10000 miles away from my home).
Any ideas ?

if all teams where full with managers i would consider paying, with the game still in development and 50% of the teams cpu controlled…sorry but i’m not gonne pay for that monthly..

I agree with Vaughn, if there were more countries, if the game was developed and if all of the teams were human-controlled, then I would start thinking about possibilities, unitl then, just keep it as it is

Yeah, lots of things to consider. One of the biggest problems is have few cpu teams x having lots of countries :D
Even though I believe more countries would attract more people so we should be ok.

I think you don’t understand…it will not be profitable even with 1000 managers. Even if we pay 10$ per month. I now start to understand Peter Strand because he saw no business opportunity in MS (though the managers’ dedication to the game was higher than now with Ruby, due MS old age).
Just imagine:
1) there is a soccer management game
2) it costs 5$ per month
3) it is close to reality and represents 100 football countries with 3000 clubs to manage
4) there is 1 M.U., 1 Juventus, 1 Barcelona, 1 CSKA and it HAS A MANAGER
5) Someone pays 5$ a month and manages Milan and wins CL, you pay 5$ a month and have to struggle for UEFA Cup place in Armenia League (if the game world has many managers)
- so, what do you think ? Is it alright ? I guess not now with good pc’s, high competition and low community involvement.
If you think I am wrong, correct me, please.
Now let’s think how to make it more interesting for the managers.
1) Maybe leave only several top countries and all the international competitions ?
2) If there are 100 people who want to manage Juve and 0 people who want to manage Ravenna, it is easier to use fantasy clubs ?
x-x-x-x-x
You see, people like to win. Everyone does. Look at Ruby – if people get fired or relegated they are more likely to leave the game than those managers who fight for the title and cups. Now….how in the world is it possible to let everyone become a champion in a game like Rubysoccer ? Think of it, I guess the solution will earn a lot of money.

i have a very simple solution that could be done without any hassle…
for that every manager should click on the adverts at least 5 times a day… without any changes to anything, that should at least be enough to support the server hosting fee… at least we can all give it a try…

yes, thinking of new ways to generate funds is always great… but utilizing what we already have is is also not bad…

I know what you’re saying Alban, we don’t expect the game to be profitable with donations only. There are several things to think about like real clubs x fantasy clubs, how to keep everybody happy since everybody wants to win, etc. Let me comment these topics:
1) real clubs x fantasy clubs: I prefer real clubs and competitions, that’s one of the things that I liked the most about ManagerSim but unfortunately there are some negative effects of using them like
- we need to license them if we ever charge for the game or have a charge game mode
- most people will always want to manage the top clubs in real life or the clubs they support
2) If you pay to play it doesn’t mean you must be successful. You’re paying to enjoy a good game where you can develop tactics, meet other people from all around the world and eventually win something. Of course I know some people would simply quit if they always lose or are struggling to get better, but in a soccer management game someone always have to lose. We have some ideas to improve the game experience even if you’re not that successful.
What I assure you is we ARE thinking about ways to make the game better and profitable, without losing its spirit. Discussions like these are always positive! :)

@ Nirabdha no ad agency in the world would tolerate that. It is not a fraud, but will not bring customers, so the ad agencies will not pay for such clicks.
@ Gabriel you are right, if we (developers and managers) create a community where everyone is interested in football and discussions, this will increase the chances of profitability greatly