The NFL preseason has started, and NCAA play begins later this month, but for fans of text sims, the football landscape has never been more cloudy. It is conceivable to the gaming community that as many as five new games could be released this fall. However, while several games have been mentioned by developers, and others speculated about by text sim enthusiasts, a recent poll at FOFC indicated that a significant number of text-sim enthusiasts aren't sure that they're going to see anything new in the coming months that's worth their time.

The primary reason for the public uncertainty is that it seems that the trend is moving more and more toward taking a lead from Jim Gindin at Solecismic -- the original "it will be released when it is ready" guy in the genre -- with companies being very reluctant to offer up release timetable estimates. Only one (Sports Mogul) of the five companies that seems most likely to release something this fall has made a recent public statement regarding a potential release date, and no recent screenshots or feature lists have been made public either. However, indications are that some or all of the companies may be working behind the scenes, avoiding too much hype and overblown expectations. Today, we'll take a look at what might be coming down the pipe this fall from the five companies in question: EBM, Grey Dog, Solecismic, Sports Mogul, and Wolverine Studios, and my best guesses as to what we might actually be playing come this fall.

EBM
EBM is a new one-man company announced last fall at FOFC by long-time FOFCer Todd King (aka VPI97). Todd is probably best known in the text-sim community for his outstanding work on the Web sites for the IHOF and the GEFL, two Front Office Football multiplayer leagues. A development blog was started at the EBM site in November 2007, and several exciting entries have been posted. On Feb. 1, 2008, Todd posted that EBM Sports: Football was on hiatus, but still ongoing. No further official word has come since then, but there's still anticipation for the eventual release of this game and its promised Football Manager-like feature set. As of this writing, the 2008 Q3 projected release date is still posted at the EBM site. Forgotten, or still true? I could see it being either way.
Ben's Outlook for a Fall 2008 Release: Seems unlikely, but I wouldn't be shocked, either. It's hard to know with a new company and a product that's a labor of love.

GREY DOG
Grey Dog Software is headed by Arlie Rahn, who has to his credit several text-sim titles such as Coach A Dynasty, Tournament Dreams College Basketball, Total Pro Football, and most recently, Bowl Bound College Football. A new game, titled Bowl Bound Pro Football, was announced in late 2006/early 2007 at the Grey Dog forums and a forum was opened for suggestions. The BBPF forum was quite active with suggestions and buzz for quite some time, but has since died down. Nothing has been posted in the public forum by the developer or by any gamers in over a month, although it was posted at FOFC on Sunday of this week that Arlie is still working on the game.
Ben's Outlook for a Fall 2008 Release: Tough to predict, but historically, Arlie isn't one to be this tight-lipped if he's close. I don't think it's vaporware, but I'll be surprised if it comes out before the end of 2008.

SOLECISMIC
Solecismic Software is a solo company founded by Jim Gindin 10 years ago, which has released seven football titles over the years, including six versions of Front Office Football (pro) and a college version: The College Years. The latest version, Front Office Football 2007, is currently the undisputed king of the football text-sim world. Jim is not a developer given to pre-release publicity and hype (FOF2K7 was announced on one day and released the next day,) so it's difficult to surmise what may be coming down the pipe from Solecismic. There has yet to be a new Solecismic release in a year when there wasn't at least a teaser on the Web site, and this year there has been nothing. However, over the years Jim has given out less and less information each year, so that may mean nothing. Based on the results of another recent FOFC poll, public opinion seems to be fairly well divided, and over a third of respondents predicted that we'll see nothing new at all.
Ben's Outlook for a Fall 2008 Release: In the 10 falls that have passed since Solecismic was formed, I can only recall one when there wasn't at the very least a roster/schedule update to one of the games, so I'd be surprised if something doesn't come out of Ann Arbor in the next few months. I don't recall the exact release date of FOF1, but it was some time in the fall of 1998. I'm predicting an announcement of some sort commemorating the 10th anniversary of the first release.

SPORTS MOGUL
Clay Dreslough has been at this since 1997 when the original Baseball Mogul released, and while BM has flourished over the years, Football Mogul has been something of a red-headed stepchild of the company, and of the text-sim world. It's disappointing, considering Clay's excellent track record for intuitive interfaces, solid player development models, and great support through patches that the football game has never seemed to get the company's full attention and resources. Here's wishing that Sports Mogul will some day release a version of Football Mogul that measures up to its baseball counterpart.
Ben's Outlook for a Fall 2008 Release: A little over two weeks ago, Clay posted that Football Mogul 2009 would be released "probably in mid-to-late August, 2008." Clay's usually of the "release now, fix later" mindset, so there's every reason to believe that we will see Football Mogul 2009 by Week 1 of the NFL season.

WOLVERINE STUDIOS
Gary Gorski has been known in the past as a developer of basketball games for Grey Dog, and now lately for his own company, Wolverine. This spring, he announced his intention to enter into the football world with Draft Day Sports: Pro Football. He has promised a 2D engine, accurate stats, and a "beautiful interface." Information has been a bit scarce lately, and Gary's last post in the forums was in mid-July, and indicated that things are progressing, but are a going a bit slower than he'd hoped. Co-developer Tim Plum posted on Aug. 7 that work continues and that more news should be forthcoming soon. Ben's Outlook for a Fall 2008 Release: All indications are that for better or worse, we'll see DDS: PF at some point this fall.

Potential Fall Releases At A Glance


Click to see full table

So, what text-based football game release (announced or unannounced) are you most looking forward to this fall? Does the lack of information across the board concern you, cause you to look elsewhere, or are you unconcerned about it?