If you’re a football fan, you will surely have heard about the well-renowned Football Manager game series by Sports Interactive. The game began way back in 1992 for PC as Championship Manager. Since then, the quality has drastically improved to accommodate more features, more content, and more devices. The first mobile port of Football Manager was seen way back in 2006, and that too has elevated to become the game it is now. The most recent addition into the series was 2021, on both mobile and PC/Macs. Playing on either platform will cost a bit of money, but on searching on your App Store/Play Store, you may see 2 different versions: Touch and Mobile. Why are there two different versions, and which one should you buy? This article will cover everything you need to know about both mobile games: Football Manager Touch vs Football Manager Mobile.
Note: If you can’t see FM21 Touch on your device’s application store, this may be because the game is not compatible with your device, or because your region is not supported.
Football Manager Touch vs Mobile: FM Mobile is cheaper
The first thing you will likely notice is the variation in the price tags. Whilst FM21 Mobile comes in at £8.99, FM21 Touch clocks in at a pretty big £19.99. You don’t usually see mobile games going for that much generally, as the Touch edition is more than double what you would pay for the Mobile version, which means there must be different levels of quality.
Depending on your budget, we would strongly recommend FM21 Touch if that is possible for you, as it is much more detailed and immersive (more on that later).
FM Touch is very close to the PC version, unlike FM Mobile
If you do a bit of research into the gameplay of FM Touch on mobile, you’ll notice how close it looks to the PC version of Football Manager. The UI is very similar, and the features/content are in close relation too. “Touch” is just a cut-down version of the main game, missing a few bits and pieces. The following list summarises a couple of the main points of difference between FM Touch on mobile and the main game on PC.
- Players can pick a maximum of 3 leagues along with there lower divisions, and can’t add more or change the 3 at any point after the game save is created, unlike the main game. This is so the active player database is reduced in size, allowing for quicker load times, expanded device support etc.
- Coaching and training are vastly simplified – less detail in stats, less dynamic options etc.
- Only 1 member of staff per role, rather than multiple. Some roles have also been excluded such as Sports Scientist and Data Analyst.
- Can only watch the match as it skips to key moments, and not the full-blown 90 mins.
There are a lot more minor tweaks and exclusions, which follow the simplified route. In short, FM Touch is more focused on the main tactics, transfers, and matches kind of content, and avoids most of the “extra” features. All in all, though, it’s a game worth playing if you’re looking for a detailed on-the-go football manager simulator.
FM Mobile is easier to adapt, unlike FM Touch
The way Football Manager Mobile is oriented is in much more of a simplistic, minimal, and vibrant feel. It seems as though Sports Interactive was aiming at a type of game that you can load up on the go, and it almost worked. A common complaint about the game is that there are a lot of clicks between menus.
Due to the developer’s attempt to make the buttons big and information absolutely clear, a lot of info has to be separated into menus, rather than all on one screen. Despite that though, the fact that all the information you need is clear on the screen makes the game perfect for its purpose – to pick up and play wherever.
FM Touch is packed with content and detail such that one would have to focus and process everything properly. It’s not the kind of game you could pull up whilst you’re waiting for a bus, train, or in a queue, etc.
Final Verdict – Which one is better
The fact that Sports Interactive made 2 games of the same series for mobile, is a pretty good thing. The fact that both games are fit for a different range of players is even better. However, now that you’ve heard what the major differences between the 2 games are, which one is the better one?
| Football Manager Touch | Football Manager Mobile |
|---|---|
| Tons better content/features | Better support for lower end-devices |
| Much more realistic | Cheaper to purchase. |
| A close relation to the PC game | Better to play on the go |
| 3D match view (rather than 2D) | Much more simple and approachable. |
In terms of sheer quality and content, Football Manager Touch tops Mobile by a country mile. It’s absolutely packed with features for authenticity, and it is in very close relation to the mainstream PC edition of the Football Manager series. The only downside to this game is how difficult it is to actually get a hold of. The price tag is big, and you’ll need a pretty good device to buy the game too, otherwise, it will come up as a compatibility error on your application store. However, due to how many features there are, it is a very complicated game, unlike FM Mobile.
Overall, if either option is realistic to get a hold of, Football Manager Touch, vs Mobile, offers a complete manager simulation experience. If you don’t mind that and are just looking for something quick and easy, Football Manager Mobile will do the job in that aspect.
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