276 Poaching Part 1 (1/2)
Chapter 276: Poaching Part 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After eliminating Notts County in the English FA Cup and winning his first derby since starting to coach the Forest team, Twain was in a good mood. And there was more to add to his mood. Sports Interactive was going to hold a press conference in London to formally announce its collaboration with the Nottingham Forest Football Club, as well as their appointment of Manager Tony Twain as a spokesperson for one of their company products, the ”Football Manager” series, or FM.
After the press conference, without a break, Twain rushed to shoot his first personal advertising photo. It could not delay the team's normal training, so it had to be completed within a day.
Shania had returned to Newcastle before the FA Cup since her Christmas holiday was over. Otherwise, Twain would have really wanted to bring her to attend the press conference.
First, the guests from Nottingham were taken to the company's headquarters in Islington, North London, where they visited the developer of the small-scale but world-renowned football video game. Evan Doughty and Allan Adams were just going through the motions. They followed their host and nodded, or expressed surprise and interest at the appropriate times. No matter how much they knew about the game series, it could not be more than Tony Twain did, who was there with them.
It was very gratifying for an FM gamer to be able to go inside the company that made the game, and see for himself how they developed the game. That was how Twain was. He showed a greater interest than Evan and Allan did, and did not seem to be faking.
As the group was heading towards the press conference, Twain and the others were introduced to the company's capabilities and were assured of the quality of the database that they wanted.
In the history of English football, this was the first time that a commercial collaboration between a professional football club and a football game developer was launched with such great fanfare; as a result, it attracted a lot of media attention. Moreover, the news about Twain serving as the spokesperson for the FM series was sent out in advance. With a game being endorsed by a Premier League manager, how could such a unique occasion not receive the British paparazzi's attention?
The press conference was packed.
After the routine statement, both sides announced a strategic partnership and signed a collaboration contract in the presence of the reporters. Although the collaboration was the first of its kind, there was nothing surprising about it. After all, both sides' interests were aligned with each other. The next part was the highlight of the media's expectations.
SI announced that they would engage the Nottingham Forest Manager Tony Twain to be the spokesperson for their newest Football Manager series, and there would be an additional image of a man on the cover and game display of FM, and that person would be Tony Twain. Furthermore, in the game, Tony Twain would become an active character. Unlike the other coaches, who were just amalgamations of data, he would have a higher degree of freedom and do a lot of things that were consistent with the true character of Tony Twain. For example, after the gamer played against Twain and defeated him, he might say ”we've been raped.” When the gamer wanted to buy George Wood in the game, Twain would inform the gamer, ”unless you can fork out the United Kingdom's GDP from last year, there's no need for discussion” Of course, those changes would only be realized in the next game, FM06.
”I think I'll play the game and choose to coach Nottingham Forest to see which football club I'll be squeezed into in the game. It would be wonderful to play against myself.”
Twain's words amused everyone present.