The first version of the game was released in Europe in 2004 under the new brand name NHL Eastside Hockey Manager. It was based on Sports Interactive's Championship Manager 3 game engine and featured over 15 playable hockey leagues from around the world with a database of over 15,000 players and staff. The game was first released in stores only in Europe but was also available to be downloaded and bought online. A North American retail release of the game followed later in the year.
On January 30, 2007 it was announced that NHL Eastside Hockey Manager 2007 would be the final version of the game for the foreseeable future, with Sports Interactive blaming piracy for the decision, and a lack of advertising, which most feel is the true reason for the poor sales figures.[1]
While no hockey management game has existed since the demise of NHL Eastside Hockey Manager series, OOTP Developments, the developers of the management sim Out of the Park Baseball, announced in late 2011 that they were developing a hockey management sim to be released in late 2012.[2]
