Jon Hare sold Sensible Software over 25 years ago in 1999, but the legendary name continues to be associated with him—so you'd imagine he would be keen to leverage it when possible, right?
Not so. In an interview with Time Extension, Hare—who recently took the lead role at a new studio founded by Sporty Group—revealed that not only did he have the chance to return to the 'Sensible' branding, he actually turned it down:
I was offered the chance to call it Sensible Soccer nine years ago. I could have cut a deal with Codemasters before they were acquired by EA... from my perspective, I didn't want it to be called Sensible precisely because people would compare it to Sensible World of Soccer, which is the best game I've ever made, and they would almost inevitably compare it negatively.
Hare compared the Sensible name to a classic British sitcom, pointing out that it would be a "negative" step for him as an artist and creator:
Fawlty Towers is a good example — there were very few episodes made. By using a name that's your own thing just to make money outside of it and weaken it creatively is a negative step for any artist. Maybe commercially, it's a good step, but for me, I'm the last person who wants to fuck Sensible Soccer up.
Everyone else, they don't care, they make a bit of money out of it. For me, it's much more than money. So, no, it was a conscious decision. With Sociable, people will understand it's related. It's not legally related, it's a separate entity. But you know, each name lives in a time.
He's got first-hand experience of this, too—he helped reboot Speedball in 2012 and says the result convinced him that resisting classic franchises in this way never turns out well:
I made a remake of Bitmap Brothers' Speedball with Tower Studios in 2012; it was okay. We went to number one, but six months later it was nothing. It's like any band that makes a comeback. They have a little comeback tour and then they disappear again. You can't recapture that time. It's gone. Sensible Soccer's time had gone. There will come a time when Sociable Soccer's time will have gone as well. As an artist, you can't live in your past.
Sensible Software was founded in 1986 by Hare and Chris Yates, and, in addition to Sensible Soccer, produced a string of hits including Wizball, Mega Lo Mania, Cannon Fodder and Sensible Golf.
Despite not wishing to return to the name in 2025, Hare has been involved with Sensible Soccer since selling the company; in 2006, he worked with Codemasters and Kuji Sheffield to create Sensible Soccer 2006, the last mainline entry in the franchise.