It's partly because there has never been a follow up. It was the game that established us as developers on the map and is our cherished title that we wouldn't want to damage in any way. So we wouldn't just let anyone produce this new version. It had to be a team we were directly in control of and who were onboard with the philosophy of the game. Though I suppose really it is a future sport.
People describe it as mixing a bit of ice hockey, a bit of football and a bit of basketball.
The game is now more customisable with greater control over your team. There is also a memory card option, which lets you take your team round to your friends. Depending on what platforms we go onto you could see Net options coming into play. Some people have said that perhaps we haven't changed enough, but we were wary as classic games were good for a reason. It's too easy to change things, invariably the wrong things, too much.