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Pro Evolution Soccer will become 'eFootball' in free-to-play shift
Konami is changing Pro Evolution Soccer's name to eFootball and making the sports franchise free-to-play.
Konami scales back 'PES 2021' to focus on its next-gen engine
Konami is taking a different approach with its beloved Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) this year. Instead of a true sequel, the publisher is planning a smaller "streamlined offering" that includes some kind of "season update" content. The development team has made this decision so it can focus on a "next-generation title" that is undoubtedly bound for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. On its website, Konami revealed that it's being created with "an updated engine" that will allow for "staggering improvements to all areas of the game."
'PES' Euro 2020 DLC will happen, even if Euro 2020 doesn't
While it's looking less likely there will be a European Football Championship this year, eFootball PES 2020 fans will at least get the chance to recreate the tournament on their own and online. Publisher Konami confirmed today it will release a free Euro 2020 update for the game on April 30th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
'PES 2020' isn't perfect, but it's good enough to rival 'FIFA 20'
It was only about a year ago that I thought Pro Evolution Soccer was basically dead. That's how I felt right after Konami lost the licensing rights for the UEFA Champions League, the most important club competition, to its archrival FIFA from EA Sports. Despite this major setback, Konami hasn't given up on its beloved franchise, and that's great for soccer fans everywhere. At E3 earlier this year, I played a demo of the newly named eFootball PES 2020, which surprised me thanks to gameplay improvements, a redesigned menu system that's easier to browse and better visuals of players and stadiums. And while I have no doubt having the Champions League in PES 2020 would've made the game significantly better, there's still plenty to like in the full version of the title, which arrives September 10th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Konami's mobile version of ‘eFootball PES 2020’ is coming in October
PES fans won't have to wait much longer for the highly-anticipated mobile version of eFootball PES 2020. Konami announced today that the latest mobile update will be released in October, and will carry over many of the features already announced for the PC and console versions. Particularly skilled players will be able to deploy Finesse Dribble, an advanced technique that allows you to skirt past opponents.
Things are looking up for ‘Pro Evolution Soccer 2020’
After Konami lost the UEFA Champions League licensing rights to EA Sports in 2018, I was quick to count out the future of the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise. That's because, for me, having that European club competition was the only thing keeping from playing FIFA almost exclusively -- even if I do find the PES gameplay more fluid and realistic at times. Thankfully for PES fans, though, Konami isn't drowning in its sorrows over losing the Champions League to FIFA. And this year, the company is moving forward with eFootball PES 2020, which doesn't only comes with a shiny new name but also plenty of exciting features.
PES 2015's pre-order bonuses build your team of the year
Those that pre-order Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 in the UK will receive some bonus goodies, Konami revealed. The pre-order exclusives are for the game's new My Club mode, which stands as an overhauled version of the series' Master League management mode. My Club brings microtransactions to the soccer sim as well, which is where the pre-order bonuses come in. The exclusive pre-order content was "built around the UEFA Team Of The Year," Konami told Joystiq in an email. The bonuses include "10,000 Game Points, 10 Recovery Items to assist the fitness of the squad, and one player picked at random from the team voted by over 5 million people on UEFA.com." Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 is the first in the series for PS4 and Xbox One, and will launch on November 13. A demo of the game will be available on September 17 for each of its platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. [Image: Konami]
Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 expands shooting system on next-gen
Konami revealed details for Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 this week, the publisher's first soccer game for Xbox One and PS4. The game will include expanded passing options when dishing a final pass to strikers as well as a new shooting system with a "variety of unrestricted shooting styles," though goalkeepers are expected to react better and alter their center of gravity to block shots. The publisher also boasted improved one-on-one battles in the game, improving players' abilities to dribble into space and away from their marker. PES 2015 will be the "first full implementation" of the publisher's Fox Engine, which debuted in its "embryonic form" in Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 and gifted the game a much more exciting presentation. Konami says it recreated over 1,000 players for PES 2015, each one expecting to run and play as they would in real life, and provided more varied crowd animations as well as context-sensitive cheers. The soccer sim is due to launch this fall or winter for PS4, Xbox One and "additional formats." [Image: Konami]
Second PES 2014 DLC adds 800 faces, 11 vs 11 mode
Konami launched the second data pack for its latest soccer simulation game, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014. The data pack offers updated rosters for the game as well as 800 additional faces crafted to look like their real-life athlete counterparts. The free DLC also introduces a team play lobby system, some undefined gameplay and chat tweaks along with an update to PES 2014's online offerings, most notably the addition of an 11 vs. 11 online multiplayer mode. Lastly, Konami also reintroduced its MyPES feature to PES 2014 through the release of a free companion app, now available on iOS. MyPES allows players to share game results and stats with others, as well as view analysis for "shots, possession, passing, and patterns of play." Players can also use the app to build communities with others, and those without an online-enabled console can scan QR codes to assess their games in the app. The companion app will arrive on Android in the near future.
Konami pre-E3 show gives the scoop on MGS5, Castlevania on June 6
Konami's third annual pre-E3 show is penciled in for June 6 at 1 p.m. ET, streaming live online via Konami's events site, on Gamespot and via the Xbox Live Gamespot app. For the second year in a row, Konami will show off a new trailer for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, which was announced during last year's pre-E3 briefing. Konami also plans to show off some behind-the-scenes footage of the next Pro Evolution Soccer game, and will have "new announcements" from Kojima Productions. Kojima recently made a splash with the Joakim Mogren marketing campaign for Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Surely nothing will be able to compete with that.
Amazon's Sunday Lightning Deals offering more Halo 4
For those that missed out on yesterday's Halo 4 Lightning Deal, you have another shot at getting a $20 Amazon gift card and $10 in Instant Watch credit with the game today. Unfortunately, a few of the earlier deals for today have already been claimed, but if you rush to your computer with your credit card in hand, you might be able to score The World Ends With You ($14.99) and Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 ($19.99) before the deals run out.Punch your way past the break to check out the full schedule of today's Lightning Deals, courtesy of Thrifty Nerd.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 review: Total control
The Pro Evolution Soccer series has been playing catch-up to EA Sports' FIFA games in this console generation. While the series has its bright spots that undoubtedly challenge the safer gameplay approach of FIFA, the Pro Evo series has lacked that "homerun" feature (pardon the baseball pun). Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 doesn't alter that course, but it brings forth some noteworthy updates that make it a viable means of getting your soccer fix.Of those updates, a group of gameplay changes that Konami is labeling "Pro Evolution Soccer Full Control" stands out. Included in this cluster of improvements is dynamic first touch, which focuses on moments when players anticipate a pass coming their way. This year, players can now trap or immediately flick the ball in the air to change its trajectory and set up for successive moves during first contact with the ball. %Gallery-162552%
Another PES 2013 demo, available next week on XBLM and PSN
Konami will release a second demo of Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 next week, crashing into the nets of Xbox Live on August 28 and PlayStation Network on August 29. Yes, a second demo within a month of the first one. It may seem a bit crazy to release two demos, let alone so close together, but Konami did the exact same thing last year.PES Productions have been hard at work tweaking the game since the first demo, presumably based on feedback. The second demo will offer a more equal balance between attack and defence, improved control for manual passes, and a number of other refinements – including improved refereeing. If only they could do that with the actual sport.The game is scheduled to release around late September on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, and then later on in the year for PSP, 3DS, Wii, and PS2.
Konami confirms 3DS lineup for Europe
Konami has announced four titles for the 3DS in Europe, including Pro Evolution Soccer, Frogger, Contra, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Of those, we've seen screens or video of precisely one, Snake Eater, with the others first revealed as in development during E3. The non-Metal Gear games haven't been shown, although it's worthwhile to know that a) they're still in development, and b) Konami already plans to release them in Europe. Plus, it doesn't take a huge leap of intuition to figure out what kind of games Contra, Pro Evolution Soccer, and Frogger will be.
FIFA fights off Pro Evo on UK charts; Castlevania, Enslaved debut in top 10
FIFA 11 spent a second week atop the UK all formats chart this week, holding off Pro Evolution Soccer 2011's premiere in second, despite a 63 percent drop in sales. Chart-Track states that FIFA 11's launch last week was 10 times that of Konami's footie franchise and that this is the first time Pro Evo hasn't debuted in the top spot since the original game kicked off in 2001. Dead Rising 2 shambles along, rounding out the top three. With competition so brutal during this time, it's good to see that Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Enslaved debuted at the sixth and seventh spots, respectively. Hopefully both of these quality games can hang onto a spot in the top ten for more than a couple weeks. As much as we wish the best for those games, we're not expecting either title to be stamina-infused like Just Dance, which moved up three spots this week to ninth place, and has a sequel coming out next week. Place your bets now if Just Dance 2 will glide across the UK charts to best FIFA 11. Check out the UK's top ten after the break.
Archetype, Hero of Sparta 2 on iPad, PES 2010 coming
A few high profile apps have made their way over to the iPad recently. First up, Archetype is that first-person shooter that ran surprisingly well on the iPhone. It's now available on the bigger device with updated HD graphics and a redesigned HUD to take advantage of the bigger screen space. Additionally, the game has been updated since launch with a new level and a Rocket Arena gametype. The app is US$4.99 on the iPad, compared to the iPhone's $2.99 version. Gameloft has released their Hero of Sparta 2 app in an HD iPad version as well, bringing God of War-style action to Apple's tablet. HoS2 features new weapons and enemies across 12 different levels, and unlike the first Hero of Sparta for the iPad, word is that this one runs and looks great. If you were a fan of the first game and need something new to play on the iPad, you can buy Hero of Sparta 2 now for $9.99. And finally, at GDC Europe last week, Konami announced that it would be bringing Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 to the iPad. This series is also known as Winning Eleven, and it's supposed to be head and shoulders above most other soccer franchises out there, so seeing the brand new version out on the iPad is a nice coup for soccer fans. The app is due out in October of this year, just about a month after the new version of the game arrives on consoles. Unfortunately, there's no word on price yet, but given the premium nature of the title and Konami's pedigree, we're probably talking about a $9.99 game here as well.
Konami 'aggressively' looking into motion control for PES series
Shingo Takatsuka, the progenitor of the long-running Pro Evolution Soccer series, recently had a few choice words to share with IGN on the subject of incorporating motion control into the franchise. Though the producer of that other soccer game has stated his indifference to motion control schemes, Takatsuka explained Konami is highly intrigued by Project Natal and the heretofore "officially" unnamed PlayStation Motion Controller -- intrigued to the extent that he's "looking at integrating those devices into our games very aggressively." As we all know, soccer is the most fatiguing activity any human can participate in, so we expect that a Natal-ized version of PES would be appropriately taxing. However, given the sport's limited employment of hands, we'd be curious to see how Sony's motion-sensing peripheral would be utilized. There are few pieces of gaming hardware we'd outright refuse to give a fair shot, but shoe adapters might just be beyond our capacity for humiliation.
Pro Evo Soccer 2010 demo scores on Xbox Live
Attention, footie fans, Major Nelson has news from on high. That news is this: A demo for Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. We don't know much about the demo, other than the fact that it features multiplayer as well as "incredibly detailed visuals and refined controls and skills." We also know it will eat up one whole gigabyte of your hard drive. Finally, and this is just a guess, the demo probably allows you to kick balls. Hard. Download and enjoy. Add the PES 2010 demo to your 360 download queue
Konami posts record sales for previous fiscal year
Never, ever doubt the interminable power of a long-running football franchise or the appeal of mustachioed super spies. Konami just posted its sales figures for this past fiscal year (ending March 31, 2009), and it certainly seems it'll have an achievement worthy of hanging on mom's fridge. The company's total sales for the year reached a record sum of 309,771 million yen (or $3.25 billion, £2.15 billion), a year-over-year increase of 4.2 percent.Konami's net income actually fell 40.7 percent from last year, though its Digital Entertainment division (you know, the one that makes games) actually did quite well on its own -- it's operating revenue increased 123.4 percent for a total of 3,447 million yen last year. Allow us to convert that for you: It's a freaking ton of $s and £s.
Konami game revenue up in Q3
Whipping up some numbers to report, Konami announced that its net income for the games division during the first three quarters of the fiscal year reached ¥13.3 billion ($148.3 million). The figure represents a 5% increase from the same time last year; however, for its full fiscal year, the company estimates to bring in ¥18 billion ($200M), a slight decrease from last year's ¥18.5 billion ($206.3M).The financial fortunes in the division were driven by (gasp!) Metal Gear Solid 4 and the Pro Evolution Soccer series. With all the negative news coming out of other publishers, Konami's ability to weather the current global financial crisis is about as good as it gets. [Image]
