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Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 scores with fresh media, screens, trailer
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 makes its western debut next week on most consoles, but Wii owners will have to wait a little longer -- like last year, the Wii iteration of PES 2009 will be released next spring.Better news: it'll be keeping the same point-and-drag system that proved such a hit, and adding a few frills. There'll be a "new defensive system" in place (or: holding "Z" now sends your nearest player towards the man in possession), a fully licensed UEFA Champions League tournament, and a co-op mode which supports the Classic Controller. Even betterer news: it's PES. If you care one iota about soccer, you should care about PES.Hit up the gallery for the first Wii screens, including shots of cover star Lionel Messi, "savior" of U.S. soccer David Beckham, and lots of screens of Manchester United, a.k.a. the Greatest Soccer Team in the Woooorld.%Gallery-34214%[Via press release]
PES 2009 demo now available on the XBLM
Available for download off the Xbox Live Marketplace is a brand new PES 2009 demo from the developing crew over at Konami. The download, which clocks in at around 1.2GB, features four player online co-op and a handful of teams. Just as expected. So, now that you know your demo downloading mission, we think it's time to get a start. 1.2GB doesn't download itself.
PES 2009 demo hits Europe this week
Not too long ago we got our foots-on with Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, and if you've read that, you're probably in need of some PES 09 yourself. So much so that the lack of digitized turf could turn otherwise normal citizens into the violent, angry, we're-going-to-tear-up-the-stadium type of football fanatics we see on the TV. Gallantly, Konami saves us from a riot by giving the football hooligans their prince's ransom. Expect a demo out this Thursday along with the weekly PS Store update in Europe.
PS3 Fanboy hands-on: Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
If you've come to love soccer football not only as a sport but as a videogame, then chances are you've played the Pro Evolution series. The series has been known to always get the footy crowd going; this leaves the latest entry -- Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 -- with some mighty spikes to fill. Not one to shy away from a challenge, we hit the latest build of PES 2009 this past Tuesday and we quite enjoyed our friendly match.Getting right into the footy action, we chose which countries were going to duke it out and then proceeded to pick our sides. Interestingly, PES 2009 makes good use of the PS3's maximum number of controller ports -- which is seven. That means seven people can play a match offline at the same time. Moving onto the gameplay, in general, it's solid as usual. The ball doesn't gravitate to a player's feet and contains some of the most realistic physics for ball movement. Speaking of physics, player motions are some of the best to be seen in the series. They're incredibly lifelike, making such visuals as dribbling fun to watch (and fun to control); bone-cracking tackles can look pretty sick both in a good (realistic) and a bad (makes you pity the player) way. %Gallery-25896%
Konami scores UEFA assets for Pro Evolution Soccer franchise
Electronic Arts has had the NFL completely monopolized since 2005, giving them exclusive rights to official league teams and players for their Madden franchise -- but did you also know that they've also traditionally had assets for most professional European soccer leagues tied up as well? (You did? Well aren't you awesome.) However, Konami recently released some details concerning the next installment in their Pro Evolution Soccer franchise -- chief among these being their new licensing deals with the UEFA, as well as the Manchester United and Liverpool football clubs.Assets from the UEFA as well as the two clubs will be included in Pro Evolution Soccer 2009. It's quite a coup for Konami, whose sales figures for PES titles have traditionally paled in comparison to those of EA's FIFA series. We anticipate EA's retaliation -- we hear they're in talks with various athletic leagues to purchase the exclusive rights for sports.
Another lengthy wait for next Pro Evolution Soccer
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on the Wii was released some five months after other versions enjoyed their worldwide debut, and that won't be changing for the 2009 update. While the Xbox 360, and PlayStation editions will launch this fall in Europe, "Spring 2009" is officially the launch window for the Wii game, making it that rarest of things: a sports title with the correct year on the front of the box. It'll also be fronted by Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi (above).Even a five-month wait is worth the hassle, for PES 2008 on the Wii turned out to be an admirable and unique soccer experience all of its own, and the good news is that Konami will be keeping the same system for the 2009 game -- we're off to fight rival supporters and perhaps smash up a café to celebrate.[Via press release]
Wii scores a Pro Evolution Soccer follow-up
Against all of our expectations, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 for the Wii was a brilliant reinvention of an already brilliant series, so here's some brilliant news: we'll be getting a 2009 edition. Konami has the Wii version listed on its own site for a "Winter 2008" launch (as World Soccer Winning Eleven 2009, the Japanese name), which should come as a relief to those who caught an earlier press release that didn't mention the Wii at all.Indeed, the news brought about an impromptu Mexican wave amongst the Wii Fanboy staff. Or it would have done, if we didn't all work in different rooms in different countries.[Via Go Nintendo]
PES 2009 corners into Europe this Autumn
As some of us pour one out for our fallen countrymen of Portugal, Croatia, Netherlands and Italy, we take solace in the fact that digital soccer football will return to Europe this Autumn. Konami today announced that its popular football franchise, Pro Evolution Soccer, will release its 2009 edition later this year for European consumers. Known for its realism and hardcore gamplay, PES 2009 attempts to capture videophiles with a newly revamped graphics engine and standard pitch-perfect (see what we did there?) animation. While PES 2008 was riddled with wacky bugs, the 2009 season promises to bring the series back to its roots of being the football game to beat. No release dates for other regions have been determined. If it's half as good as they claim it to be, all we can say is hurry! Gallery: PES 2009
Konami announces Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 coming to Europe this Autumn
Click for high resolution image. Afraid you might not be able to play some virtual football before the end of the year? Put those fears aside as Konami has just announced that Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 will be released in Europe this Autumn. Not only that, but this game will be better than ever. There will be a large number of "new additions which will further bridge the gap between PES and the real thing." The press release is quite vague on any details, but does mention improved graphics, new customisation options and expanded moves and online functionality. We know what you really want to see -- screenshots. Click the image above to be taken to our gallery of new Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 images and check out those updated graphics for yourself.%Gallery-25896%
Konami kicks off Japanese rental program with Pro Evolution Soccer
Being able to rent games is something that most of us take for granted -- in Japan, it doesn't happen because of publisher blackballing. Konami has decided to give the whole rental thing a try, though, starting with the popular soccer game, Winning Eleven: Play Maker 2008 (aka Pro Evolution Soccer 2008).Even so, Japanese gamers won't be able to test out the title in full. Instead, trial versions of the Wii game will be offered for free at Tsutaya stores. It's kind of like downloading a demo, only you have to go and pick it up instead.We're interested to see if this has any impact on Japan's gaming industry, and if Konami will expand their "rental" service in the future. Gallery: Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 [Via Game|Life]
Another Week in Europe
Grand Theft Auto IV continues to show up the competition across Europe this week, with either the PS3 or Xbox 360 edition claiming top spot everywhere. Wii pair Wii Fit and Game Night favorite Mario Kart Wii are close behind in most places (because we're optimists, we're now going to consider third as the new first), though yours truly would love to know where anybody is finding Mario Kart in the UK -- I hit the high street to find a copy for a friend a few days back, with zero success.Further down the charts, Boom Blox made (what could almost be described as) an impact in its second week on sale, soaring from outside the Top 40 to 19th in the UK, while Super Mario Galaxy and Guitar Hero III rejoined the top ten in Holland and Sweden respectively. No Irish charts this week, we're afraid, but here's a hunch we had: Grand Theft Auto IV probably sold a lot.
Free online PES magazine is a good way to kill some time
Do you eat, sleep, and breathe Pro Evolution Soccer 2008? Well then, not only do you have an amazing digestive system, but also you'd probably be interested to know that Konami wants to further feed your addiction.Why else would the company team up with GamerZines to make an online magazine completely dedicated to PES Wii? Oh right, promotional reasons. At its core, this mag is just an attempt to hype up people for PES 2008. Even so, if you're a fan of the game or are thinking about buying it, you might find a few interesting things in this free zine. Aside from pictures of happy people who are supposedly playing the game, the magazine offers gameplay videos, as well as an interview with PES 2008's Wii producer, Akiyoshi "Greyhound" Chosogabe. There's also an entertaining little game-like quiz/competition where you have to identify five soccer players (which this blogger failed at miserably).All in all, there's not that much to it, but current and potential PES lovers might find reading it to be a nice distraction. Gallery: Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 [Thanks, Dave]
Wii Warm Up: Hey, batter batter batter, swing, batter
One of the best uses of the Wii's motion controls, in our opinion, is for sports games -- which is probably why Nintendo bundled a game full of sports demos with the console. Take the Wii version of Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer, for example, which was hailed by critics as bringing new life to the series.What do you think, though? Do motion controls add an extra layer of immersion to sports titles? Or, do you prefer to play your sports games without waggle?
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/10-3/16
Japanophiles and sales chart nerds, it's that time of week again to take a look at last week's sales in the Land of the Rising Sun. Those of you who've been keeping up won't find much excitement in this week's chart, though. All the same software from the week before showed up, but it might not be long before Family Ski and Winning Eleven fall out of the top thirty.It was also nice to see Metroid Prime 3: Corruption stick around, as the Nintendo FPS nabbed the number eleven spot for this week. Other than that, the only noticeable difference is that Smash Bros. dropped to fourth. What's interesting is that Brawl is no longer the best selling Wii game, either, as Wii Fit reclaimed that honor. We also learned that you can't keep the big three (Wii Fit, Wii Sports, and Wii Play) out of the top ten for long.In hardware sales, the Wii fell a smidge behind the PSP, and did only slightly better than the DS. Hardware: PSP: 57,651 Wii: 55,845 Nintendo DS: 53,266 PlayStation 3: 14,934 PlayStation 2: 9,930 Xbox 360: 1,744 To see the software numbers and rankings for last week, make sure to click past the break.
Metareview: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
Thanks to its point-and-pass mechanics and Mii integration, the Wii version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 can safely be described as the biggest upheaval of the series in years. But have such sweeping changes to one of the most finely balanced franchises in gaming been for the better? Well, the critics certainly seem to think so ...Official Nintendo Magazine UK -- 90%: First out of the tunnel with its views is the UK edition of Official Nintendo Magazine, which suggests that persevering with the new Wii controls will pay dividends: "Easily the best football game on a Nintendo system. It takes a while to get used to the new controls but once you get your head round them, they become second nature." [March 2008, p.58 -- excerpt found at Metacritic] IGN -- 86%: IGN's Matt Bozon argues that the Wii controls play a crucial role in creating the "most strategic" soccer experience ever: "The integration of IR into a sports game has been extremely minimal so far, but is absolutely ideal in this situation, allowing players to not only play the ball specifically, but direct traffic and precisely move every player on the field in tandem, making for the most realistic, strategic, and intuitive soccer experiences we've ever seen."1UP -- 75%: And it's more of the same from 1UP's Andrew Pfister, who expresses surprise that the Wii version is so superior to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions: "It's always refreshing to see a unique application of the Wii's motion controls, and it's even more encouraging to see a new idea that's not only functional, but something that really can't be done any other way. We're not sure what's going on over at Konami's PES team: on one hand, there seem to be some major issues in regards to PS3/360 development, yet the less-technically apt Wii version ends up being the game to move the franchise forward."%Gallery-14410%
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/3-3/9
To most of us, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is old news. The U.S. has had it since last summer, and even Europe has been enjoying the game for a few months now. It only debuted in Japan last week, though, and we were happily surprised to see it make the top five. It only sold 32,000 copies in its first week, but that's still not too shabby for a Metroid game in Japan. Hopefully, the game will have some legs and not plunge off the charts after its first week, like many other first-person shooters tend to do.As for other software, the Wii didn't have too many games in the top thirty -- only eight, in fact -- yet it was still the second most represented gaming system on the charts. With the exception of the aforementioned Metroid and Everyone's General Knowledge Training TV, all the Wiis top games have consistently stuck around for (at least) a few weeks. In other news, Smash Bros. once again failed to take the first place spot. The game beat out last week's chart champ, the new Gundam for the PS2, but fell behind the newly released Yakuza 3.In hardware, the Wii claimed the top spot once again as Japan is clearly so over the Mint Green PSP (that was so five minutes ago). You can check out the hardware and software numbers for last week in Japan after the break -- we recommend that you do so.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/25-3/2
People interested in Japanese game sales probably have one question on their minds: Did Super Smash Bros. Brawl hold onto the top spot last week? Well, the answer is, no. The new Gundam game for the PS2 managed to end Brawl's reign, and end it convincingly. In fact, Smash barely stayed in second, with Wii Fit being right up the fighter's grill.The Wii itself also lost the top spot last week, overtaken by the PSP in hardware for the first time since Brawl's release. Aside from those major changes, though, everything looks to be what we'd expect, with Winning Eleven and Family Ski continuing to champion the cause for third parties.Go on and take a look at the numbers after the break ... or else.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/18-2/24
Super Smash Bros. Brawl hung onto the top spot last week, but not by much. For the first time, the king of Nintendo fighters was actually close to the game behind it, with a lead of less than 10,000 units. Considering that Brawl has dominated for a month and is already over the million mark, though, we're not surprised to see a little less dominance from the title.A lot of new software was released last week, which finally caused Super Mario Galaxy to fall out of the top thirty. Winning Eleven: Play Maker 2008 was the Wii's new game, debuting at the number six spot. Family Ski also managed to jump up five spots, despite the plethora of new titles.On the hardware side, the Wii continues to reign in first place. The PSP and DS aren't too far behind, but the Wii is outselling the PS3 4:1 with the help of Brawl.You can check out the listings and sales numbers -- they're posted after the break.
Winning Eleven changes its name
Those of us in the U.S. call Konami's soccer series Winning Eleven rather than Pro Evolution Soccer. Winning Eleven will soon be no more, however, as the title for the new U.S. game will officially be Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, like its European counterpart.As IGN points out, this is unfortunate timing. Had the newest game kept its Winning Eleven name, it's title would have been Winning Eleven 11. Only Japan will have that glory now.We at Nintendo Wii Fanboy tend to prefer Winning Eleven to Pro Evolution Soccer, but at the end of the day, what's in a name? At least this change might serve to cut down on some confusion.%Gallery-14410%
Winning Eleven? Nope, it's Pro Evolution Soccer
Forever, there has been a divide between the Winning Eleven and the Pro Evolution Soccer fanboys of the world. A divide that had North American gamers playing Winning Eleven while their European friends played Pro Evolution Soccer. Funny thing is, they're the same game.But that naming confusion has been put to rest and will be no more as Konami just made it official that Pro Evolution Soccer will no longer be referred to as Winning Eleven in North America and, from hence forth, will be universally titled Pro Evolution Soccer worldwide (sans Japan). That means, North American gamers will never have a chance to experience Winning Eleven 11 (hehe, eleven), but will unite with their European brothers in playing Pro Evolution Soccer 2008. Rejoice and be glad.
