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PES 2008 gets a patch for SDTV users
Konami's generally beloved Pro Evolution Soccer series has had a number of snafus on the PS3 with its 2008 title. We've already gotten one gameplay patch, but Konami has unleashed a second patch for all those experiencing gameplay troubles on your standard definition televisions. But really, if you have an SDTV, why'd you get the PS3 version of the game? This patch halts any picture stuttering you would experience on a standard definition TV -- but you've got bigger issues! Go get an HDTV and the problem will go away, too. It's just a much, much more expensive fix.
Fresh Winning Eleven info emerges from the tunnel
As we have previously discussed, the Wii version of Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 will be a very different game from the version that appeared on other consoles (and we're not just referring to the Wii-specific logo above). Is that a good or bad thing? We'll know soon enough, because Konami has announced that the game will be out in March.Scouring today's press release, we also learned about a random bunch of other features that are exclusive to the Wii edition. These include the ability to fashion a squad of 16 pre-defined Miis, a "Champions Road" mode that sees you building a team from the opponents you defeat (similar to the "Gacha-get" mode in the DS version), and the way in which sliding tackles can be executed and 'keepers brought out with a shake of the Nunchuk.Oh, and it will have full online play, but if the online support is anything like other versions of the game, expect it to be absolutely lagtastic.[Via press release]
New Winning Eleven footage shows off Wii controls
To those of us reared on playing Winning Eleven games with d-pads and/or analog sticks, the Wii version of Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has the potential to be a slightly unsettling experience. As the video above shows, pointing your cursor to pass actually looks very natural and fluid, but we're also hoping this doesn't make Winning Eleven on the Wii too simplistic. The series has long been defined by the subtlety of its gameplay, and while greater immediacy would potentially draw in new fans, learning how to master each new game in the series is one of its biggest attractions. We're remaining positive though, if only because series creator Shingo "Seabass" Takatsuka has repeatedly demonstrated that he knows more than most people about producing superb soccer games. Here's hoping he nails this one.
Promotional Consideration: Dual screen theatre
Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out. The following DS Lite ads were taken from a series of Nintendo-sponsored station identification pieces (idents) aired over a year ago on Channel 4. For those of you unfamiliar with idents, they're short spots, often themed, stuck in between television shows to help "brand" the channel. In the case of this set, the UK public-service TV station bookended its comedy programs with Japanese theatre-styled advertisements for the DS's features and games. They're some of the most creative commercials we've seen for the handheld, so don't skip this post!
PES 2008 features serious lag on PS3
"Konami Digital Entertainment has uncovered issues which can affect the online gameplay quality of PES 2008 on PLAYSTATION 3. We are working at full strength to find a solution as quickly as possible. We sincerely apologise for this inconvenience. Further announcements will be made as soon as we have additional details."The PS3 version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has been giving a lot of soccer fans some serious distress. The online mode of PES is seemingly broken, according to various reports to Pro-G. "PS3 PES 2008 is practically unplayable online, with the ball pinging about uncontrollably and players randomly disappearing and reappearing." It notes that the PS3 version also suffers from a poor framerate, something not found in the Xbox 360 version.Certainly, Konami is trying to fix these problems. However, it's disappointing to see yet another game get such poor treatment on Sony's machine.
First Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 shots
Pro Evolution Soccer games may not always get pulses racing in the US, but the series does enjoy hit status here in Europe. Given the limitations of the DS, last year's PES 6 provided a surprisingly serviceable soccer game, despite being stripped of much of the detail and gameplay intricacies that appeared in the home console versions.Indeed, it sold well enough for Konami to give things another shot on the handheld, and CVG now has some of the first screens of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 DS. Like last year, the whole thing is blocky as hell, but hey, at least it looks a little more intuitive than the holy mess that is the Wii version.Feint past the break for another couple of screens, or head to CVG for the full set.
PES 2008 demo makes its way to North America
North America, we've got one question for you ... are you ready for some soccer? We ask, because this morning the previously released to other parts of the world Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 demo just became available to North American Xbox Live members. We suspect this 1.18GB demo to be the same as the one that was released to Europe last month, which we remember includes lots of soccer gameplay, soccer scoring and soccer running. It's what we in the business call a "soccer game". So North America, now you're just as important as Europe, because you have the PES 2008 demo ... albeit just a bit late.
Pro Evolution Soccer -- made just like SNES games
Soccer is awesome and its console gaming equivalent, Pro Evolution Soccer, can be touted as equally awesome for the football (if you're anything but American) enthusiast . So, how did development go with this title? IGN asks Shingo Takatsuka, known as Seabass, just that. While claiming this year's PES the best yet, Seabass already has new ideas to work out for next year's game. In essence, this should make every year to come the best PES yet. As for weak points in the development process/team, Seabass says that "the way we create the game is almost the same as when we made the SNES games. We've been creating games in the same manner for many years and in that sense it's good for upgrading AI and so on. However, if we want to dramatically improve the graphics and add hundreds of new stadiums and so on the SNES way of making a game cannot be applied." He also implies next year's game will be different from this approach, so think what you will. The workload has been difficult across all platforms, not just programming for the PS3. It's refreshing to see a developer not jumping at the chance to claim the PS3 is hard to work with. The PS3 and 360 games are going to be exactly the same, though Seabass admits he isn't sure why the PS3 version experiences some slowdown when the 360 does not. His guess is as good as ours, but we doubt it's the console. You can dive in the game now, although it's not a do-or-die skill to learn, it will help you out if you master the timing. It's more technical than anything else, but it seems that aside from a bit of slowdown, PS3 fans have something to get excited for, as long as soccer is their cup of tea. If you don't have a PS3, the game is going to continue to get released on the PS2 for a while, so no worries. Sports games are probably going to be the last titles to truly jump into next-gen development, because we all know they love releasing on every platform known to man.
Pro Evolution Soccer dated for Europe
European soccer football fans will be excited to know that Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has been dated and will release to Europe on October 26th. Though, Konami did not announce a US release date and is still sticking with its "Winter 2007" vagueness. But then again US gamers are generally less than enthused about soccer games instead hovering towards their Maddens and other sports titles, so maybe Konami could be less than enthused about announcing the US release date. Maybe a little eye for an eye treatment. Never-less, October 26th is the date for Europe, so mark those official Winning Eleven calendars now.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 kicking this fall
The next installment Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series (also known as Winning Eleven in Japan and America) is coming this fall. The title touts an adaptive AI system entitled Teamvision. According to press release, "all 'Next Gen' versions [PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360] will also benefit from an extensive Edit mode, allowing gamers to customise their PES experience." In addition to the aforementioned next-gen platforms, PES 2008 is coming to Nintendo DS, Sony PSP and PS2 -- sorry, Wii fans, you'll have to settle for Electronic Arts' FIFA 08, with Ronaldinho, which is also due out this fall for every console known to Man.%Gallery-4068%Check out the latest Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 news!
Winning Eleven 2007 demo free kicks XBLM
Sure, today may be a momentous day because we have an Arcade release that is neither retro nor nonexistent, but we also have a footy demo just in time for humpday. That's right, we have a demo of (deep breath) Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007. Whew! That's a mouthful. The demo clocks in at a whopping 1.3 GB, so you may want to go fix yourself a sandwich while it's downloading.Go grab the demo and tell us what you think.
Japanese trailer for Winning Eleven
This is one of those ads that we kinda wish would get aired outside of Japan, though maybe with onscreen text translated, simply because there's a lot crammed into a very small package. The music, the expressions on the guys' faces ... it's just perfect. And pretty damned funny, too. Anyone up for soccer?Check out the video after the jump.
Winning Eleven headed to the Wii
Wiinning Eleven? Oh, we couldn't resist. In any case, the extremely popular soccer sim (which almost consistently dominates European sales charts immediately upon release) is coming to the Wii, complete with (you guessed it) a revamped control system designed specially for the system. As cool as a "power boot" clip-on ankle-brace for the Wiimote would be, however, we think it'll be something slightly more traditional. Strangely enough, the CVG article mentions whispers of that very insanity taking place in EA's camp, with the FIFA series. Bizarre. Winning Eleven is a brilliant series, and it's great news for Nintendo to have the series aboard. Note to the confused: Winning Eleven is also known as Pro Evolution Soccer in many parts of the world, including Europe. In retrospect, shouldn't it be called Pro Evolution Football over there? Hmm.
FIFA 360 deserves red card, EA gyps again
It's as simple as this: FIFA 07 for Xbox 360 will include 7 professional leagues (actually, just 6, as Juventus is the only team featured from Italy Serie B) and 21 stadiums for $59.99. FIFA 07 for Xbox/PS2 will feature 28 leagues and 47 stadiums for just $39.99. Which one you buyin'? Heck, even the thrifty ($29.99) DS version's got 25 leagues packed inside that tiny cart, which begs the question: what's limiting EA's "next-gen" sports releases? Both FIFA and Madden continue to lack content and features present in the Xbox and PS2 versions. The good news is, Pro Evolution Soccer's arrival on Xbox 360 will likely encourage EA to clean up its act for the next go-around. Unfortunately, without competition, the same can't be said for Madden ... [Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Pro Evo Soccer exclusivity proves enigmatic
Furious footie fans were quick to cry foul when Microsoft announced at the Leipzig Games Convention that Pro Evolution Soccer 6 was to be a 12-month, next-gen exclusive for the Xbox 360. The initial wave of anger has since been replaced with confusion, as several remarks from Konami seem to indicate that Microsoft was already celebrating a goal which they hadn't quite scored yet. Has Microsoft been caught in a lie or is this merely a case of misinterpretation and marketing hyperbole? The story thus far: After the initial announcement, Konami shoots down claims that Pro Evolution Soccer 6 is exclusive to the Xbox 360, pointing out that the game is a planned "multi-platform release" in order to satisfy "as many people as possible." Konami was right to take issue, as Microsoft never claimed to have total exclusivity. The deal only encompasses next-generation platforms. That means the PS2 version, sure to be the most widely played one, remains unaffected. Next, 1UP has a chat with series producer Shingo Takatsuka and triumphantly reveals that "Winning Eleven is not exclusive to Xbox 360." Well done, especially considering that Microsoft was speaking about Pro Evolution Soccer and not Winning Eleven. Same game, different regions. Microsoft is certainly to blame for not clarifying further, but nabbing Pro Evolution Soccer affects European territories, the only place where the series goes by that name. Takatsuka goes on to say that Konami "never said exclusive for one year on the next-gen platforms. We said this year. We were agreed that it was this year." The agreement largely occurs by default, as the man admits that the PS3 entry in the series has no chance of being completed before 2007. Next Spring is the earliest date it could see release and even then, it would be the Japanese Winning Eleven first, followed by the European edition. Can Konami put together the European release before 12 months have elapsed? Absolutely, especially if they want to prove Microsoft wrong. It would seem that Microsoft could be accused of being overly vague but not of being untruthful. Both Microsoft and Konami are correct and the confusion thus far is only due to different naming conventions and choice marketing words. Still, it'll be interesting to see which really lasts the longest -- Microsoft's 12 months or Konami's development time on a PS3 Pro Evolution Soccer 6. The race is on. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in.] Read -- Microsoft's original announcement. Read -- Konami denies 360 exclusivity. Read -- Series producer chimes in on the situation.
Microsoft head butts FIFA, Pro Evo Soccer into exclusivity
Speaking at the Leipzig Games Convention, Microsoft has announced that if you want to play the most graphically impressive footy games without gallivanting outside and running the risk of getting someone's head lodged in your chest, you'll have to do it on the Xbox 360. In what is sure to be a valuable coup, both FIFA 2007 and Pro Evolution Soccer 6 are bound exclusively to the Xbox 360 for a period of 12 months. The latter game is hugely popular in Europe and may prove to be quite a head butting killer app for Microsoft's next-generation console. The exclusivity doesn't include current generation consoles, it seems, but a significantly improved 360 version of Pro Evolution Soccer with Xbox Live support would likely prove irresistable to most. As for FIFA, well, it has "ultra realistic player motion and delivers complete responsiveness due to its ability to branch animations and the real-time calculation of real human biomechanics," according to producer Hugues Ricour. "Essentially our software engineers are writing human decision-making code." Look forward to not making a decision at all regarding the console when you buy a next-gen soccer game in 2007.
The geek version of the World Cup
Alice spotted this snap of the geek's version of the World Cup from the Electronic Football Challenge '06. I'm sure many gamers are intrigued by the logic behind a football game that doesn't require much more effort than rapid wrist movements and lets players argue with the referee over irc. Also, check out the absent keeper from the nearest team: they must have replaced him with a firewall (sorry).If you're the type that prefers -- slightly more -- real football, then you might be pleased to know that Konami dropped us a line to say that they've signed (according to the press release) "one of the most dangerous strikers in soccer today", Adriano "lightning balls" Ribeiro, to be the figurehead of Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007.
