Winning Eleven 2002 was the first time I got in contact with PES series. I was playing with a friend back home, had a good time together (although I was crying because I'm losing a game, so much that he had to score own goals). However I haven't played any other WE/PES titles since...
...well, until middle school when I caught my friends playing WE 9 and PES 6 on their netbooks. I was pretty attracted by how the game plays and how it brought some classmates together, so I went on and got one installed in my old netbook. Not only the game caught my interest so much, but it also where I first got my interest in football in general.
I obviously have some more fond memories of the series, and it's pretty sad how horrible decisions, alienating some of their fanbases, radio silences, and half-assed marketing PR ruins the series. But this one takes a cake in so many level, they finally admit that they no longer cater long-time fans and divert their attention to young millenials and casual gamers who only cares about cosmetic stuffs. As a Gen Z, it's disappointing because I'm one of select few that enjoys the older games in the series.
In the end, though, money wins. Konami wants to follow Fortnite route with their Season Pass that brought Epic Games money, and if it worked for them, why not follow them? In turn, they decided to sacrifice their focus on offline stuffs, thinking that it's not profitable in long term. Shame, but that's how gaming nowadays.
Now it's a perfect time to come back to older PES games, especially PES 6. Also seeing that modding scene in 2021 is the strongest I've seen in years, I could dive into it some time.
RIP PES, thanks for the good memories. You'll be missed.
