B
BillyBoy
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This article was originally posted on the WENB forums.
Pro Evolution Soccer. What a remarkable sports simulation it used to be. Fantastic, enjoyable, addictive and sometimes magical, the famed football series developed by Konami Japan was the premier football title for nearly a decade. But like all great things it usually ends. Its just like the economic cycle. Boom and bust. But just like the economic cycle we do eventually pick our selves up from the rut, the recession.
The fans recession began with Pro Evolution Soccer 6 on the Xbox 360. Supposedly the first next gen attempt of PES it was severely crippled. The title only had a handful of stadiums and no real edit mode. But perhaps this was expected since it was Konami's first attempt. 'Dont worry it will be ok next year' everyone said. 'The PS3 will be out by then so it will be fine'. Guess what? It wasnt. It was actually worse. From the atrocious music choices, to the appalling online where players would teleport in and out of the stadium. So again we waited and waited for next years version. PES 2009 came and went. It did improve over PES 2008 no doubt about that, but it is obvious that the series has never embraced the next-gen platforms (technically their current-gen now). But why is that? Well its due to a variety of reasons which we shall delve into.
PES has always been a staple PlayStation 2 title. For those who can remember until PES 4 the title was pretty much exclusive to Sony consoles. The PS2 and its dominance over the previous generational market has impacted the next generation version of the football series. From Konami's viewpoint which is obviously one based on business, why change a winning formula? The game was doing great both from a sales and critics view, the PS2 was still selling in both the native and foreign markets, and the PlayStation 3 had yet to launch. When it finally did, it was more a whimper than a bang.
But while it may have been a winning formula for a previous era, it doesn't necessarily mean it would be the same for a future one. This new era had more powerful consoles with new ways to play these games. This brought about different expectations and a different consumer and fan culture that demanded nothing but the best. This change in ideology can be clearly seen. The PS1 was dominant over its competitors the N64 and Sega Saturn and the PS2 was dominant over its competitors the Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo Gamecube and Microsoft Xbox. Times have changed however. In this era the Nintendo Wii is dominant. It has brought about a new 'casual' everybody friendly market and the Xbox 360 has appeared strongly. Sony's consoles are no longer dominant.
With these changes, production and development of titles has soared. While companies such as EA have managed to deal with these changes effectively, smaller companies have found it difficult to bring their past titles into the next gen limelight. This is the case with PES and this is why the series has become stagnant on the PS3, 360 and PC. The reason why I dont mention the Wii is because the Wii, apart from its control mechanics is not really next gen. This clearly explains why the Wii versions of PES have done well. There is no need to enter the next-gen limelight because quite simply there isnt one for the Wii. It can remain the same and still be successful to both the old hardcore and the casual friendly who only want Wii titles to have an option to wiggle the controller around and they are satisfied.
Japan as a whole has lagged in this generation. Its gone behind its Western counterparts in nearly all areas, especially in online connectivity which is one major area of concern for PES. While Western developers are churning out epic titles such as Oblivion, Assassins Creed, GTA IV, Bioshock etc Japan is no where to be seen apart from the fantastic Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots funnily enough a Konami/Kojima Productions title. However there are gems on the eastern horizon, GT5 and Final Fantasy XIII being the most notable. Perhaps there is hope then that PES will return to its former glory?
I believe it can and the recent and somewhat surprisingly early announcement of PES 2010 seems to add weight to my beliefs. The press release seems to speak of a mood of optimism, confidence and more importantly change at PES Productions and Konami. They have realised that things have changed. PES was king of the football market but its now longer the case. FIFA which was often considered the arcade and unrealistic title has no become the simulation. The roles have been reversed. But while it may be disheartening for some avid fans, why are they disappointed? Not only do they have two titles to enjoy now but the emergence of FIFA proves that you can come back from second place and that is what PES 2010 will do. Why? Because simply put it must.
This will hopefully be the year the title embraces the next gen fully and when you think of the possibilities it starts to look great. Improvements to all areas of the title have been outlined and while its only PR speak (Teamvision 2.0?!) we should remain optimistic. It may be late but I honestly think PES will be reborn as a fresh, new, exciting experience with a splash of that old magic thrown in for good luck. Is PES back? Most definitely.
Pro Evolution Soccer. What a remarkable sports simulation it used to be. Fantastic, enjoyable, addictive and sometimes magical, the famed football series developed by Konami Japan was the premier football title for nearly a decade. But like all great things it usually ends. Its just like the economic cycle. Boom and bust. But just like the economic cycle we do eventually pick our selves up from the rut, the recession.
The fans recession began with Pro Evolution Soccer 6 on the Xbox 360. Supposedly the first next gen attempt of PES it was severely crippled. The title only had a handful of stadiums and no real edit mode. But perhaps this was expected since it was Konami's first attempt. 'Dont worry it will be ok next year' everyone said. 'The PS3 will be out by then so it will be fine'. Guess what? It wasnt. It was actually worse. From the atrocious music choices, to the appalling online where players would teleport in and out of the stadium. So again we waited and waited for next years version. PES 2009 came and went. It did improve over PES 2008 no doubt about that, but it is obvious that the series has never embraced the next-gen platforms (technically their current-gen now). But why is that? Well its due to a variety of reasons which we shall delve into.
PES has always been a staple PlayStation 2 title. For those who can remember until PES 4 the title was pretty much exclusive to Sony consoles. The PS2 and its dominance over the previous generational market has impacted the next generation version of the football series. From Konami's viewpoint which is obviously one based on business, why change a winning formula? The game was doing great both from a sales and critics view, the PS2 was still selling in both the native and foreign markets, and the PlayStation 3 had yet to launch. When it finally did, it was more a whimper than a bang.
But while it may have been a winning formula for a previous era, it doesn't necessarily mean it would be the same for a future one. This new era had more powerful consoles with new ways to play these games. This brought about different expectations and a different consumer and fan culture that demanded nothing but the best. This change in ideology can be clearly seen. The PS1 was dominant over its competitors the N64 and Sega Saturn and the PS2 was dominant over its competitors the Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo Gamecube and Microsoft Xbox. Times have changed however. In this era the Nintendo Wii is dominant. It has brought about a new 'casual' everybody friendly market and the Xbox 360 has appeared strongly. Sony's consoles are no longer dominant.
With these changes, production and development of titles has soared. While companies such as EA have managed to deal with these changes effectively, smaller companies have found it difficult to bring their past titles into the next gen limelight. This is the case with PES and this is why the series has become stagnant on the PS3, 360 and PC. The reason why I dont mention the Wii is because the Wii, apart from its control mechanics is not really next gen. This clearly explains why the Wii versions of PES have done well. There is no need to enter the next-gen limelight because quite simply there isnt one for the Wii. It can remain the same and still be successful to both the old hardcore and the casual friendly who only want Wii titles to have an option to wiggle the controller around and they are satisfied.
Japan as a whole has lagged in this generation. Its gone behind its Western counterparts in nearly all areas, especially in online connectivity which is one major area of concern for PES. While Western developers are churning out epic titles such as Oblivion, Assassins Creed, GTA IV, Bioshock etc Japan is no where to be seen apart from the fantastic Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots funnily enough a Konami/Kojima Productions title. However there are gems on the eastern horizon, GT5 and Final Fantasy XIII being the most notable. Perhaps there is hope then that PES will return to its former glory?
I believe it can and the recent and somewhat surprisingly early announcement of PES 2010 seems to add weight to my beliefs. The press release seems to speak of a mood of optimism, confidence and more importantly change at PES Productions and Konami. They have realised that things have changed. PES was king of the football market but its now longer the case. FIFA which was often considered the arcade and unrealistic title has no become the simulation. The roles have been reversed. But while it may be disheartening for some avid fans, why are they disappointed? Not only do they have two titles to enjoy now but the emergence of FIFA proves that you can come back from second place and that is what PES 2010 will do. Why? Because simply put it must.
This will hopefully be the year the title embraces the next gen fully and when you think of the possibilities it starts to look great. Improvements to all areas of the title have been outlined and while its only PR speak (Teamvision 2.0?!) we should remain optimistic. It may be late but I honestly think PES will be reborn as a fresh, new, exciting experience with a splash of that old magic thrown in for good luck. Is PES back? Most definitely.
