''eFootball'', formerly known as ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' (''PES'') internationally and in Japan and North America, is a series of
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
simulation video games
Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...
developed and published by
Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
since 1995.
The series consists of eighteen main installments and several spin-offs, including the
mobile game
A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
''Pro Evolution Soccer Club Manager''. Listed as one of the
best-selling video game franchises, the series has sold copies worldwide, in addition to mobile downloads, .
eFootball has been regarded as a rival to
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
' ''
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
'' series;
it has been described by ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' as the "greatest rivalry" in the history of
sports video games
A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport (s ...
.
An
esports
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...
league,
eFootball.Open (previously named ''PES World Finals'' or ''PES League''), has been held by Konami annually since 2010.
Gameplay
Gameplay simulates a typical game of association football, with the player controlling either an entire team or a selected player; objectives coincide with the rules of association football. Various game modes have been featured in the series, allowing for gameplay variety, including the Kick Off, Online and Offline modes. In addition to these modes, there is an editing one where the player can create teams of their own.
Master League
The Master League mode, gives the user control of a team of user's selection. Originally, the players were all generic-fictional players, however this later changed giving the user the option to change the settings and choose to play with default players. These players, such as Brazilian forward Castolo, have become cult figures to many people playing the Master League. The aim is to use these players and gain points by winning matches, cups and leagues. Using acquired points to purchase real players to join the team. Ultimately, one should end up with a team of skilled players.
From ''PES 3'' (''Winning Eleven 7''), players' growth and decline curves were added, where a player's statistics may improve or decline, depending on training and age. This added a new depth to purchasing players, adding value to an up-and-coming youngster whose abilities rise dramatically and creating a trade-off if the player buys skilled but declining veterans.
Editing
Fans of the series often make "option files" and "patches" which modify all player names into those of their real life counterparts, as well as including transfers from the latest transfer window and, occasionally, altered stats of more obscure players whose in-game attributes do not precisely replicate their real life skills.
"PES Stats Database" and "PES Stats" are examples of websites that are dedicated to creating accurate stats for players. More experienced gamers often use "patches", editing the actual game code and modifying the graphical content to include accurate kits for unlicensed teams, new stadiums, and footballs from
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...
,
Puma,
Umbro
Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 100 c ...
and
Mitre
The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
, as well as more
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
balls. Most patches also contain licensed referee kits from
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
and the official logos of the various European leagues. These patches are technically a breach of copyright, and are often sold illegally in territories like South America. Konami have become less tolerant of this kind of fan editing in recent years, and now
encrypt
In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can decip ...
the data pertaining to kits and player statistics in each new release. However, fan communities invariably find ways to crack this encryption, and patches still appear once this has been achieved.
Since ''Pro Evolution Soccer 6'' onwards, there has been a separate league with 18 generic teams (Team A, Team B, Team C etc.) present, which can be edited fully. This is thought to be due to the fact that
Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
failed to get the rights to the
German Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...
, and is usually made into the Bundesliga or another league of one's preference by patch makers. However, most people use this to put their edited players into playable teams from the start instead of having to play through Master League to purchase them or alternatively edit the existing non-generic teams. This feature does not appear in the Wii version of the game (but, as stated above, the non-generic teams can be edited anyway).
History
''
International Superstar Soccer
''International Superstar Soccer'' (known as ''Jikkyō World Soccer'' in Japan) is the name of a series of football video games developed by Japanese company Konami, mostly by their Osaka branch, Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka (KCEO). Title ...
'' (1994), the first game in
Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
's ''
International Superstar Soccer
''International Superstar Soccer'' (known as ''Jikkyō World Soccer'' in Japan) is the name of a series of football video games developed by Japanese company Konami, mostly by their Osaka branch, Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka (KCEO). Title ...
'' (''ISS'') series, released for the SNES. A rivalry subsequently emerged between the ''FIFA'' and ''ISS'' franchises.
''
International Superstar Soccer Pro
''International Superstar Soccer Pro'' (known in Japan as and in North America as ''Goal Storm '97'') is a football video game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo
, is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment co ...
'' (''ISS Pro''), released for the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
in 1997, was considered a "game-changer" for association football games, which had been largely dominated by rival ''FIFA'' on home systems for the last several years. Developed by
Konami Tokyo, ''ISS Pro'' introduced a new 3D engine capable of better graphics and more sophisticated gameplay than its rival. Whereas ''FIFA'' had a simpler "
arcade-style" approach to its gameplay, ''ISS Pro'' introduced more complex
simulation game
Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...
play emphasizing tactics and improvisation, enabled by tactical variety such as nine in-match strategy options. It spawned the ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' (''PES'') series, which became known for having "faster-paced tactical play" and more varied
emergent gameplay
Emergent gameplay refers to complex situations in video games, board games, or table top role-playing games that emerge from the interaction of relatively simple game mechanics.
Designers have attempted to encourage emergent play by providing to ...
, while ''FIFA'' was known for having more licenses.
The ''PES'' series had sold more than units by 2002,
while the ''FIFA'' series had sold over units by 2000. In the late 2000s, EA borrowed gameplay elements from ''PES'' to improve ''FIFA'', which eventually pulled ahead commercially by a significant margin in the 2010s and emerged as the world's most successful sports video game franchise. The rivalry between ''FIFA'' and ''PES'' is considered the "greatest rivalry" in the history of sports video games.
''Goal Storm'' / ''ISS Pro'' series
''Pro Evolution Soccer'' series traces its roots to ''Goal Storm'' (also known as ''World Soccer Winning Eleven'' in Japan). The game was developed by
Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo
, is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casinos ...
and was released in 1996. The first ''Winning Eleven'' game, without the ''World Soccer'' prefix, was ''
J.League Jikkyou Winning Eleven
is a 1995 Japan-exclusive soccer simulation video game, which was developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation. It's an official J-League licensed game.
Gameplay
The intro of the game features a Soccer Stadium floating in the sky, t ...
'' which was released only in Japan for the PlayStation in 1995, and featured only the 14 clubs that played in
1995 J.League. The following three games in the series were also produced by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and they were released under the name of ''ISS Pro'' for the European market and ''Winning Eleven'' for the rest of the world. Every game in this series was released on the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
.
''Pro Evolution Soccer'' series
Series overview
''Pro Evolution Soccer''
Tagline: "We are the Football Tribe"
The first installment in the series of ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' games was released in October 2001 for both
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
and
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
. It was released under the name ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 5'' in Japan. Commentary on the game was provided by
Jon Briggs
Jon Briggs (born 24 January 1965) is an English television, radio presenter and narrator. He is best known for his voice-over work, and particularly as the British voice used by Apple Inc.'s Siri virtual assistant software.
Career
Briggs's vo ...
and
Terry Butcher
Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town.
During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps ...
.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2''
Tagline: "They Will Rock You"
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2'' (''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 6'' in Japan and ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 6 - International'' in the United States) is the second installment and was released in October 2002 and some felt that it was a slight backwards step from the original ''Pro Evolution Soccer''. Others argued that it had improved. The pace of gameplay was much faster than in the game's older sibling, with sharper turns and quicker reactions to tackles. It also included a training session mode. Extra clubs were added, with an extra Master League division. There were two new commentators,
Peter Brackley
Peter Brackley (13 June 1951 – 14 October 2018) was an English football commentator, perhaps most famous for commentating for ''Football Italia'' on Channel 4 in the 1990s, for the computer game series ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' until ''Pro Evol ...
and
Trevor Brooking
Sir Trevor David Brooking, (born 2 October 1948) is a former England international footballer, manager, pundit and football administrator; he now works as director of football development in England.
He spent almost his entire career at West Ha ...
, but this aspect of the game was criticised for the commentators' inaccuracies and tendency to speak over each other.
The licensing was much the same, but infamously all Dutch players were called "Oranges" (e.g. goalkeeper
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...
was renamed "Oranges025",
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...
was "Oranges082", etc.), because Konami did not hold the rights from the
Royal Dutch Football Association
The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and women ...
, for use from Dutch players; in fact, plenty of other football games of the period with FIFPro licences also saw this happen to them (including ''
FIFA 2002
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
''), following Netherlands' unsuccessful campaign at the
2002 World Cup qualifiers. Also, unlike in the original game, the "unofficial" club names stopped using obvious city names (e.g.
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
was Manchester,
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
was Madrid, etc.), and instead used very ambiguous names (e.g. Manchester United were now Aragon, Liverpool became Europort, and West Ham became Lake District). The edit mode included a club editor which offset this problem to some extent, with editable kits and logos as well as club and player names.
The game notably included tracks from
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
: "
We Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album ''News of the World''. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at numbe ...
" and "
We are the Champions
"We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released from the band's sixth album ''News of the World'' (1977). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems. ". A
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
version (known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2002'' in Japan) was also released, which was the last ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' release for the original PlayStation.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 3''
First tagline: "The Season Starts Here" (''Winning Eleven 7/Pro Evolution Soccer 3/Winning Eleven 7: International'' (US))
Second tagline: "Football is Life" (''Winning Eleven 7: International'' (JP))
''Pro Evolution Soccer 3'' (''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 7'' in Japan and ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 7 - International'' in the United States) is the third installment in the series and was released in 2003, and featured the Italian referee
Pierluigi Collina
Pierluigi Collina (; born 13 February 1960) is an Italian former football referee. He was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998-2003.
Collina is still i ...
on the cover (although he is not present as an in-game referee). The most significant update was the overhaul in the graphics engine, with more life like players and much improved likeness. The gameplay was changed to accompany this, with more fast-paced action than that of ''PES 2'', a much better physics engine, additions such as the advantage rule improved passing and long-ball functions, while as per usual, more licences (with the infamous Dutch "Oranges" removed, replaced with pseudonyms such as "Froibaad" in the place of
Patrick Kluivert
Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch former football player, coach and sporting director. He played as a striker, most notably for AFC Ajax, FC Barcelona and the Netherlands national team.
He was part of Ajax's Golden Gene ...
), more club teams and the Master League is now split into regional divisions, with competitions equivalent to the
Champions League and the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
and as
Umbro
Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 100 c ...
was no longer revived, the company has been replaced by
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 3'' is the first in the series (3rd overall) to be released for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and was well received by the PC games magazines but criticised by fans for its lack of online mode and bloated system requirements at its time, particularly not supporting the common Geforce MX series. Its rival, ''
FIFA Football 2004
''FIFA Football 2004'', also known as ''FIFA Soccer 2004'' in North America, is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in October 2003 with the tagline "Create Brilliance".
''FIFA ...
'', had online functions and had more modest system requirements in comparison. The game was essentially a direct conversion of the PlayStation 2 code, albeit with sharper graphics and is easier to download fan made mods for the game.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 4''
Tagline: "The long road to the Final"
''Pro Evolution Soccer 4'' (''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 8'' in Japan and ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 8 - International'' in the United States) was the fourth installment in the series and was released in 2004; featuring referee
Pierluigi Collina
Pierluigi Collina (; born 13 February 1960) is an Italian former football referee. He was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998-2003.
Collina is still i ...
,
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...
and
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played solely for A.S. Roma, Roma and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bim ...
on the cover. This is the first ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' game to feature full leagues, namely the English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch top divisions, though with full league licences only for the latter three. As a result, clubs in, for example, the English League, an unlicensed league, have ambiguous names like "West London Blue" and "Man Red" for
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
and
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
respectively, and their home grounds
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to:
* Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England
** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066
* Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge
* Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...
and
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
are respectively named "Blue Bridge" and "Trad Brick Stadium".
The gameplay has improved from ''Pro Evolution Soccer 3'' (though not as much of a significant leap as its predecessor) with improved AI, tweaked play-on advantages and better throughballs. Dribbling is tighter with the players (though at one-star difficulty, a player receiving the ball on either wing can dribble the ball down the length of the pitch relatively uncontested), plus free-kicks have been changed to allow lay-offs. The gameplay was criticised for its relatively easy scoring opportunities, as players can pass their way through opposing defenses, or hold on to the ball at the edge of the penalty area and simply wait for the opposing defenders to move away and thus give him space to shoot. A new 6-star difficulty was added as an unlockable in the shop, as well as the previous items, while the Master League included enhancements such as player development, so many players over 30 would see certain attributes decline as the game progresses. Conversely, players could improve upon their attributes up to the age of 24–25, though the improvement is most rapid and obvious in players aged 22 and under.
The edit mode has been enhanced rapidly, with the options to add text and logos to shirts (essentially sponsors) and pixel logo editing as well as the traditional preset shapes, thus making it easier to replicate a team. The game also includes an "International Cup" and four regional Cups:
* The "European Cup" is remarkably inclusive, including almost every major European country, as well as smaller countries like Slovenia, Hungary, and Slovakia. However, countries like Israel and Iceland are not included. The Czech Republic is simply called "Czech".
* The "American Championship" is a merger of the
CONCACAF Gold Cup
The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...
and the
Copa América
The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...
. It includes most North, Central and South American countries.
* The "Asia-Oceania Cup" includes only five Asian countries: Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, and South Korea, plus Australia. In real life, Australia would later join the
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...
, winning the
2015 AFC Asian Cup
The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 2015. The tournament was ...
. South Korea is simply called "Korea". Adidas templates are used in Edit Kit in Edit mode
''Pro Evolution Soccer 5''
Tagline: "Bring it On"
''Pro Evolution Soccer 5'' (known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 9'' in North America and Japan) the fifth installment in the series, was released in October 2005 and featured
John Terry
John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the assi ...
and
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...
on the cover and alongside
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...
on the main menu. The improvements are mainly tweaks to the gameplay engine, while online play finally made it to the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
version. The game was perceived as much harder by fans, with a very punishing defence AI making it harder to score. Some players have pointed out inconsistencies in the star difficulty rating, such as 3 star mode being harder to beat than 6 star due to its more defensive nature, but in general scoring is harder. Referees are very fussy over decisions, awarding free kicks for very negligible challenges.
There are various new club licences present, including
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
,
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
,
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
,
Rangers and a few other European clubs, as well as the full Dutch, Spanish and Italian Leagues.
Since crowd animations on the PS2 version slowed down the framerate to an unplayable level in the testing phase, crowds were rendered as flat animated 2D bitmaps which, on certain angles, become unseen, making the stands appear empty; however, fully 3D-rendered crowds are present during cut-scenes. There are however
fan-made patches which address this in the PC version, although no official patch was released. ''Official PlayStation 2 Magazine UK'' gave it a perfect 10/10 score.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 5'', was released for Xbox, Windows and PS2, all online enabled. A PSP version was released, but with stripped down features, such as no Master League, no commentary, only one stadium and limitations in the editor, due to the limitations to the
UMD. The PSP version featured Wi-fi play, and the gameplay was faster and more "pin-ball like" in comparison to its console siblings, but it did not receive the same acclaim as the mainstream console/PC versions.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 6''
Tagline: "Express Yourself!"
''Pro Evolution Soccer 6'' (''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 10'' in Japan and ''Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007'' in the United States) is the sixth installment in the series and was officially released in the
UK on 27 October 2006 for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
,
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
,
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
and PC platforms and on 9 February 2007 for the
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
. The PC version does not utilise the Xbox 360 engine but is a conversion of the PS2 edition. The PSP version is similar in many ways to its PS2 brother, while the DS version has graphics and gameplay reminiscent of the older ''PES'' series on the original
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
.
A criticism of the previous version was that the game was too unforgiving and so suppressed fluid attacking football. ''Pro Evolution Soccer 6'' was issued with more tricks and an overall more attacking mentality, but whether it does make it easier to take on defenders and get forward is debatable.
More licences were added, including fully licensed international kits including the nations
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
to name a few (as well as the ever-present Japan licence). The French
Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
is now included as fully licensed league, as well as the Spanish, Italian and Dutch leagues, plus several other individual clubs. However, the
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football ...
licence from ''PES5'' was removed and, due to a lawsuit, Konami were forced to drop the Bundesliga licence. The only Bundesliga team to appear in the game is
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
. The game had not updated Arsenal's venue to the Emirates stadium; the defunct Highbury is still present. The same applies for Bayern Munich, who, despite having moved to the
Allianz Arena
Allianz Arena (; known as Fußball Arena München for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely known for its exterior ...
, are still represented in the game as playing at
Munich's Olympic Stadium. Also, the recent extensions to
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
are not included, while
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
are still present despite the dissolution of the country in May 2006, this being due to the disestablished state competing at the
2006 World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
. All teams which competed at the World Cup featured their 23-man squads from the tournament, including those who retired from international football (e.g.
Phillip Cocu
Phillip John-William Cocu (born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player, he is the manager of Vitesse.
Cocu was born in Eindhoven but raised in Zevenaar, playing youth football for local clubs DCS and De Graa ...
of the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
) and from the game altogether (e.g.
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...
of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
), although club teams were fairly up to date.
The
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
version features next-generation, high-definition graphics and more animations, but gameplay similar to the other console versions, according to a recent interview with Seabass. The Xbox 360 version also finally introduces the Pro Evolution series to widescreen gaming, a feature that was sorely missing from the PS2 and
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
versions of the game. Much of the gameplay and editing options were severely stripped down for the 360 release.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2008''
Tagline: "If football is your life, ''PES 2008'' is your game."
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2008'' (Known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2008'') is the seventh installment in the series. The game was released for
PC,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
,
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
,
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
on 26 October 2007 in Europe, 2 November 2007 in Australia, and 31 December 2007 in Japan. The
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
and
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
version were released in November, and the rather different
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
version. ''Pro Evo Wii'' was released in March 2008.
It was the first game in the series to drop the ''Winning Eleven'' name from its title in the United States.
The game cover features Portugal and Manchester United player
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
and a local player (
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...
in the UK,
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...
in France,
Jan Schlaudraff in Germany,
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
in Italy and
Lucas Neill
Lucas Edward Neill (born 9 March 1978) is an Australian former soccer player. Neill played as a defender, often playing as a centre back as well as a full-back. Neill spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Austr ...
in Australia). A new adaptive AI system entitled 'Teamvision' was implemented into the game, Teamvision is a sophisticated AI programming that learns and adapts according to an individual's style of play. As such, it will learn new ways to build attacks and to counter specific movements and previous attacking or defensive errors, ensuring games are more in line with the tactical but flowing nature of the real thing.
The English commentary was provided by
Jon Champion
Jonathan Martin Champion (born 23 May 1965) is a British sports commentator currently working as the lead association football commentator for ESPN (US). Champion is a well-established and experienced commentator who has also worked for the BBC ...
and
Mark Lawrenson
Mark Thomas Lawrenson (born 2 June 1957) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool, among others, during the 1970s and 1980s. After a short career as a manager, he then became a radio, television and internet pu ...
for the first time. 20 teams are also in the D1 and D2 Leagues, four more than in past editions.
The game's 'in-game editor' however was a large downgrade from previous versions, with players unable to add text to unlicensed team shirts or base copy specific players; however, the PC version allows for face pictures to be uploaded or directly photographed through a webcam. On the PS3, the game was a huge disappointment with many frame rate issues and strange glitches.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2009''
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2009'' (known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2009'') is the eighth installment in the series. Released on 17 October in Europe, featuring
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded ...
Argentine star
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
as its cover star (opposite Mexican midfielder
Andrés Guardado
José Andrés Guardado Hernández (; born 28 September 1986) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Betis and captains the Mexico national team.
Popularly known as ''Principito'' (Spanish for '' ...
from
Deportivo La Coruña
''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to:
* Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club
* Déportivo, a French rock band
* Deportivo (Mexicable)
Mexicable is a aerial lift line in Ecatepec de Mo ...
in some versions).
While in some respects keeping the same structure of its predecessor, ''PES 2009'' makes a large number of improvements, starting from the graphics, now better suited for
HD image technologies. Also, the overall pace of the gameplay was slowed down, with a better AI for computer-controlled teammates as well: they will look for better passing spaces and goal routes.
A new addition of this game is the Become a Legend mode, which follows the entire career of a single player (as opposed to a whole team, like in the Master League) as he moves to better teams, achieves national team caps and wins MVP awards, like the similar mode called Fantasista in ''J-League Winning Eleven 2007 Club Championship'', a special edition only for Japan. This also inspired the Be a Pro mode introduced in ''
FIFA 08
''FIFA 08'' (titled ''FIFA Soccer 08'' in North America ) is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on all popular gaming formats in September 2007 in Eur ...
''.
This game has sponsored
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
once in real life (during a match against
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...
), but the team's in-game kit does not feature the ''PES 2009'' sponsorship. This was also the first version to include the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
licence.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2010''
Tagline: "Where Champions Live!"
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2010'' (known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2010'') is the ninth installment in the series. The cover features players
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...
and
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
.
The game has gone through a complete overhaul as it tries to compete with the FIFA series. ''PES 2010'' has improved animations and 360-degree control was introduced, available on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions of the game via the analog sticks on the respective controllers. PS3 owners benefited from this when using the DualShock's D-Pad, but the Wii D-Pad is limited to eight-directional control and the Xbox 360 D-Pad to sixteen-directional control due to their hardware. The A.I. was improved thanks to Teamvision 2.0. The referees were reworked to make better calls during matches. It also features more licensed teams and players than ever before. In addition to the added
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
licence, the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
licence was also added, both playable in the Master League.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2011''
Tagline: "Engineered for Freedom."
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2011'' (known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2011'') is the tenth installment in the series. ''PES 2011'' is a football video game developed and published by Konami with production assistance from the Blue Sky Team. The UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League feature in the game; and for the first time CONMEBOL's Copa Libertadores and UEFA Super Cup are fully licensed.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2012''
Tagline: "Can You Play?"
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2012'' (known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2012'') is the 11th installment of the series. Both
Jon Champion
Jonathan Martin Champion (born 23 May 1965) is a British sports commentator currently working as the lead association football commentator for ESPN (US). Champion is a well-established and experienced commentator who has also worked for the BBC ...
and
Jim Beglin
James Martin Beglin (born 29 July 1963) is an Irish former professional footballer and current co-commentator for RTÉ, CBS Sports, BT Sport, and Premier League Productions.
Playing career
Shamrock Rovers
Beglin played schoolboy football ...
remain as commentators.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
star
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
who was the first time in the cover art of ''
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2008'' (''PES 2008''), known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2008'' in Asia and sometimes called ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 11'' (PS2) in North America, is an association football video game in the ''Pro Evolution So ...
'' replaced
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
as the cover star.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2013''
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2013'' (known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2013'') is the 12th installment of the series. The gameplay improves the AI as well as giving the player the ability to accurately aim passes and shots. Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo is featured for the front cover. For the first time of the series, all 20 teams from the Brazilian National League, Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, are included in the game series. The UEFA Champions League and the Copa Santander Libertadores is once again appeared in the game.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2014''
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2014'', officially abbreviated to ''PES 2014'', also known in Asia as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2014'' is the 13th installment in the series, developed and published by Konami. The game features a modified version of the new Fox Engine. It was released on 19 September 2013, in Europe, 20 September in United Kingdom, 24 September in North America and on 14 November in Japan. This game also become the last game with PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo 3DS.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2015''
Tagline: "The Pitch is Ours"
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2015'', officially abbreviated as ''PES 2015'' and also known in Asia as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2015'', is the 14th installment in the series. The cover art features then
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
player
Mario Götze
Mario Götze (born 3 June 1992) is a German professional footballer who plays for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the Germany national team. Although his favoured position is that of a playmaker, Götze has also played as a false nin ...
. For the first time in the series' history (excluding the regional versions which included the J & K-Leagues 1 and 2), the game featured unlicensed secondary leagues.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2016''
Tagline: "Love the Past, Play the Future"
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2016'', officially abbreviated as ''PES 2016'' and also known in Asia as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2016'', is the 15th installment in the series. It is also the game to be released during the series' 20th anniversary. The cover of the game features
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
forward player
Neymar
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Sain ...
. It was released on 15 September 2015, in North America, 17 September in Europe, 18 September in United Kingdom, and on 1 October in Japan. Also in April 2016, the special edition of ''PES 2016'' called ''UEFA Euro 2016'' which features
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
player
Gareth Bale
Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation ...
on the cover. English commentary by
Peter Drury
Peter Drury (born 24 September 1967) is a British sports commentator who currently works for NBC Sports as the lead main (play-by-play) commentator for its Premier League coverage in the United States.
Prior to joining NBC Sports, Drury was the ...
is provided for the first time with
Jim Beglin
James Martin Beglin (born 29 July 1963) is an Irish former professional footballer and current co-commentator for RTÉ, CBS Sports, BT Sport, and Premier League Productions.
Playing career
Shamrock Rovers
Beglin played schoolboy football ...
.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2017''
Tagline: "Control Reality"
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2017'' (officially abbreviated as ''PES 2017'', also known in Japan as ''Winning Eleven 2017'') is the 16th installment in the series. On 25 May, Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 was announced and scheduled to be released on PC,
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
,
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
and
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
. The cover of the game features Barcelona players, including Neymar,
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
,
Luis Suárez
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...
,
Ivan Rakitić
Ivan Rakitić (; born 10 March 1988) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a central or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Sevilla.
Rakitić started his professional career at Basel and spent two seasons with them before he was s ...
and
Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (, ; born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered one of the best defenders of his generation.
Initially a highly promising student at La Masia, Piqué ...
. On 26 July 2016,
Konami Digital Entertainment
, is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casinos ...
officially announced a premium partnership with Barcelona allowing "extensive" access to the
Camp Nou
Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcelo ...
, which will be exclusive to the game for three years. Features includes, among others, improved passing, Real Touch ball control, and improved goalkeeping technique. Konami has released Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 for mobile phones.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2018''
Tagline: "Where Legends are Made"
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2018'' (officially abbreviated as ''PES 2018'', also known in Japan as ''Winning Eleven 2018'') is the 17th installment in the game series. The cover of the game features Barcelona players, including Neymar (who was replaced by
Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (, ; born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered one of the best defenders of his generation.
Initially a highly promising student at La Masia, Piqué ...
after his transfer to
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
before the game's release; due to this as well, the Brazilian edition cover which was to feature him in the Barcelona colors now features
Philippe Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho Correia (born 12 June 1992) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Brazil national team. He is known for his combination of vision, ...
playing for the national team),
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
,
Luis Suárez
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...
,
Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta Luján (; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of J1 League club Vissel Kobe. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Iniesta has spent most of his ...
and
Sergi Roberto
Sergi Roberto Carnicer (, born 7 February 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team. Mainly a central midfielder, he can also operate as a defensive midfielder, full-back or wi ...
. It was released worldwide in September 2017. This was the last game to feature the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
,
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
and
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
until ''
FIFA 19
''FIFA 19'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Vancouver and released by Electronic Arts on 28 September 2018 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows. It is the 26th installm ...
'', after Konami lost the license to these franchises to
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
.
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2019''
Tagline: "The Power of Football"
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2019'' (officially abbreviated as ''PES 2019'', also known in Japan as ''Winning Eleven 2019'') is the 18th installment in the game series. ''PES 2019'' is the first ''PES'' in 10 years not to feature the UEFA Champions League license after Konami lost the rights to EA Sports.
''eFootball PES'' series
Series overview
''eFootball PES 2020''
Tagline: "Playing is Believing"
''eFootball PES 2020'' (officially abbreviated as ''eFootball PES 2020'', also known in Japan as ''eFootball Winning Eleven 2020'') is the 19th installment in the game series. eFootball ''PES 2020'' introduces a change in the name and a focus from Konami in the online gaming space. The game will also mark its installment of the
UEFA Euro 2020
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
, which was originally scheduled in the same year before being postponed to next year following to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. In place of a new edition for the 2020–21 season, ''eFootball PES 2020'' will receive a content update, known as ''eFootball PES 2021 Season Update'', while the development team works on the following game, ''eFootball'' and its first season entitled ''eFootball 2022'', which will see the Fox Engine replaced by
Unreal Engine 4
Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter game ''Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genre ...
on its eighth and ninth-generation versions, as well as PC.
In December 2019, Arsenal midfielder
Mesut Özil
Mesut Özil (, ; born 15 October 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Süper Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir. Özil is known for his technical skills, creativity, passing skills, and vision. He can ...
was
completely removed from the Mandarin version of ''eFootball PES 2020'' in
Mainland
Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
following a tweet from Özil, himself a Muslim of Turkish descent, that characterized the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
's
vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang as a "crackdown" on
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
. According to
NetEase Games
NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company providing online services centered on content, community, communications, and commerce. The company was founded in 1997 by Ding Lei. NetEase develops and operates online PC and mobile game ...
, they stated his comments "
hurt the feelings of Chinese fans and violated the sport's spirit of love and peace. We do not understand, accept or forgive this.". Ozil was later added during the 2022 April update.
''eFootball PES 2021 Season Update ''
On 15 July 2020, it was announced that eFootball PES 2021 Season Update would be released in celebration of the series' 25th anniversary, due to PES Productions focusing development efforts on the upcoming eFootball and its first season entitled eFootball 2022. Konami made a "Season Update" to focus on the development.
6It also acts as a separate game from eFootball PES 2020, meaning that it will not be required to play.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) is the cover star of the standard edition, alongside PES ambassadors Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), and Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), each representing one of the game's partner clubs.
7
Konami announced an exclusive multi-year partnership with A.S. Roma and S.S. Lazio, while A.C. Milan and Inter Milan are not featured after they signed exclusive partnership deals with EA Sports, and instead are known as Milano RN and Lombardia NA respectively.
The Season Update was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows on 15 September.
''eFootball'' series
''
eFootball 2022'' is the first football game from Konami without the title ''PES''. The game was released on
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
,
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
,
Xbox Series X
The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
,
Android, and
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
, on 30 September 2021. The cover of ''
eFootball
''eFootball'' is an association football simulation video game developed and published by Konami. It is a free-to-play game after being completely rebranded from the original ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' (known as ''Winning Eleven'' in Japan) ser ...
'' features
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
’s
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
. ''
eFootball
''eFootball'' is an association football simulation video game developed and published by Konami. It is a free-to-play game after being completely rebranded from the original ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' (known as ''Winning Eleven'' in Japan) ser ...
'' was met with overwhelmingly negative reception from critics and players alike because of the game's poor technical and graphical quality, and its lack of teams and features.
Other titles
;Arcade
*''World Soccer: Winning Eleven Arcade Game Style''
*''World Soccer: Winning Eleven Arcade Game Style 2003''
*''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2006 Arcade Championship''
*''World Soccer: Winning Eleven Arcade Championship 2008''
*''World Soccer: Winning Eleven Arcade Championship 2010''
*''World Soccer: Winning Eleven Arcade Championship 2012''
*''World Soccer: Winning Eleven Arcade Championship 2014''
;Game Boy Advance
*''Wi-El: World Soccer Winning Eleven'' (2002)
*''J-League Winning Eleven Advance 2002'' (2002)
;GameCube
*''
ESPN MLS ExtraTime 2002
''ESPN MLS ExtraTime'' is a sports video game released in 2001-2002 by Konami. It is available for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. Clint Mathis is on the cover. The original ''ExtraTime'' was released for PS2 seven months after '' ESPN MLS Game ...
''
;PlayStation
*''
ESPN MLS GameNight
''ESPN MLS GameNight'' is a video game of the sports genre released in 2000 by Konami and Saffire. The game is considered to be an enhanced remake of ISS Pro Evolution, also published by Konami. It is the only MLS game to have been released on t ...
''
;PlayStation 2
*''
ESPN MLS ExtraTime''
;Nintendo 3DS
*''
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D''
;Xbox
*''
ESPN MLS ExtraTime 2002
''ESPN MLS ExtraTime'' is a sports video game released in 2001-2002 by Konami. It is available for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. Clint Mathis is on the cover. The original ''ExtraTime'' was released for PS2 seven months after '' ESPN MLS Game ...
''
;Windows MMO
*''
Winning Eleven Online
''eFootball'', formerly known as ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' (''PES'') internationally and in Japan and North America, is a series of association football List of association football video games, simulation video games developed and published by ...
''
*''Winning Eleven Online 2014''
''J-League Winning Eleven'' series
The ''J-League Winning Eleven series'' is exclusive to Japan and has been released since 1995 with the release of ''
J-League Jikkyou Winning Eleven''.
Management games
Card collection (
trading card
A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...
) games
See also
*
''FIFA'' (video game series)
*
List of soccer games licensed by J. League
*
PES League
*
PES Society
PES Society is an eSports organization founded in 2013, competing and promoting the Pro Evolution Soccer series. The organization as of January 2020 announced its affiliation to Mind Sports South Africa who is nationally recognized as the cont ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
PES League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pro Evolution Soccer (Series)
Association football video games
Esports games
Konami franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 2001