The PES Predicament

On the surface, it may seem like an easy task to create a football videogame that leans heavily on the side of simulation. Only 22 players on the pitch at once, authentic tactical allowances, crosses that don’t linger in the air as if they’ve been caught by the wind…for once you’ve nailed the bare essentials, everything else is likely to fall into place.

It’s these essentials that often prove the most troublesome aspects of football game design, however. As many games have fallen by the wayside in trying to provide a pure simulation experience, only two have managed to stand the test of time and establish themselves as the definitive football titles of the modern gaming spectrum. The first of these is the FIFA series, today’s front-runner in the genre. The second is Pro Evolution Soccer, the former contender to the throne that now exists as less of a genuine competitor, and more of a flawed alternative.

The PES saga began long before the debut of the Pro Evolution moniker, with Konami’s International Superstar Soccer series (ISS) proving as its precursor. ISS was quite simply a marvel for its time. Technically perfect, it was an incredible take on the beautiful game that played spectacularly and provided a staggering level of depth despite its relative simplicity. Things like player-form, alternate formations and different styles of play were all accommodated for, with Konami having taken the proverbial ball and run with it. Next to that, the game looked spectacular too. Realistic kit licences meant that, despite there being no licenced players, matches still had an element of authenticity about them, whilst a small set of diverse stadia and crowd chants added to the unfettered match-day experience.

But ISS may not have enjoyed the success that it did had it not played well, and whether they knew it at the time or not, Konami had not only made a great individual game, but also taken the early steps to creating the Pro Evolution franchise as we know it today.

As ISS finally gave way to Pro Evolution Soccer in 2003, Konami had by now given us a clutch of Pro Evolution games born from the fires of its predecessor. 2001’s Pro Evolution Soccer on the PlayStation 2 was a notable improvement aesthetically, trading polygonal frames and paper-thin structures for much more solid, dense ones. The first Pro Evolution title also revolutionized the PES gameplay formula, with the jump from the PlayStation to the PlayStation 2 allowing for more fluid football and much tighter, responsive play.

By the time 2003’s Pro Evolution Soccer 3 was released, EA’s longstanding FIFA series was at last being challenged on a regular basis, having already seen off the likes of fellow challengers This is Football and Club Football with consummate ease. Pro Evolution Soccer 4 and 5 followed soon after, with Konami now revelling in their consistent success. It seemed that the Pro Evolution brand couldn’t put a foot wrong, and fittingly, each successive title represented an evolution over the game that preceded it. The FIFA series kept ticking along nicely too, but as FIFA 06 gave way to FIFA 07, Konami countered with their biggest rebuke yet, releasing what is widely viewed as the greatest PES title to date in PES 6. Just like ISS Pro almost a decade ago, Pro Evolution Soccer 6 was one of the genres most defining games, having quashed our expectations by over-delivering in almost all aspects. Konami had continued to innovate and strive for excellence throughout the PES tenure, and as PES 6 debuted to glowing critical acclaim and the cries from those dubbing it the ‘FIFA killer’, you had to wonder whether or not this actually would be the start in a huge power shift in the football game spectrum. As a matter of fact, it was.

As of late 2006, with PES 6 and FIFA 07 lying side by side on the retailer’s shelf, EA and Konami’s football franchises were as close as they had ever been. What would happen next though would cast a seemingly insurmountable divide between the games that has yet to be rectified. This was the jump from the sixth generation of consoles to the seventh, and perhaps the single most important step that either of the series’ had ever taken. More power to work with, faster processing, larger memory allowances…the hardware benefits of a generational shift were clear to see from a development perspective.

But as far as natural progression of both games was to go, we of course expected the biggest, most technologically impressive titles to date. FIFA 08 was out of the gate first, bringing with it the groans and guffaws from those who had wanted more. Quite simply, FIFA 08 was underwhelming. After having brought a slew of advancements to the table, it was almost as if it didn’t know what to do with them, with FIFA fanatics having to wait a further year before FIFA 09 would come along and clean up the mess left behind. It wasn’t necessarily a bad game, but it didn’t evoke all of the evolution that we had expected, deflating our aspirations for a true next-gen FIFA title almost as quickly as they had arisen. The ball was in Konami’s court. Shame then, that PES 2008 was all it had to offer.

Like FIFA 08, PES 2008 wasn’t the worst game in the series. It looked fairly decent, all of the staples of the series like Master League were back and it still had a wealth of customization options in lieu of full team licencing. And yet, for many fans of the series that had been enveloped in everything PES for years upon years, PES 2008 just didn’t feel right. Gone was the unique brand of gameplay we had always associated with the series and gone was the games emphasis on the thrill of the sport. Everything that had been honed since ISS had seemingly been thrown out of the window.

PES 2008 was unrecognizable from those that had come before it. PES 2009 rolled around not too long after, again, echoing the very same problems. Where was the heart? The soul? This wasn’t Pro Evolution Soccer. Next came PES 2010. Nothing. PES 2011? Nope. 2012? No. 2013? Are you kidding? 2014? Sorry. The series had been coasting, a true goliath of the PlayStation 2 era, but now it was ashes.

What had happened, then? What had stifled the series in its ascent, seemingly crippling it overnight? Well, for one thing, the transition from the PlayStation to the PlayStation 2 had definitely taken its toll. Whereas FIFA 08, at the very least, stuck to its guns and began the gradual process of improving on what it already had, Konami’s PES 2008 introduced too much, too fast. Gone was the stellar, fluid gameplay that we had become accustomed to, instead replaced with a slower, more methodical pace. This change in dynamic allowed FIFA the take the lead, and when you’re left for so long in your opponents shadow, things start to get a little desperate. Instead of innovating, PES began imitating.

There was simply no more focus on what made the series great, as for the first time Konami’s PES series was consciously competing with EA’s FIFA, having before had the luxury of producing games without ever giving a thought to any potential rivals. What had made the PES series so endearing and so unique had long since dissipated, its rivalry with FIFA now taking precedence over its own everlasting success. According to Konami head Jon Murphy, the FIFA and PES rivalry was beneficial to FIFA especially, having made the team at EA up their game considerably.

“There was a period of dissatisfaction with the product with good reason – several years – where we didn’t know where we were going. But recently the quality of the product has come back, and I don’t think we’ve been given proper respect for that because so many have bought into the idea that FIFA is better, just in the same way people bought into the idea PES was much better than FIFA in years gone by, and it took a while for them to get out of that situation because it was so ingrained. We’re now seeing the opposite’s true. There’s an automatic assumption now that FIFA is just better.”

And he’s right too, for despite my indignation, PES 2014 is a much better game than PES 2008, yet it still isn’t the game to reprise the series’ glory days.

Change is inevitable, yet it is controllable. The relatively seamless transition from FIFA 07 on the Xbox to FIFA 08 on the Xbox 360, and from FIFA 13 on the Xbox 360 to FIFA 14 on the Xbox One is enough to make even the most ardent PES fan envious. Konami’s PES just didn’t have what it took at the time, and they paid the price. According to Konami producer Manorito Hosoda, despite the series’ ever-changing landscape, there’s still a hope that PES can rediscover its past success.

“What we’re trying to do now is remember and realise the days when we were stronger in gameplay, and try to learn from there instead of simply comparing ourselves to a rival title.” he stated.

Maybe that’s just the tonic for the Pro Evolution brand, then. A fresh attitude that ponders what had been learned from a decade in the shadows, as well as incorporating knowledge garnered from a whole host of predecessors.

It can be argued that this should’ve been the focus in the first place, but at least now there’s a certain sense of clarity and direction in the Konami camp. They know what has to be done to resurrect the series, but whether they do it is another thing all-together. As of writing this, the first PES title for the eighth generation of consoles has yet to be announced. But, with a new team at the helm and the sort of outlook that’s only attained after an unbroken streak of lacklustre titles, everything is in place for PES 2015 to give the PES brand another deserved day in the sun.