Archive for October, 2007
Posted by Peter Willis in PES 2008 News on Wed 31 Oct 2007
We all knew it would happen, but Pro-G has announced that Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has topped the gaming charts.
Following No.1 titles FIFA 08 and Football Manager 2008 comes PES 2008, Konami’s latest entry in the highly praised Pro Evolution Soccer series. The slight change in name doesn’t appear to have done the game any harm, with sales almost matching those of PES 6’s debut week.
What is different this time around is the split in sales over the release platforms. PES 6 first week sales were PS2 heavy - the system accounting for 73% of sales with the Xbox 360 and PC left to squabble over what was left. This year, sales are much more evenly distributed: PS2 sales account for 42%, Xbox 360 30%, with the PS3 and PC sharing the final 28%.
Stats are currently unavailable, however, as to how many games have been retutrned for a refund.
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 30 Oct 2007
Welcome to this weeks Interfering With Play. Following some technical difficulties last week, I am back using my own PC and have my Internet up and running once again. I apologise to those who have left comments or mails over the past 7 days, and I am currently filtering through them at the moment. Friday saw the release of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on the majority of formats, as most of you are well aware! This week’s column will be a condensed version, as I am saving my full-blown review for a few weeks time, once the initial new game feeling has worn off. With that all said lets get going.
Difference Maker
My first point has been mentioned to me by several of my mates over the past few days, and is about ‘last gen’ PES2008. By this I mean the Playstation 2 version of the game, and how it is almost a carbon copy of PES6, bar the new menus and updated squad lists. Having not played the PS2 version yet, I was leaving this open to PESgaming.com fans, and asking you, Are You Happy With PS2 Pro Evolution Soccer 2008? There is no denying the next gen versions differ immensely from PES6 on PS2, and offer a number of features, namely diving and shirt pulling that are not available of the PS2 version. Many of my mates have already returned their PS2 copies and are now saving up for Next Gen consoles. I am well aware that Konami have spent more time developing the next gen versions of the game, but does that mean they should completely ignore those people who are yet to make there technological step up? Personally, this does not effect my gaming experience, as I am using a PS3, but I know there are a lot of people out there who find the kind of money required to purchase a next generation console a lot harder to come by. Your views and opinions of the PS2 PES2008 saga will be appreciated.
He Doesn’t Look Happy
For those of you who read this column on a regular basis, will be aware that I asked people to hold back their opinions of PES2008 for a few days, as to allow the new feel and new features of the game to sink in. However, many people are already calling for Konami’s head, dubbing PES2008 the worse game ever, and jumping on the We Hate Pro Evolution Soccer bandwagon. I am well aware for every one of these PES2008 haters there are 10 players out there who are more than happy with their PS£ or X Box 360 copy of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, but there is the minority who feel it right to be utterly disappointed with the game, and believing that the football gaming world is a worse place for PES2008’s release. I personally feel these two people will fall into two categories, on one hand the gamers who expected Pro Evolution Soccer to be flawless and two, the casual gamer who want their quick fix, and PES 2008 does not fit the bill. If you have visited any PES related site over the past 3 months you will be well aware that PES2008 on the next gen consoles was going to be far from a flawless game, and the question was always going to be, does its flaws make it a bad game. Again in my opinion, the answer is no, PES2008, in spite of the flaws it is blatantly displaying is the best football game available, and more than likely will be for the next 12 months. If these people who are not happy with their next gen versions of the game don’t want to play the game, no one is making them. Of course, they are entitled to their opinion, but many of them will be half way through a master league in six months time, addicted to the game that they hate after 6 days! Like a good wine, time makes PES games better, and over the next few weeks and months, the haters will be the ones looking for the latest option files, or uploading their goals into the GOTM competitions!
Shut It You Lag!
The next two points are going to be slightly more personal to Next Gen console owners, as each console is currently burdened with problems that previous years have been hardly an issue. X box 360 gamers can look quite smarmy at this point to hear that the PS3 version of PES 2008 is defiantly suffering from Lag issues offline. The situation occurs during crowded penalty areas or when a great deal of activity is going on, and is affecting players in different ways. Some gamers are saying that blocks of frames are missing and that one-second the ball will be on the wing, and after a quick freeze, the ball is in the net. Personally, I am not experiencing anywhere near that kind of lag, but there is no denying that there is some slowdown at points in the game. This is surely the fault of Konami, as games such as PES2008, which rely on quick decisions, must suffer from as little slowdown as possible, especially when the game is playing alone! I am not in a position to comment yet on the online situation, but again, word is its worse than the offline mode. For a game that is so reliant on its top of the range game play, something as important as the speed, which the game is played, must be sorted out before the game is released. The reports of the game being released as ‘an unfinished game’ are comical, but the slowdown issue is one that will hopefully be resolved. Word is that Konami will be releasing a patch to help combat this trivial problem, but the proof will be when the patch is finally released. It is defiantly a situation that needs addressing, as it will eventually begin to detract from the quality of PES’ outstanding game play.
I Need Some Options
Now it’s the turn of the X Box 260 users to look exceptionally uncomfortable in their seats. As many of you are aware, the option files are currently in the process of being worked on for PES2008. Several are already available for PS2 PES, and PS3 has received its first very basic file. As the weeks and months progress, I am sure that the quality of these files will improve, along with the introduction of German teams and the quality of the Premier League team kits. X Box 360 users can feel slightly hard done by though. For those of you unaware, Microsoft have been having problems with hacking, and people steeling others information via X Box Live through game option files and as a result, have locked each option file to that particular console, kind of like Data Protection on Windows Media Player, when tracks will only work on your computer. This causes a massive problem for transferring option files online and then distributing them through the web, meaning many 360 gamers may have to edit the game themselves in order to get satisfactory results. After the way 360 users were robbed of an edit mode on PES6, this is another huge kick in the teeth, and whilst I am sure there will be someone who will find a way to get around the data protection element, its still a lot of unnecessary hassle. I am personally going to start editing PES2008 myself this weekend, and see how far I can get with designing the strips. If anyone has any advice about the editing, contact me in the usual way.
That’s your lot for this week. With the honeymoon period still in full swing, I will be returning to PES2008 for some much needed gaming. PS2 views are welcomed in the responses section, along with anything else you may want to get off your chest. You can also get in contact with me at my e-mail danbolas@hotmail.com if you have any topics you would like to be discussed, or any questions you feel I may be able to help with. If you decide to add me to msn, please send an e-mail with your name, age and where you live. Enjoy your week of playing PES2008 and I will be back next Tuesday with more Interfering With Play.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by Peter Willis in PES 2008 News on Mon 29 Oct 2007
Thank you to everyone who posted on the forum over the weekend. It made it one of our busiest yet! All members who posted 10 or more times were entered into a prize draw to win a copy of this years official PES 2008 guide book.
The winner, selected at random by our independent adjudicator (AKA my housemate), was greenegg.
For the rest of you, you can still pick up the guide for just £7.99 over at our friends Amazon.
Posted by Steve Smith in GOTM on Sat 27 Oct 2007
PES 2008 has officailly been released now which will have all you enthusiasts ready to show off your new wonder goals.
Here are the competition rules.
- All goals must be from PES 2008
- Score the best goal you can on the hardest difficulty (we have final say as to who the 6 finalists are)
- Record your goal as a movie file on your PC. Full instructions and methods can be found here.
- Upload your goal to www.consolegoals.com
- Post your goal in the GOTM forum as a new thread with a decription of the goal in the subject line (starting with GOTM Nov/Dec), which can be found here
To post your ConsoleGoals video’s directly into the forum, copy the Forum BB code that can be found on your ConsoleGoals video page under ‘SHARE DETAILS’ and then place it in your post/thread - It should end with [/cgvideo]
All goals MUST be submitted in the correct format and on ConsoleGoals to be considered.
WINNER WILL WIN A GAME OF THEIR CHOICE ON ANY CONSOLE FORMAT OR PC
In the event of a tie, the deciding vote will be left with ConsoleGoals/PES Gaming staff.
The winner of our previous GOTM contest was Feanor, with his fablous overhead kick scored by Socrates.
Good luck!
Posted by Peter Willis in PES 2008 News on Fri 26 Oct 2007
For those of you who have not ordered online, PES 2008 is now available for sale! Asda are reported to be selling the game for around £37 on next-gen formats… though stocks are said to be limited. One user reported that only 10 copies of the PS3 version were available in one 24 hour store where 60 fans are said to have turned up to buy the game.
Posted by Peter Willis in PES 2008 News on Thu 25 Oct 2007
The forums here at PESGaming seem to have taken a back seat after the introduction of the blog. It remains one of the largest UK based forums for Pro Evolution Soccer, but as I speak only 20% of the total users online on the forum are actually members. As a way to encourage you all to get involved and share information in the forums, we are giving away a copy of the official PES 2008 Guide. The guide will go to a randomly selected user who makes 10 or more posts on the forum between now and Sunday 11:59am. All members (other than admins) are eligible to win!
Remember the rules of the forum though. You should avoid spamming - make your messages at least one sentence long and of relevance to the topic. No racism what so ever and absolutley no discussion of warez or illegally downloaded versions of PES.
You can reach the forum here.
Posted by Peter Willis in PES 2008 News on Thu 25 Oct 2007
Lag… the thing all online gamers dread. It seems once again Konami has failed to create a game which can be played online in a lag free environment. Even with the best connections it PES 2008 stutters huge amounts during online play. This is in addition to the ridiculous amounts of slowdown during both online and offline gaming.
Konami responded to the reports of lag, made by gamers lucky enough to get their game earlier than the release date of tomorrow, with this statment…
Konami Digital Entertainment has uncovered issues which can affect the online gameplay quality of PES 2008 on PLAYSTATION 3. We are working at full strength to find a solution as quickly as possible. We sincerely apologise for this inconvenience. Further announcements will be made as soon as we have additional details.
You can leave Konami your views about the lag and give them information on which stadiums have the most lag by completing this form at their official website.
Meanwhile, posing as a customer, gaming website Pro-G contacted Konami and received this information over the telephone:
We were told that a patch was being worked on that would not only attempt to improve offline play but also online play. However, Konami does not have a timeframe on when that patch will be released.
Posted by Peter Willis in PES 2008 News on Thu 25 Oct 2007
The Official XBox 360 magazine has given Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 a respectable 8 out of 10.
It’s all about the ‘feel’ for football with PES, and this newest version hasn’t lost its touch. It still plays a beautiful game.
Read the review here.
Posted by Peter Willis in PES 2008 News on Wed 24 Oct 2007
Over on the forum there are instructions for updating your PC PES 2008 with Premier League emblems on the menu screens. Read the full thread for detailed instructions.
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 23 Oct 2007
Welcome to this weeks Interfering With Play. With so much news coming regarding PES2008, alongside its imminent release, this weeks article will be much smaller and to the point than usual. This is coupled with the fact I am on my mate’s iMac due to PC problems, and have a limited amount of time. So lets press on.
Player Of The Year Award
The support for the first ‘Interfering With Play’ Player Of The Year Award for PES6 has been truly amazing. I would like personally thank the 200+ people who either commented, e-mailed or expressed their opinions via MSN. Computer games are ever changing, and it’s important to remember the games that came before in order to truly appreciate the games we play today. People who call PES6 rubbish after it being their bible for the past 12 months come across as pretty short sighted in my opinion.
As said, the results are in, with fans of PES6 picking their 3 favourite players from last year’s game. As expected, there were some of the more familiar names popping up, but it was also great to see so many unfamiliar names cropping up. But of course, it is some familiar names that make up the top three players.
3rd Place David Villa -10 Votes
2nd Place Wayne Rooney -15 Votes
1st Place Cristiano Ronaldo – 30 Votes
So, and maybe no real surprise, that the poster boy for PES2008 is the star man for PES6. From a personal point of view, I cannot argue with the choice, as he was a star in my master league, and overall is a top player. Again, thank you for your support on this feature, and hopefully the same event will occur in 12 months time, even if it does end with the same winner!
Are They Taking The Wii?
I was quite surprised to hear the news that PES would be making its debut on the Nintendo Wii, and was even ore surprised when the actual screenshots came through. Whilst I am personally undecided about the Wii as a gaming system, I can see why it sells so well, and why developers are making so many unique games for it. My point this week, is if you are a Wii gamer, or even if your not, could you see yourself playing through an individual master league using the Wii control system? For a system that is questionably ‘next gen’ is PES 2008 an acceptable title, both graphically and to play? I am leaving the floor open on this one, and am looking forward to hearing your opinions.
Don’t Panic
The news from PESgaming.com and Play.com is that PES2008 is already in the most, with many gamers hoping to receive the game as early as Wednesday. Me and my mates go through the same routine each year of going into games shops and asking sales staff to release a copy of the game a day or two early, with the hope that eventually one of them will sell the game. This is normally a very successful procedure, and since Pro Evolution Soccer 2, I have always had the game a number of days before the official release date. If you have Pre-Ordered the game online, as a few of my mates have, I am pretty sure it will arrive in the next 24 to 48 hours on your doorstep, but if you haven’t, I personally recommend to buy from a 24 hour supermarket, such as an Asda or Tesco. This is because these stores do not have dedicated gaming staff, and are more likely to release a game upon request as opposed to someone who knows the implications of an early release. I will personally be trying my local Asda tomorrow evening; with the hop a flood of Internet releases will have made the game available. I would like to use this section as a general announcement area, and for people to name and praise shops that do release the game early. At the end of the day, we are all PES fans, and whether it’s via Play.com, your local Game store or from a supermarket, we all want to be playing the game as soon as possible.
You Only Get One Chance
This week will see many rash judgements about PES2008 be made, some positive and some negative. Of course, there will be stories of people saying it is the worse Pro Evo ever; those stories have been going on since the series began, but I am looking forward to trying out all the features and modes. Despite playing several leagues on PS2 PES6, I played Master League on my PSP. The option of being able to use my breaks at work to build upon my team was an appealing one, and as a result, I experienced a very watered down version of the PES6 Master League. With that said, many of the features from PES2008 Master League will be very new to me, and this is an something I am defiantly going to enjoy. The whole point of previous Pro Evolution Soccer games is that they grow on with time, and the more effort and hours you put into them, the more rewarding they become. This is one of the greatest beauties of the Konami series, as with many RPG and Action games, once you have completed the story mode, or defeated the bosses, you are fundamentally at a peak, whereby the game has tested you as far as it can. But with PES, you can be the most experienced player in the world, and still have a bad day at the office, and no matter how good you are, there will always be someone out there who fancies their chances against you. As with many people who played the Fifa 2008 Demo and deleted it after one game, PES2008 will suffer from many snap judgements and negative feedback. Before you all start giving your opinions on the new Pro Evo, wait until one week of playing the game, and see how your views are then. I will be giving my personal views of PES2008 in next week’s column.
As I said, a shorter version of this weeks article, due to the reasons stated above. With the games ‘official release’ on Friday, many of you will be proud owners of PES2008 the next time Interfering With Play comes round, so enjoy you gaming experience. The e-mail address is danbolas@hotmail.com if you want to get in touch, or simply add me to your PS3, thebolder if you’re a PS3 gamer.
Thanks for Reading
