Interfering With Play 09/07/08
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Wed 09 Jul
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. As always, this is a weekly column that outlines news and views from the football, gaming and football gaming worlds. By the numbers of e-mails, messages and msn adds I have received this week; it is pretty obvious that PESGaming.com is starting to pick up the seasonal visitors, looking for the latest news on PES2009. However, it is the hardcore members that have kept the site going through the bare, winter months. To these guys, my hat goes off to you. With that said, let’s get going.
“Sell Out, With Me Oh Yeh!”
Firstly, those of you who know your gaming music will appreciate the irony of the above lyric coming from a Fifa game, but the news that Konami have picked up the UEFA Champion’s League license is one that has produced many valid opinions over the past few days. The basics are that Konami have acquired the license from UEFA to produce a computer game featuring the Champion’s League. Based on previous experience, this will include licensed teams within the competition, licensed stadiums, especially that used to host the final, the famous Champion’s League music and a pretty accurate replica trophy. Previous Champion’s League computer games have also featured match footage from past tournaments, and unlockable content such as classic winning teams from previous seasons. All of the above would be hugely welcomed to Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, and should this be the case, I am pretty sure 100% of PES gamers would be exceptionally pleased. But unfortunately, this would be a best-case scenario, and the way the gaming industry works implies that there is more to this. I have been very vocal in the past about the way EA Sports release a ‘new’ game in April time, using practically the same game engine, minimise the number of available teams and pass it off as the official game for a tournament. This year it was UEFA Euro 2008, which retailed for the same amount as Fifa 08, yet featured half the features and a fifth of the teams (and that’s being generous). Konami have always had a very credible reputation for releasing one football title a year per format, even if that title was an ISS on N64 and Pro Evolution on Playstation. They gave their all to that title, then spent the next year improving it for the following release. With the acquisition of this license, and no doubt heaped pressure from UEFA’s marketing boys to make a separate game, will the cop out and sell out, releasing an ‘official game’ 6 months after PES2009. Personally, if they do, I will have lost a heck of a lot of respect for a great company that have brought us some innovative and brilliant games over the past 20+ years. If Konami decide to release a game which features a mere 32 teams, many of which will not even be in the competition on its release, in order to please its licenses and sponsors, and by doing so rush PES2009 or take men off the development team in order to work on this other game, the result will be an uproar from the loyal gamers who have stuck by the company and helped make it what it is today. Good stuff only happens once a year, be it Christmas or the FA Cup Final, and most credible games companies follow this suit. It’s your move Konami, make it the right one!
Public Service Announcement
Writing this article has not given me an illusion of grandeur by any stretch of the imagination. I know, like many of you out there I am a simple gamer who loves PES, and spends a fair amount of time in front of my console or PC doing what I love. Some people however do think I am a guru of knowledge. I know this sounds odd, but I get e-mails every week asking the same questions. Do I know when PES2009 is coming out? Can you get me a copy early? Have you played PES2009 yet? Which teams are licensed? So I would once again like to set the record straight. Everything I know about PES will be featured on PESGaming.com, and will normally have been reported by Peter Willis the day the news broke. If it’s not on there, I will have brought it up in Interfering With Play that week. I have no intention of keeping people in the dark and at the same time, don’t repeat or follow rumours. PESGaming.com has a reputation for reporting the truth and as a result, Interfering With Play will stick to that code. If you have a question that has not been answered on here, please e-mail me, but if it has been answered, do not expect a response!
The Human League
Following my shout out regarding an online league or competition for PES 2009 last week, I have received over 50 e-mails or messages with gamers expressing their interest. As a result of this, I am tempted to set up an online mini league on PES 2008, even though it would suffer terribly from lag, as a way of preparing for the new game. My research shows that over 70% of gamers who have responded are PS3 players, and therefore the league would take place on PES2008 on PS3. So this is the plan. Over the next three weeks, I will be taking entries for a PES2008 mini league on Playstation 3. If this sounds like something you would be interested in doing, please e-mail me on the usual address with once again, your Full Name, Age, Location, and a valid Hotmail account, which you have MSN Messenger on. Should demand be high enough, I will set up a separate hotmail account and add all league members, which will take planning stage to the next level. Nothing is set in stone yet, but if the demand is there, I am more than happy to supply. I apologise to 360 members, but I have had to play it by numbers. The ball is in your court!
The Great Debate
I refuse to get drawn onto a PS3 vs. 360 debate at this stage, with PES 2009 news picking up and many talking points still to occur. The one comment made though by an individual simply called L was that the PS3 was a flop, and this is a comment that surely needs addressing. Even the most hardcore 360 gamer must admit there are certain features of PS3 that they would like on their console, be it the motion sensing controllers, free online gaming or the simple ability to use generic Bluetooth and USB items in their system. At the moment, there is no denying that 360 is market leader, but in one years time, with more exclusives and games like Bioshock being converted across, the table may very well be turned. PS2 was an incredible console that shocked the world, with families buying them as a ‘cheap’ alternative to a DVD player! As a result, and with games still being made for it, people are reluctant to move onto something new when the faithful black rectangle has looked after them for many years. My surprise that PES2009 was being brought out on PS2 was one on Konami’s side, as last years title was a carbon copy of PES6, give or take new menu screens. And finally, I would like to say that in many people’s mind, including my own, the Nintendo Wii is not a next generation console. It is very much last gen graphics, power and speed, and simply features new controllers. Yes they are excellent fun, and yes they are selling exceptionally well, but the next gen battle is a two horse race.
At Least In Heaven I Can Hate
A little question to the many PES haters that constantly bombard the message sections of this fine site. I wish to simply ask which console you are playing the game on? No more than that, but is it PS3, PS2, PSP, 360 or do you play the game on PC? Answers would be appreciated in the usual way
Again, there are many more points I could have raised in this weeks column, but I try to keep the word count manageable and the content easy to read. The e-mail address you can reach me on is danbolas@hotmail.com, if your going to add me to msn, I ask I receive an e-mail first as I am having to start refusing people, my contact list is getting too full of people who don’t speak! You can also leave comments at the bottom of the page. That’s the big red button bout 5cm below this text. Interest in the Interfering With Play league can be registered on the same address, if you have already e-mailed me you do not need to do so again, and I will get in touch with you with further information. Like I said, it will be PS3 only as the game is not cross console compatible, or so I have been told.
Thanks for Reading
Cheers Dan!
Dan,
Great piece….as always.
However, I have a bone to pick with you! Stop running down the PS2 version of PES2008. I was a gamer who waited for PES2008 to make the jump to PS3. I was fortunate enough to have a friend with a PS3 so I could compare and contrast. After a couple of hours gaming I was so pleased I did not blow £300 on a PS3. Graphics are slightly better on the PS3 but the PS2 version is a much better experience. I could have my beloved in Pompey in the correct kits courtesy of the easily updated option files and the game actually plays better. I am delighted Konami are releasing the PES2009 on the PS2 as it means I can delay my upgrade decIsion for at least another 6 months. The PS2 maybe 10 years old but it is still the ‘daddy’ console of PES.
Cheers,
Sean
Dan, great post, i just really hate Fifa fans, that come into PES forums and start saying idiotic things like Fifa is the best, LOL. I love PES, i don’t care about Fifa, i never go to Fifa sites, and i bet you that most of us that like PES don’t care about Fifa, and don’t bother by visiting Fifa forums saying crap about it an saying PES is the best.
PS3 vs 360, please don’t get me start it, it’s like PES vs Fifa, PS3=PES, Xbox=Fifa, and mainly because the PES has only the second year in the xbox, and the pes, has more than 10 year on Playstation, that’s why the PES it’s more played in the PS3.
would love to be part of the pro evo leauge please please add me to your msn.. i have a ps3..
I’m sorry but I have to totally disagree with your following comment:
“features of PS3 that they would like on their console, be it the motion sensing controllers, free online gaming or the simple ability to use generic Bluetooth and USB items in their system”
Firstly, everyone knows that the six-axis was only added at the last minute due to the popularity of the Wii, hence why no developer has bothered using it to good effect so far. Secondly, from what I saw of the online gaming (as a user) was a) very unuser friendly and b) rushed on the games that I had. I would sooner pay the £40 to get a much better online gaming experience.
Also just to correct you, you CAN use generic USB items on the 360, such as keyboards, webcams and links to digital cameras. You can even use a normal webcam to import faces into PES 08!!!
Finally I only partially agree with your comment about the Wii not being next gen. It was never built around horse power and next gen graphics, rather it focused on the way we played and interacted with games. Admittedly the majority of the Wii games are very poor mini game collections, however, its pretty naive to tie the tag of ‘next gen’ to simply graphics, power and memory! One of the only reason why the Wii won’t compete as a next gen machine is unfortunately developers feeling that they need to cash in on mini games and kiddy games.
How old is the writer of this article? I don’t know what they’re on, but some of the points they’ve made are total nonsense.
You should get your facts right before posting up an ill-informed article. Very poor.
Have to agree with mn9ajas. Not at your best this week Dan!
firstly like to say a big thanks to dan and pete for such an informative site. But i think that this is make or break for pes on next gen consoles. I loved pes on the ps2. The master league was the most addictive and satisfying game mode ever. Where has gone the days when you would find young talents and see them grow from your reserves to the first team. Each player on that game felt different (pes 6). Everyone had a star player, and different opinions who was good. But now on pes2008, the players move and feel generic, apart from the speedy players. The desire to play ML has gone.
For me this is the last chance for the series, i cant believe they would mess it up so bad, the editing, the online (which wasnt always great in the first place) mode. It has to get back to its roots.
Thanks for the useful information. I’m also waiting for PES2008 to make the jump to PS3. Playing with a friend PS3. Its so much fun.
I’m with Sean on this. Editability (for PES anyway) trumps next-gen graphics, since I don’t want to watch sharp graphics with fake teams running about.
Unless the next-gen versions are editable, I’m going to be pretty resistant to making the leap to *either* next-gen console.
The editability issue is something Konami should already have addressed, either by obtaining licenses, or by maintaining editability.
Apparently they did neither for next-gen, which means that the PES franchise for the moment has lost its continuity: those with PS2 still have editability but stuck with dated graphics; those with next-gen have top-notch graphics but restricted editability.
Dee has a point, the series has lost its roots. Time to rediscover those roots and what really distinguishes PES in the video game market. Otherwise Seabass and Konami could end up losing a passionate and loyal customer base through inertia and adopting a “business management” approach–as opposed to the “artist/fanatic” approach that built the customer base in the first place.
And Dan’s allowed a few bad columns here and there… it *is* the silly season, after all. No matches in most of the world, so it’s transfer rumors and bickering (in the real world, not on PES, haha) for the next several weeks.
i do hope PES 2009 can break from the barrier that has withheld them from creating an enjoyable game. PES 2008 was playable but i agree none the less that PES have lost some of its appeal. I mean, i expect them to kick ass, at least to FIFA. Yet FIFA08 have improved compared to it’s previous versions, at least by a mile. PES2008 seems downgraded somewhat. i didn’t like the goalies and i didnt like the defenders. it was only okay to play after installing this patch called “buli” i think… then it was a bit more appealing to my football fantasies.unlike the PES or FIFA fan boys, i’m not bias. i love PES to bits but if PES don’t up the ante, it would be sad to even go there. I’ve been waiting for PES09 and i expect excellence beyond any bounds.
and if i read correctly, why is the LED adboards only on xbox360 and PS3? i’m a PC user, don’t forget the PC users. We can obtain more power under our rig then xbox360 or PS3 can. The main reason i believe why i love PES was the editability, i love creating myself and play in my fav team MAN UNITED, as a newbie, it felt like a dream come true, at least, virtually. So, PES2009, i predict if you can do well by 2010, you could possibly obtain the EPL license once EA’s contract with FIFA is up, after all, PES was a huge success in profit revenue..so please do your part, be smart and don’t be retards.