With the PES European championship in Dublin we could play not only extensively pro evolution Soccer 6 at Xbox 360 and PS2, but also lead an interview with the father of the football simulation: Shingo “Seabass” Takatsuka. The master of Japanese ball physics expressed itself to the German league loss, to the PlayStation 3 and coming feature.
4Players: Erstmal congratulations on pro evolution Soccer 6! All journalists here in Dublin are itself united that Konami could make again a grandioses play more grandioser a bit. How do you deal with the pressure to have to create each year this jump?
Seabass: Yes, the pressure is enormous each year. But it is not the pressure that we must absolutely deliver a better play than last year. It is rather the pressure to fulfill new expectations of the fans as well as possible. We collect the feedback very with the utmost care and want each year with realistic football a new enthusiasm to kindle.
4Players: Although we are spielerisch inspired, a fader taste for German players remains: the league is missing. In PES4 and PES5 there was a German league with fictitious association names and leotards, now is only the FC Bavaria Munich thereby…
Seabass: Yes, us quasi in last minute the rights were extracted.
4Players: The DFL forbade even a simulated league. The fans are naturally sour. What do you think of this cutting?
Seabass: We are annoyed also much, the whole team are correctly sour. On the one hand we had already prepared the values and statistics for the German crews. And then these license problems ensure for the fact that all work in vain was. The whole team is correctly sour. We will set however everything to prevent this absence in the next year.
4Players: Actually there is a point of criticism only regarding the Xbox 360: the fade window blind. We were disappointed something that the spectators and the Stadiondrumherum were not brought on NEXT generation level. Why didn't that fold? And itself is Konami of this weak point conscious?
Seabass: Yes, we know around this weakness. And we are even not content honestly said with the fan window blind on the Xbox 360. We are about already to improve for the next year. There some will do.
4Players: The Germans played a quite good WM. And the team plays itself in PES6 recreating differently, substantially more actively and more offensively. Did you improve the values of the crew in view of the achievement?
Seabass: Yes! We adapted a great many values. I was simply very done by the German crew. With the WM in Japan they did not please me yet so well, but in this year they were correctly good. Therefore I took over personally the programming of the Germans.
4Players: Thus aren't we mistaken the fact that Michael Ballack plays aka “Kruger” e.g. clearly more strongly and more effectively from the second row takes off?
Seabass: That is correct, Michael Ballack is now as a guidance player more salient.
4Players: How is with the individual team strengths? Is it correct that the tactical march direction of the crews is to be recognized etc. now on the basis their operating attitude that one notices the play style more clearly? We could examine so far not all teams so intensively.
Seabass: Correctly. Brazil and the FC Barcelona will fast notice for example as very offensive teams conceived - who plays it with the standard attitudes, that they look for rather the way by the center. Germany was designed however for the wing play over lame. We want to arrange this system for PES7 still clearer.
4Players: Isn't there there a conflict between the individual and the team strengths?
Seabass: That is the challenge. We will offer side for the next expenditures on still more individual values and statistics. On the other side we want the soul of the teams still more strongly rausarbeiten. The balance between individuality and collective is the difficulty.
4Players: If one the PS2 and the 360-Fassung compares: Were the animations taken over simply 1:1 or refined and/or supplemented for of Microsoft console?
Seabass: On the PS2 have we between 4000 and 5000 animations. If we had arranged all this completely again for the Xbox 360, we would alone have used two to three years for it - thus we took over the basic stick. But naturally we integrated 360 also completely new movements for the Xbox.
4Players: Which for example?
Seabass: For example the early taking of the ball or the firing movement. Both was refined for the Xbox 360 and is so not on the PS2 to be seen. In addition we have a fully mobile fussspitze only on the Xbox 360. Again also many hand movements and natural the Mimik are; those provides on of Microsoft console for the first time for furious or merry face expressions.
4Players: Why doesn't one have the full editing function, which possesses the PS2-Fassung on the Xbox 360?
Seabass: We had to be limited here simply for time reasons to the substantial. The editing function of the PS2 is so complex, since one can change each detail. And there we for the Xbox 360 many new diagrams use, we still at least six to twelve months for the full editing extent would have used. But I promise now already that the next PES will likewise offer on the Xbox 360 everything.
4Players: So far one could play on-line on the Xbox only one against one. Will it give on-line tournaments to live ones for Xbox also?
Seabass: No, for it the time was not also enough unfortunately. We had to already program this on-line mode opposite PES5 completely again. Now the whole has to do nothing more with on-line mode of the PS2. The advantage is that the play barness is now in the Internet a better.
4Players: Why did you decide for Santa Cruz as Coverfigur?
Seabass: That has many reasons. On the one hand Wolfgang Ebert [European PR manager Konami] likes it. (laughs) on the other hand there were not with the player search also many alternatives - either had other professionals of the FC Bavaria vacation and was in the hot phase of the decision not to be achieved or it had already different contracts. It was like Katz and a mouse play.
4Players: As far you are with the development of Winning Eleven 11 [the Japanese version of PES; Note D. Talk.] for the PlayStation 3?
Seabass: We are nearly finished. Property it is that we could gain already very much experience with the Xbox 360-Code and the whole thereby more easily to transfer to be able.
4Players: John Carmack said that the PlayStation is to be programmed 3 more with difficulty than the Xbox 360. Which experiences made you?
Seabass: I agree it. One can transfer a PC play more easily to the Xbox 360 than to the PS3. However one may not forget that it is no longer so heavy for us as experienced PS2-Entwickler. And I think that in, two years will again relate itself, if all could gain this experience.
4Players: Will it give also a version of pro to evolution Soccer for the Wii?
Seabass: We say neither nor no. But can be safe you that we think about it. (laughs) 4Players: Thank you for the interview.
