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 Soccer'' series by Konami. The game was announced on 18 June 2007. Its title is different from the other ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' games in that it is of a year and not a version; this was due to EA Sports' ''FIFA'' series naming their titles with two digit numbers (i.e. 07, 08), which would seem that ''PES'' was a year behind ''FIFA'' (to non-fans which had no knowledge of the previous games of the franchise); it is also the first game to use the ''PES'' title for the American market, which previously used the Japanese name. It was released for Windows, Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Xbox 360. The game sold units worldwide. ''PES 2008'' was succeeded by '' Pro Evolution Soccer 2009''. This was the first game of the series to be released for the PS3 and Wii, as well as the first game in the series to be internationally available on a Nintendo home console.

Wii version

The Nintendo Wii version of ''PES 2008'' (named ''Winning Eleven Play Maker 2008'' in Japan) differs radically from the other versions. The basic gameplay is centered around pointing the Wii Remote at the screen and directing players by dragging them with the on-screen cursor, and passing is done by simply pointing to the desired space or player and pressing a button. This allows for a more tactical approach to the game, as there is almost complete freedom in moving any player on the screen anywhere, and much more tactics and maneuvers can be used in the attacking game than ever before.

This version omits the ''Master League'' mode for the ''Champions Road'', which lets the player tour a slew of different leagues around Europe, and when a games is won, it is possible to acquire players from the defeated teams. Also, it features an online mode that Konami called "the best online experience" when compared to the other versions.

Teams

Unlicensed leagues

The leagues below are partially unlicensed, and some teams from these leagues are unlicensed:
* Premier League

Licensed leagues

The leagues below are fully licensed, and all teams from these leagues are licensed:
* La Liga Santander
* Ligue 1
* Serie A
* Eredivisie

Generic Teams

There is also a separate league with 18 generic teams (Team A, Team B etc.), which can be edited fully, like in the previous game. This is thought to be due to the fact that Konami failed to get the rights to the German Bundesliga, 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.

Covers

Portugal and (at the time) Manchester United player Cristiano Ronaldo is included on all ''PES 2008'' covers, along with Newcastle United striker Michael Owen in the UK, Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in Italy, West Ham United defender Lucas Neill in Australia, and Chelsea F.C. striker Didier Drogba in France. Also in the Japanese version, the cover art features only Cristiano Ronaldo himself.

Commentators

Jon Champion and Mark Lawrenson provide the English commentary for the first time, replacing long-time commentary team Peter Brackley and Trevor Brooking, who commentated from Pro Evolution Soccers 2 to 6. Also in the Japanese version, Jon Kabira and Tsuyoshi Kitazawa continue as commentators among Masahiro Fukuda and the pitch reporter was Florent Dabadie.

Reception

The game sold units worldwide in 2007. Its sales were very close to rival ''FIFA 2008'', which sold units in 2007.

The PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 releases of ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2008'' each received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies per version in the United Kingdom. ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2008'' sold approximately 104,654 copies since its debut in Japan. It debuted at #5 in the UK game charts before moving to #3 in the second week after a 34% increase in sales.

The game was met with positive to mixed reception. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 83.60% and 83 out of 100 for the Wii version; 82.58% and 82 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version; 79.74% and 80 out of 100 for the PSP version; 78.50% for the PC version; 75.53% and 76 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 version; 73.46% and 74 out of 100 for the PlayStation 3 version; and 58.57% and 58 out of 100 for the DS version.

It was awarded Best Sports Game for the Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game awards. It was also nominated for Wii Game of the Year by IGN.

References

External links

Konami Europe Website
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{{Pro Evolution Soccer

2007 video games
Nintendo DS games
PlayStation 2 games
PlayStation 3 games
PlayStation Portable games
2008
Video games developed in Japan
Wii Wi-Fi games
Windows games
Xbox 360 games
La Liga licensed video games
Multiplayer and single-player video games