EA Sports and Konami have been going at it for over a decade now, trading blows year after year in a bid for football gaming supremacy. It's another epic West vs East stand-off, and a showcase of the subtle differences between Japanese and western game design. Pro Evo, or Winning Eleven as it's known in its home country, has long been looked at as the superior translation of soccer, compared to the more grandiose FIFA with its swagger and pricey official licenses. EA likes to be the star of the show when it comes to sports games, but haven't always had things their way in the football arena. No matter how much money they threw at the problem, for a good few years there wasn't much EA Sports could do to get one into the back of the net against Pro Evo. But EA Canada got their groove back towards the end of the last decade, and since FIFA 08 they have been heavily on the attack. For the past few years Konami has barely had a shot on goal. The thing with soccer games is that, unlike with platform games, third-person shooters or open world adventures, most of us only have the attention span (or budget) for one. And with Pro Evo Soccer 15 available this month Konami will be hoping to convince gamers that the PES brand is once again the one to go for.
Game-obsessed since the moment I could twiddle both thumbs independently. Equally enthralled by all the genres of music that your parents warned you about.
