14 DAY TRIAL // Konami has admitted that its latest Pro Evolution Soccer title, PES 2014, wasn't exactly finished when it was released and has pledged to ensure that this year's PES 2015 will be launched when it's done, in order to deliver a great experience to fans.
In recent years, Konami's PES series has been drastically overtaken by Electronic Arts' FIFA franchise both in terms of sales and in terms of popularity.
Last year's PES 2014 was a particularly lackluster title, as the studio focused a lot on making sure that the new Fox engine worked as intended and didn't place that much emphasis on gameplay.
Konami's European Brand Manager Adam Bhatti has talked with Videogamer and even confessed to the fact that PES 2014 wasn't ready for release when it launched last year. However, he quickly emphasized that PES 2015 would debut when it's ready.
"We learned with PES 2014. As you mentioned, it was probably half done, and I think that was the feedback we got from all the fans. The majority of fans [were] extremely unhappy with us last year. We heard them and we're fully aware, so this year it's not just a case of 'don't worry, we're going to fix it'. When it ships it'll be ready," he says.
Bhatti has then stated what he believes are the most important aspects of a Pro Evolution Soccer experience, from the responsive controls to the iconic layout, and has emphasized the fact that players should be allowed to take risks.
"The most basic thing for me is, in PES, when I played it, 1) super responsive and 2) left stick dribbling and R2 stop. This feeling that I didn't need a trick stick or needed to do tricks to beat a player, it was all about seeing the play and react to what's going on."
The developer also drew attention to the fact that, in many soccer games, players quickly learn situations where they can score goals that can't be defended. A PES title should provoke them to find new situations instead of relying on the old ones.
"The final thing is not scoring the same goal twice. That was so important to me in PES. You will shoot from anywhere, take a chance, you'll feel like, hey I've got a chance here. I think really with all football games you started to find too many sweet spots."
"PES surely had its own, PES 5 did as well, but you weren't just locked to those moments. You could try it and score [a wonder goal] and 'Oh my God, did you see that?'. They're the moments that we're trying to catch with the gameplay."
PES 2015 is set to debut this fall for the PS4, the Xbox One, and for other unannounced platforms.