Konami have just dropped a rather huge bombshell into the WENB inbox as we got ready to settle into our weekend by informing us that passing lobbies for PES2012 online play are on the way! The little heads-up we received from Jon Murphy reads :

“The addition of the pass lobbies comes thanks to the assistance of all at WENB. We’re delighted to be able to react to the needs of our fans, and this is yet another great example of us working with the PES community to benefit the game.”

We have been advised that full details will follow sometime next week regards this much desired inclusion, which has come to us off the back of a feedback initiative that was spearheaded by WENB, yet was only able to gather momentum thanks to our committed and very active community. This of course is but one issue addressed off the back of such a WENB community driven exercise but goes to show that respectful and well organised feedback will be considered and potentially acted upon by the folks at Konami.

WENB would like to thank all for their input over these last few months as without the community our desire to act as the fans voice would not be possible.

Be sure to check back next week for the full scoop but in the meantime be sure to give yourselves a pat on the back for a job well done!

While the sport is not really an exact science, there has been a meteoric rise in the use, and popularity, of stats in football. From how many passes Xavi does in a particular match to the amount of shots Manchester United have faced so far this season there now seems to be a recorded number for every aspect of the world’s number one sport.

Stats can often surprise us, like the fact that Swansea city made more passes away at Manchester City than their high spending counterparts. They can also often cement certain ideas we have about a particular player or team such as that 11 of Christoper Samba’s 15 goals for Blackburn Rovers have been headers.

Statistical analysis is something that has always been in the PES series. Shots, fouls, possession and corners are recorded stats that have always been viewable at both half and full time. However, with the advent of PES on current generation (multi-format) consoles Seabass and his team decided to take statistical analysis a little further giving players the option to track all their accumulated stats.

So I’ve decided to see if the stats collected in PES 2012 can be used in the same way as real life and see if Konami’s recorded stats reflect the PES player you think you are. I’ve also been keen to see if those stats can tell us anything about the how the game plays in comparison to real life.

What do your PES stats say about you?

The following stats were recorded playing the game on both Professional (around 30%) and Top Player (70%) difficulties. About half of the matches were played in exhibition mode while the other half were played in Master League and the cup competitions of Asia, America and Europe. I generally play against teams who are better than the team I’ve picked or are of similar ability such as Barcelona vs. Real Madrid or me as Udinese vs. Internazionale.

Here are mine….

70 – The amount of games I’ve played so far.

27/28/15 – The number of wins, losses and draws I’ve had. While it’s not a terrible record, given the fact that the majority of my matches have been played on Top Player which is brutally clinical at times, I’d like to think that my winning win ratio of 38.57% will be higher in another 70 match’s time.

92 – Is the amount of goals I’ve scored and conceded which gives me an average of 1.31 goals scored and conceded per match.

640 – The amount of shots I’ve had against the opposition meaning I’m having, on average, 9.14 shots per match. My 92 goals give me a 14.37% shot to goal conversion rate. While this rate is poor I’d like to think that it’s because it’s so difficult to master one of the hardest parts of the game – the shooting.

470 – The number of shots the COM has taken against which mean it takes only 6.71 shots per match. This gives it a much better conversion rate of 19.14% which is much better than my record but isn’t surprising. It also backs up the idea that Top Player is hard, maybe not in terms of possession – but when it comes to scoring goals it’s lethal. Hence I have a miserable rating of C when it comes to defending.

2 – How many penalties I’ve been awarded giving me a ratio of 0.02 per game. In 70 games this stat does seem low and probably is when compared to real life.

35 – Is the amount of cards I’ve received, which when separated is 31 yellow and 4 red cards. I’m not an overly passive player, and I do like to put a good crunching tackle in on an opposing attacker, but like the number of penalties this stat is a little low compared to real life where you can expect to see 4 or 5 cards shown in any one match. In contrast I have a per game ratio of 0.44 for yellow cards and 0.05 for red cards, However, given the fact that this is a video game made to be enjoyed and not real life maybe it’s better if there are fewer cards. Plus there is also the fact that I currently have a rating of S for fairplay.

62% – This is the average amount of possession i’m having in match. While it is a Barcelona type possession stat and while possession is something I look to dominate (the lowest possession stat I’ve had being 51%) whether playing against the COM or a human, I feel it is a frustrating stat. Keeping hold of possession seems to be something the COM never does. Whether I am up against Barcelona, Stoke, Lyon or Ghana the COM always tries to get to goal quickly and effectively. While different teams do attack in different ways; for example Colombia will often try a long ball from defence for Falcao to win in the air and Lyon will try quick passes down the wings, they all seem too direct. Even teams who are know for their possession football play in to direct of a manner too. To sum up, my best ever possession stat for a half was 77%-23% which was Villarreal vs. Barcelona.

34 – The number of hours I’ve spent so far playing PES 2012.

Do you have a better winning ratio than me? Had more penalties? Or have an even better possession average? Tell us in the forums, get involved and let everybody see if your PES stats are the best out there and what they say about how you play the game.

Read all they have to say about their experience HERE with the OPE team promising that additional content and other community members impressions are to follow.

Excellent work guys!

What Konami are doing however is asking the question on their facebook page as to which classic Konami title from the past gamers would like to see on both PSN or XBLA. I figured that with so many saying they would love a remaster of a PES5, or a port of one of the Wii versions(with PS Move support) make it’s way onto either of the current-gen systems, this would be the perfect opportunity to make our feelings known. If they are asking, why not give them an answer in one unified voice and see if it gets us anywhere. It could be the perfect place to plant the idea in their heads short of us having to go through all those Inception shenanigans!

Spread the word and get lobbying!

First off, videogameszone.de have offered up three full squads worth of player faces and stats in the form Manchester United, Chelsea and Inter Milan.

The lads at prorevo have also been hard it, looking a little deeper into BaL mode with a plethora of screens in tow.

Last but not least we have a couple of videos. Posted up originally by PESFan.it and the work of youtube user IlritornoDelRe, these videos show gameplay footage from final code.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You really don’t need us at WENB to tell you more is still to come do you? ;)

Catch all the content HERE.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks again guys!

Click HERE for the original link or HERE for the original English .pdf file.

Some interesting questions asked of Jon and while there are some things which he isn’t able to go into in any great detail it makes for a nice wee read.

Thanks again to mrbasket on the forums for the .pdf file link.

This individual was Mr. Katsuya Nagae, who passed away in 2008, aged 47. May he rest in peace.

Click HERE for Cannigia’s wonderful tribute to the man and the important history lesson it has to offer all football game fans.