Why Brazil?

Downtown Sao Paulo

When Konami were planning the first look event, the venue of the event is usually one of the first things that needs to be nailed down. After much thought, the decision was to have the event in Brazil. It wasn’t just as simple as the wonderful weather, picturesque views and relaxing beaches defining the decision, although I’m sure those things helped! It was a culmination of various factors, one of which being the huge success of the franchise in that part of the world.

Estádio do Pacaembu in Sao Paulo

As we reported back in April, PES 2012 has developed a massive following in Latin America, and in a bid to highlight the recently announced success Brazil was seen as a perfect backdrop. The Brazilian league is also renowned for its skill, pace and excitement, a trio of elements that coincide with the new emphasis of PES 2013. This coupled with the fact Brazilian sensation Neymar is a cover star in the US, and of course the Copa Libertadores license is exclusive to the PES series, it all starts to add up nicely.

It was also a great opportunity to reward those who have supported the series more vigorously than others, and with the South American press there in force, it meant the fans who have made PES the only football game worth playing in their backyard will have fantastic coverage of their beloved series.

A picture from inside the stadium

So there you have it! Hopefully I convinced you there were more than enough professional reasons for picking Brazil over other potential countries. Nothing to do with the weather & beaches…honest…

Stay tuned over the next week for more information on the event that took place. Tomorrow, we’ll be revealing the members of the PES Team who traveled from Japan, and bringing you closer to the team who made the game!

Don’t miss it!

More discussion than our usual podcast layout, Adam and Alan discuss as much as possible without breaking those dreaded embargoes, in a lengthy episode this week.

Listen how Adam carefully dodges around questions, paints a wonderful picture of the event in Brazil as a whole, and divulges plenty of info on his experience during his time out there.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Download podcast here.

**First embargo for info and impressions from the event is at the end of May**

As you all know, Adam is representing the community at Konami’s PES2013 press event which is being held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Below are some pictures and tweets compliments of the man himself. We will updating this post as the event unfolds, so check back to see if anything new crops up..

”Just got up and getting ready. Got a lot of work to do before we get together again. This is going to be a long and eventful day. #PES2013”

”So here’s where the magic is going to happen tomorrow. Setting up the room, and going through rehearsals now #PES2013”

”Here’s a pic of @JonMurphy_PES talking to US PES team leader Tim (well, Tim’s back)”

”Here’s Hosoda (top left) and Hatsumi (right of Hosoda) going through the script with the translators. #PES2013”

”I know ppl want to hear stuff about the game, but I have to be careful what I tweet. No vids or screens before embargo late this month, tho.”

”Also need to add, spent the evening with the guys from the PES team. All legends. Naoya Hatsumi, Manorito Hosoda and Toru Kato.”

Steve Merrett :

”Lots of PES 2013 planning going on. Videos looking great, and i reckon people will be impressed #PES2013Brazil”

Jon Murphy :

”Look who I just bumped into…”

Wednesday

Head to the PES Facebook Page for other pictures from the event.

”So we’re going to be posting some pics around the event very soon, stay tuned to Facebook and twitter! #PES2013Brazil”

”Ok today is when it all goes off. Expect lots of info on official Facebook and @JonMurphy_PES account. Let’s get it on! #PES2013Brazil”

”Enjoying the event. Talking to everyone and some great feedback and impressions. So far so good! #PES2013Brazil”

”Mr @JonMurphy_PES with the WEP team for interviews. Busy! More (better) pics coming on Facebook soon #PES2013Brazil”

Steve Merrett :

”You know those advances in PES 2013 you wanted? Yep, there they are… #PES2013Brazil”

”Did someone say ‘already better than FIFA’? A couple, actually… #PES2013Brazil”

Jon Murphy :

”#PES2013Brazil Licenses won’t be discussed yet. We may have some more info at E3..”

”Presentation going well. Exciting Player ID skills on display”

”gameplay tests about to start. I’ve been playing for ages and you can be so expressive”

First of all, major apologies for the lack of anything on the PES front. It is very much the calm before the storm. Behind the scenes everything is gathering pace as we prepare for a significant year ahead, as Konami look reignite the passion in the PES fanbase.

One of the many reasons I feel they will achieve that is a re-focus into the fundamentals of the sport, and trying to accurately portray them into the game. So much was achieved in PES 2011 in this aspect, although the excessive implementation meant the things we championed the game for became the forefront of frustration soon after.

In PES 2012 the desire to make the game a more fluid and continuous experience broke many basic laws, and in turn propelled scripting into the forefront. PES 2013 takes a step back into reality.

In this article I want to take a look at first touch control. As any avid PES fans will tell you, R2 is seen as the avenue to unlocking a players first touch ability. Even before it was molded into such a thing, R2 has been a significant weapon in the PES series, even in the PS2 days. The ability to stop and go was fundamental in trying to beat a man, and slowing them down and using acceleration gave you that extra yard with a real sense of inertia. The thing is, its impact has been diminished dramatically in football games.

Bringing the ball under your spell is the most important attribute, and separates footballers across the board. With PES 2012, while the better players are able to twist and turn with more accuracy and pace, the control aspect is one rule for all. It’s polarized further when playing against the AI, where the less skilled players perform moments of brilliance they simply shouldn’t even attempt never mind pull off.

So, in terms of making steps towards creating a simulation experience, the first touch control would be a start especially if heavily stat based. The current model isn’t an extreme, so the impact of pressing R2 or not doesn’t have a significant bearing on the result. Making it key brings in another layer, and perhaps starts to create this experience that rewards players who choose to master its many elements.

In the individuality stakes, it also heightens the importance of technical players and separates them from the rest even further. Playing a possession game becomes a tactic that is only going to be available to you if you have the players who can trap the ball quickly and move it along, as a ponderous team will only make errors when trying to play with the ball that little bit too much. This in turn leads into what sort of formation you choose to play.

Suddenly you look at a 4-3-3 in a different way. Do you have players to be able to exploit a quick passing game and free up that tricky winger? Is the technical ability of your players that poor that packing the midfield would be a better option?

As you can see, such a key implementation that’s grounded in reality can suddenly unlock so much potential in a football game. It’s something no football game does right now, and an element I expect Konami to start to try and capture with PES 2013.

If they do, it would be a massive step in the right direction.

Let us know what you think!

We’re back on the airwaves, and have brought with us a new podcast focused on answering questions, and featuring your mp3 recordings. Both Anderson and Jeronimoe get their (long) mp3 musings on this weeks show, while a number of emails are read out from the regulars.

Going forward, due to the time focused on the community, we’re going to need your emails and mp3s to be much shorter and to the point, just so we can get through them to allow more fans getting on the podcast. Don’t forget to send them to adam.bhatti@kitanamedia.com.

Listen in, and let us know what you think!

Enjoy!

Download here.

With limitations, I mean the lack of freedom to create your perfect camera angle. In the PS2 days, and what we have in FIFA, the user could/can manipulate the camera angle in anyway they see fit. Since this generation however, this hasn’t been an option in PES. We’ve been stuck with whatever Konami have given us, and none have hit the spot 100%. This seems to be the reason why they have changed them over the past few years, as Seabass and his team still search for the best angle.

With PES 2013 seemingly having the same issue (at a guess, not 100% sure), mainly because it’s running off the same engine, I wanted to get your ideas for a perfect camera angle, and what you’d want to see implemented into the game.

Personally, I’m a big fan of the normal wide cam from back in the PS2 days, but with some pan. In PES 2012 I loved the height of pitchside, but it desperately needed some pan to remain playable. But ideally, I’d love to have the camera angle of PES 2011 back but with much more intelligence. So rather than moving around and trying to follow play around the pitch, it would stay central and pan left and right, while accommodating where the ball was vertically by subtly zooming in and out.

Oh, and I’d like the option to have name bars at the bottom. Don’t like them over the players head, but still want them on the screen. I appreciate the effect they are going for with having less on screen guff, but it should remain a bit gamey if the user wants it to be.

What do you all think? Have Konami nailed the angles for you, or do you long for something else? Let us know in the comments section.

First of all apologies for no podcast this week. A mixture of hands being slapped, and timetables not matching meant we had to give this week a miss. Thanks for all your recorded messages, we’ll get them in on the next one.

I just wanted to take a moment and discuss the current football climate, and try and gauge some reaction and opinions from everyone out there. We have a passionate, outspoken community. Some who love to attack us, and at the same time adore us. Some who believe they know what would make PES good again, and some who believe it will never get back to the top. But we’re still here, and so are you.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

It’s a question I ask my mates regularly, and usually provokes some long indepth discussions over a shisha smoking session. Football games as of right now simply aren’t doing enough. As someone who used to purchase a console to play PES, that recommendation cannot be asserted to anything on the market right now. It’s all rather depressing.

As a self confessed PES fanboy (don’t like the term, but hey), I can admit that if the FIFA series did everything for me, then WENB would be a much quieter place on my part. Despite breaking records, and becoming pretty much the only football in the UK, it still doesn’t come close to satisfying me and what I want in a football game.

On the other side we have PES, which at the same time has flattered to deceive on this gen, going through positive stages in development, only to disappoint on a regular basis once the game shipped.

So where does that leave us? Confused as hell, and with a massive gap in my gaming time. Around the likes of the Uncharted series, Assassins Creed (yes I had to put that in there), Batman and Nintendo’s magical Mario games I’m left with my console switched off for long periods of the year. This never used to be the case. I used to think it was me getting older and going off the need for games (I’m 30 in May!), but the reality is football games aren’t very good these days, or as good as they used to be.

As someone who doesn’t play RPG’s or FPS’s, I can still appreciate a well made game. So the likes of Mass Effect and Halo series will get a nod of approval from afar, and in the same sense I can see the love for FIFA. Amazing animations, a wonderful technical base, compelling presentation, an online mode that works and all the licenses under one roof. At the same time I see a game void of emotion, missing that intuitive play by play, and failing to achieve player and team individuality. Its beauty is a sight to behold, but as the shine wears off it doesn’t hook its claws in like PES used to.

Even going back to the older games, however, I’m left wanting more. While the impressive PES 6 PC patches bridge that presentation gap with their version of PES HD, the gameplay (while still impressive in it’s own right) is stuck in the past. Lacking the freedom and tactical nous of it’s successors, not even popping on a game of a timeless classic keeps me playing more than a game at a time.

For many FIFA has filled that gap, and as the years go by it will continue to grab fans who fail to wait for Konami to finally find their feet. Seeing the bigger picture, the hardcore PES fans aren’t only here for brand loyalty. Currently FIFA doesn’t do it for them, but the longer Konami fail and the time they give EA to improve FIFA passes by, they’ll see more people go because the competitor with naturally hit levels we all want in a football game.

It’s not a wake-up call, alarm bells have been ringing for more than a few years now. And with certain key markets remaining a valid competitor to FIFA, Konami may feel they have some time left before shit really hits the fan. The reality is we need a clear direction, and a clear indication things will improve. Like a team who is going through a bad patch of form, a win can spur them on to achieve a great run of results.

PES 2013 is coming this year, and soon we’ll all get to see what Konami have in store. Early signs are promising, but the fans need much more than a positive start. Hell, even I need cheering up! We need Konami to prove they are listening, even if the game might not achieve the presentation or technical prowess of EA’s juggernaut. Key changes to gameplay mechanics, massive restructuring to it’s online features, and some visual improvements would go someway to galvanizing a deeply hurt community. But that would be just the start.

For me, after many years of doing this, the question will remain right up until launch. Will they tinker? Will they destroy a perfectly playable game right up until launch? Perfection isn’t obtainable, but making a fantastic football game we all love is. I hope someone at Konami at least knows this.

The next generation of consoles are almost upon us. Will Konami go out with a bang, or make this a generation to forget? Make sure you stick around, we’ll all know very soon.

I must admit, it looks better on the video than I think it actually is. The gameplay is different to the classic PS2 versions. More physical, not as fluid as the classic games. At £15.99 it’s a bit steep, and doesn’t do the old series justice. It’s a shame it’s not a similar feel to the Wii version, which is very good.

Click here to view the embedded video.

OK, I’ll be honest, I’ve never been fond of any sort of award shows. They all seem pre-planned, and usually having guarenteed winners based on everything besides what they should be based on.

But, this time it’s different. You see, everyone has been voting, and it’s clear to see who is getting votes and where they are placed throughout the period leading up to the show. And currently, FIFA Soccer Blog is ahead of WENB. Not happy.

So, it’s war. Winning the award isn’t a target, beating FSB is. So please, support the site and lets end up on top!

Vote for WENB here, and make sure you use the ‘gaming’ category.

If you do want to annoy me (I see you), feel free to vote for FSB (@FIFASoccerBlog) or even our gaming site Nextgen Gaming Blog (@Official_NGB). The last one has my blessing.

Thanks for your support!

We’ve been getting emails from many people who are having issues with having their account approved on the Kitana Media forums. After changing servers we’ve witnessed major issues with activation emails being sent out, and due to this are moving servers very soon to eradicate the problem.

In the mean time, we can help!

Drop Adam an email, and he’ll activate your account. So register as normal, and if you don’t receive the email asking you to confirm your account, email adam.bhatti@kitanamedia.com with your username. He’ll then activate it as soon as possible and let you know when it’s done.

Don’t forget, once activated a new user will have the first few of their posts needing approval, so you might not see them appear instantly. This helps us combat spammers! Nifty.

We’ll update you guys once the server issue has been rectified, in the mean time feel free to drop us an email.

Thanks.