This Soccer Game Came Out Of Nowhere And Knocked FIFA 3-0, Here’s Its Incredible Story

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• This football game came out of nowhere and made FIFA 3-0, here is its incredible story

In the 1990s, when FIFA, the football game series, was well established, an outsider emerged to obtain the title of the best games of the genre. In a few years, this license, produced by absolute football fans, will overturn everything in its path. This is the story of Pro Evolution Soccer, or PES for short.

Video games and sport are a great love story. Thus, in June 1972, it was indeed while thinking of a ping-pong “simulation” that Allan Alcorn, designer of the famous PONG, imagined the one that would become the first video game to popularize the medium. And going back to its genesis, the first oscilloscope game was also a racket and ball game called Tennis for Two. As saying that technological developments were certainly not going to dry up this attraction for the world of athletes.

The birth of a cult license

Born from the foundations of Distinctive Software, a renowned Vancouver studio, Electronic Arts Canada embarked on a mammoth project in 1993. A group of around ten people decided to create an accessible and unifying football game. The fruit of a year of hard work, the aptly named FIFA, in reference to the famous football organization, met with immediate success. Taking advantage of the popularity of the World Cup in the United States, the franchise has become essential for football fans. Despite all their motivation, the opponents are unable to tackle the rival who is rushing towards the goal! Yet, On the bench, a player is waiting for his turn…

This player is the Konami studio, and more particularly KCET, the Tokyo branch of the company. In 1995, Developers take advantage of the advent of the PlayStation to create a spectacular football game called Goal Storm (World Soccer Winning Eleven in Japan). Very far from a simulation, but entirely in 3D, the title met with great success and the management decided to create a more ambitious and above all more realistic sequel. This is where a man intervenes who will forever change the destiny of the license: Shingo Takatsuka, known as Seabass.

Football in your skin

A true football fan, the young man is a regular follower of the very recent J-League, the Japanese professional football championship that was created in 1993. He is also attracted by all Western competitions, starting with the Champions League, which sees the best clubs in Europe compete. His idea is simple: the boy wants to bring together football fans to create a simulation that comes as close as possible to this sport. To achieve this, the team does not hesitate to record matches and analyze the players’ movements to reproduce each move meticulously. The result of this long work is reflected in the release of ISS Pro 98.. Light years away from Goal Storm, the game is much more realistic, more calm and the balance between attack and defense is much more controlled. But there you have it, on the other side, there is a certain FIFA which is also preparing to make its revolution.

In 1998, the Football World Cup was held in France and football games appeared in large numbers on the shelves of specialist stores. Each publisher tried, with varying degrees of success, to reproduce the high-energy atmosphere of the stadiums. Some relied on celebrity commentary, others opted for an original approach (such as playing just one player on the pitch, rather than the entire team), but the big winner is called FIFA 98. After a few years of trying to find its feet, the series has just reached the virtual football pantheon with a formidable episode. This does not escape Shingo Takatsuka and his team who decide to rely on their previous experience to double down: “ There are things that we admire in our rivals and that stimulate us to continue improving because we see elements that surpass us. For example, we really like the emotion that can be seen on the faces and these are not very effective in our game. »

In full skylight

For many months, the Konami Tokyo (KCET) team has been refining its future game. To ensure that the movements are reproduced as faithfully as possible, Shingo Takatsuka is pushing his management to increase the number of motion capture sessions – the famous motion capture. Very enjoyable, ISS Pro 98 had shown the way and everyone expects the evolution to be timid. So, when ISS Pro Evolution (Winning Eleven 4 in Japan) arrives, it’s a slap in the face! Revolutionary in many ways, ISS Pro Evolution is a true football simulation. In addition to offering all the moves of footballers, the game is based on incredibly fine gameplay and the level of detail is mind-blowing. Ultra-natural movements, players who follow the ball with their eyes, artificial intelligence that adapts to the team’s style of play… superlatives are lacking and the press is ecstatic. Despite the excellence of FIFA, more and more football fans are turning to what everyone now calls PES.

For Shingo Takatsuka, The years of work have paid off. But the latter, although satisfied, sees many improvements to be made to his franchise. He details: ” There are still many things to improve. First of all, a graphics engine that allows us to create more detailed player faces and a more realistic atmosphere in the stadium, both on and off the pitch. Secondly, we want to improve the game modes, like the Master League, with more teams and divisions, or the Training mode, to make it much more fun. Thirdly, the gameplay. We want to individualize the game more, giving more importance to one-on-one. »

At the end of 2002, ISS Pro Evolution 2 arrives on PlayStation and, once again, is almost unanimously acclaimed by all football fans. While FIFA is moving less and less towards simulation, the PES saga is becoming THE footballing phenomenon of video games. This is all the more true since the PlayStation 2 is now available and is showing off all its power to magnify a series that was just waiting for it. It is with Sony’s new console that the franchise will take off definitively with the now installed Pro Evolution Soccer. And what a flight!

A memorable football saga

Pro Evolution Soccer totally dominated the debates during the PlayStation 2 era and you just have to talk about this series to a footballer who knew this era for tons of memories to come to the surface.

PES was the certainty of finding a football game close to reality in a friendly atmosphere. If we put aside the comments largely below FIFA and the absence of official licenses for a long time, the series was able to take advantage of emerging technologies to focus on the gameplay and the atmosphere of the big evenings. Although ahead in terms of sales, FIFA suffered severe setbacks and took several years to recover and finally take off. But it is still amusing to think that the hegemony of such a giant was undermined by a small group of about ten people who aspired to the realism of football and not to football spectacle. Galvanized by the competition, they then surpassed the master. And 1, and 2, and 3-0.