Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008[1]
European cover of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Series	Pro Evolution Soccer
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, Windows[2]
Release date(s)	EU 26 October 2007 (2007-10-26)[3] AUS 2 November 2007 (2007-11-02)[4] JP 22 November 2007 (2007-11-22)[5] NA 11 March 2008 (2008-03-11)[6] PSP EU 1 March 2008 (2008-03-01)[7] NA 11 March 2008 (2008-03-11)[8] Wii NA 18 March 2008 (2008-03-18) EU 28 March 2008 (2008-03-28) AUS 4 April 2008 (2008-04-04) DS NA 11 March 2008 (2008-03-11) EU 1 February 2008 (2008-02-01) AUS 7 March 2008 (2008-03-07)
Genre(s)	Sports game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer, online multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E PEGI: 3+
Media/distribution	DVD, BD-ROM, UMD, DVD-DL, DS Card, Wii Optical Disc, Nintendo optical disc
System requirements Minimum: Intel Pentium 4 1.4 GHz or equivalent, 512 MB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon 8500 video card or better Recommended: Pentium 4 3.0 GHz/AMD Athlon 64 or better, 1GB RAM, ATI x1600 or NVidia 6800 GT/GS or better

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008^[1] (officially abbreviated as PES 2008; Winning Eleven 2008 in Korea and Japan) is an association football video game in the Pro Evolution Soccer series by Konami. The game was officially announced on 18 June 2007. Its title is different than the other Pro Evolution Soccer games in that it's of a year and not a version; this was due to EA Sports' FIFA series naming their titles with two digit numbers (i.e. 07, 08) and in conclusion would seem that PES was a year behind FIFA (to non-fans which had no knowledge of the previous games of the franchise).

It was released for Windows, Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Xbox 360.

A PS3 demo is available for download from the PlayStation Store,^[9] an Xbox 360 demo has been released on the Xbox Live Marketplace,^[10] and a PC demo has been released^[1].

Wii version

Main article: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Wii)

The Nintendo Wii version of PES 2008 (named Winning Eleven Play Maker 2008 in Japan) differs radically from the other versions. The basic gameplay is centered around pointing the Wii Remote at the screen and directing players by dragging them with the on-screen cursor, and passing is done by simply pointing to the desired space or player and pressing a button. This allows for a more tactical approach to the game, as there is almost complete freedom in moving any player on the screen anywhere, and much more tactics and maneuvers can be used in the attacking game than ever before.

This version omits the Master League mode for the Champions Road, which lets the player tour a slew of different leagues around Europe, and when a games is won, it is possible to acquire players from the defeated teams. Also, it features an online mode that Konami called "the best online experience" when compared to the other versions.^[11]

The Wii version of PES 2008 received generally more positive reviews than the other versions.

Teams

Unlicensed leagues

The leagues below are partially unlicensed, and some teams from these leagues are unlicensed:

• Premier League

Licensed leagues

The leagues below are fully licensed, and all teams from these leagues are licensed:

• Liga BBVA
• Ligue 1
• Serie A
• Eredivisie

Generic Teams

There is also a separate league with 18 generic teams (Team A, Team B etc.), which can be edited fully, like in the previous game. This is thought to be due to the fact that Konami failed to get the rights to the German Bundesliga, and is usually made into the Bundesliga or another league of one's preference by patch makers. However, most people use this to put their edited players into playable teams from the start instead of having to play through Master League to purchase them or alternatively edit the existing non-generic teams. This feature does not appear in the Wii version of the game.

Covers

Cristiano Ronaldo is included on all PES 2008 covers, along with Michael Owen in the UK and Lucas Neill in Australia.^[12]

Commentators

Jon Champion and Mark Lawrenson provide the English commentary.^[13]

Reception

Publication	Rating	Link
IGN	9.2	Link
Play	70%
OXM	8.8
Gamespot	6.0	Link

It was awarded Best Sports Game for the Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game awards.^[14] It was also nominated for Wii Game of the Year by IGN.^[15] In the fan community, however, game is labeled as one of the worst entries in the series.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "'Pro Evolution Soccer 2008' revealed". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/a61845/pro-evolution-soccer-2008-revealed.html. 
2. ^ "PES 2008 set for Wii". gonintendo. http://gonintendo.com/?p=20047. 
3. ^ "'Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 release date' confirmed". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/a75652/pro-evo-2008-release-date-confirmed.html. 
4. ^ "Playstation Australia". http://au.playstation.com/games_media/release_schedule.jhtml. 
5. ^ "Winning Eleven 2008 Xbox 360 amazon.co.jp game page" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B000VZWNF4. Retrieved 2008-02-11. 
6. ^ "IGN release date information". http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/sports/pes2008/similar.html?mode=versions&om_act=convert&om_clk=tabs&tag=headerimage;more. 
7. ^ "Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008". GameFAQs. http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/psp/data/940562.html. 
8. ^ "Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008". GameFAQs. http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/psp/data/940562.html. 
9. ^ "PES 2008 demo on PSN". 2007-11-02. http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=86752. Retrieved 2008-01-24. 
10. ^ "PES 2008 Xbox 360 demo now online!". Konami. http://uk.gs.konami-europe.com/news.do;jsessionid=09FE6577FA2057F35C859F189C2335F1.srv01?idNews=276. 
11. ^ "Next Gen: Pro Evolution Soccer’s Back In Business". http://www.next-gen.biz/news/pro-evolution-socceratildecentacirc. 
12. ^ PES 2008 covers
13. ^ "UK commentators". WinningElevenBlog. http://www.winningelevenblog.com/2007/08/zoo-confirm-english-commentary-team.html. 
14. ^ "IGN Wii: Best Sports Game 2008". IGN.com. 2008-12-18. http://bestof.ign.com/2008/wii/10.html. Retrieved 2008-12-19. 
15. ^ "IGN Wii: Game of the Year 2008". IGN.com. 2008-12-18. http://bestof.ign.com/2008/wii/25.html. Retrieved 2008-12-19. 

External links

• Official Konami PES 2008 Homepage
• Konami Europe Website