Pro Evo 2008 unveiled

By Tom Bramwell Published 18 June, 2007

With new "Teamvision" AI.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is the name of this year's instalment in Konami's chart-topping football series.

The game's due out on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC-DVD, PS2, PSP and DS in the autumn, the publisher has said.

This year the focus is firmly on bolstering the series' next-gen credentials - with a new AI system called "Teamvision" spearheading that offensive.

Teamvision will enable opposing teams to learn and adapt to your tactics, rather than simply reacting in canned fashion. It's the ultimate riposte to players who work to expose weaknesses in the game's defending.

"With the new Teamvision AI system, we truly believe that we have elevated the game to a new level," says producer Shingo Takatsuka.

"The movement of players off the ball, coupled with the total control given to the player, creates the closest simulation of real football to date. We really hope everyone enjoys our evolution. I promise it will be worth the wait."

There's no mention of a "McClaren option" (you know, turning off adaptability), but Konami says the opposition's rate of response to your behaviour will depend on the players' quality.

That obviously ties in with the game's existing strengths - particularly the manner in which certain players are able to motivate their team-mates to respond in certain ways, holding a strong defensive line or sprinting forward when they gain possession.

Other changes hinted at include improved close control, while set-piece control will allow you to select the number of players in the defensive wall and their position. Expect more options on the offensive side there too.

And of course the game will make significant gains graphically as Konami strengthens its grip on the next generation of console formats. Advanced facial animations, shirt-pulling, sweat marks and perhaps Vaporub (who knows?) will be apparent.

Elsewhere, next-generation versions will get a proper Edit mode to make up for last year's disappointingly under-specced Xbox 360 release.

You can check out the first PES 2008 screenshots in our Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 gallery. (Where else would we keep them?)

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (63) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • tobi #1 5 years ago

    great news and licensed brazil!

  • the_sas_man #2 5 years ago

    It looks the bloody same! Jesus, I love th gameplay but they can surely add to it graphically for the next gen generation. I don't wanna feel like I'm playing a dated game!

  • rock27gr #3 5 years ago

    Er, is EG saying there isn't going to be a Wii version; cause I though it was confirmed ages ago.

  • Krusty #4 5 years ago

    Should be a good fight this time around I think...

  • Tomo #5 5 years ago

    I'm currently very unexcited about this game. PES6 was a farce and Konami have got a lot to make up to me before I forgive them. Heck, I could even turn to the dark side this generation.

  • CannonAnBall #6 5 years ago

    Hmm I got stung with the half arsed game they released on the 360 in 2006 so i'm not going to get too excited about it just yet.

  • ecureuil #7 5 years ago

    Good stuff. I don't really care about the graphics, they look decent, and as long as the animation is good with a rock solid framerate I'll be happy. These "artistic" shots are never representative of what you'll be looking at during gameplay anyway.

  • El_MUERkO #8 5 years ago

    yay

  • ryohazuki1983 #9 5 years ago

    PE6 good on ps2, shit on 360. hopefully its better this time around.

  • killest #10 5 years ago

    if someone told me these screenshots were from pes4 i would believe them...

  • Physically_Insane #11 5 years ago

    looks exactly the same as pro 6. early days though

  • peteb #12 5 years ago

    whoa, talk about resting our your laurels! i'm thinking the "its all about the gameplay" stuff won't cut it on the next gen consoles anymore. i'm all for great gameplay, but as your man said, no-one wants to be playing a dated looking game, and paying full whack for it to boot. (pun very much intended). say what you want about FIFA and EA, but they look like they are really trying recently.
    Edited by 1 at 18/06/07 @ 13:09

  • Peew971 #13 5 years ago

    I don't like the fact that they have a name for their new feature... Sounds like an EA gimmick.
    The whole thing looks ok but since most people play this game multiplayer rather than solo, improved AI is not the most important news. As long as the AI stops tackle in the penalty area I'm fine with it.
    I think Konami makes enough money a year to offer us at last a fully licensed game with great commentaries. Come on, we're on a New Gen now!

  • JayeM #14 5 years ago

    The graphics do look better than Pro Evolution Soccer 6, there's a lot more detail.

  • TheJanitor #15 5 years ago

    the graphics dont look the same, they look better. the detail is better and there is way less crappy bloom than the 360 version

  • peteb #16 5 years ago

    better, but still not what you would call "next gen" surely? lets hope its better than PES 6 at least, fingers crossed...

  • jonsaan #17 5 years ago

    Sort out the DS version this time please.

  • Yossarian #18 5 years ago

    I feel underwhelmed.

  • Bumbuliuz #19 5 years ago

    Looks ok, but not next-gen in my book.

  • jamoire #20 5 years ago

    Whats the screenshot with the player talking in the microphones all about then?

  • Tweakmonkey #21 5 years ago

    About time we had some news on this! So an Autumn release would October as usual then? Can't wait.

  • praetorian #22 5 years ago

    Sounds promising... but will they fix the things that have been inherently broken since PES1 (rubbish throw-ins, penalties etc.)

    and no, I'm not a FIFA fanboy, quite the opposite in fact. I just want what's right for my PES!

  • pfm #23 5 years ago

    I also don't care much for the graphics. I just want old ridiculous problems fixed for good this time. The slow evolution of the gameplay along the series, and the failure to get inspiration from things that other football games did right a decade ago is starting to get on my nerves...if you don't agree, answer these questions:

    1- Why can't you select the defender you want to control in corner and free kicks?(i'm so sick and tired of having to chalenge my opponent's tallest player with Leo Messi and other similar dwarves)
    2- Why has the throw in system been the same crap for 20 diferent versions (look into ISS98 on the Nintendo 64)
    3- Why do keepers still run out of the goal in the wrong line to meet the attacker (this was almost 100% fixed back in PES5)
    4- Why do the players teleport (the formations reset themselves)when there is a throw in or a goal kick
    5- Why isnt there an option to cycle through diferent offensive/defensive team positions in set pieces (eg: in a corner kick press L1 to make your player shuffle around, and even call CB to the attacking area...or keep them back)
    6-Why do we have to wait for a stupid keeper animation to end before we can start a counter attack
    7-why does the keeper kick the ball in the opposite direction of the one we press?
    8-Why does AI sometimes prevent you from passing the ball from the keeper to that guy just in front of him...
    9- why are we forced to push 2 diferent buttons simultaneously and pull back on the stick just to make our player not go where he wants to go!? (Super cancel shouldnt have to exist)
    10-why do we keep having players chase through balls in a predetermined "on rails" path!?
    11-why are penalties a simple matter of pushing one of eight directions...and wait for the AI to calculate if your going to score or not. In real life penalties take skill and mental control (look into ISS 98, the best penalty system ever in a football game)
    12-Why on earth do we have to put up with a 8 directions control system in an era of analog control???!!!! I want to pass the ball THAT way not to where you just forced me to ...

    i could go on and on... PES needs a gameplay revolution...not another flimsy evolution...it needs new minds and ideas behind it...not the same "afraid to break somthing" people that have been producing it over and over again. Either that or Konami should consider rebranching the series on 2 diferent paths, like it once did.


  • Steroyd #24 5 years ago

    Teamvision AI? o_O

    Who are they EA or something. ¬_¬

  • SteveB #25 5 years ago

    Agree with above (pfm) the PES series has become stale and needs a total overhaul not just tweaking.
    Edited by 1 at 18/06/07 @ 14:14

  • superdelphinus #26 5 years ago

    Whatever you say, pes still has the best feel for a football game

  • chiz #27 5 years ago

    pfm, I feel your pain too.

    The last decent pes for me, was pes4. At least the f'kin players wernt scripted everytime you go for a 50/50 ball. I've seen my striker clear threw on goal, only to be intercepted by a defender going double the speed, cuz the AI cheats.

    The game (especially online) has become a right shambles over the past few years.
    Edited by 1 at 18/06/07 @ 14:21

  • Steroyd #28 5 years ago

    I think Konami makes enough money a year to offer us at last a fully licensed game with great commentaries. Come on, we're on a New Gen now!

    It doesn't matter if Konami have more money than Microsoft, it's basically down to who Fifa will give the contractual Liscence to, in this case the Fifa liscence is contracted for EA to use till 2012 or something along those lines. :(

  • Skoptsie #29 5 years ago

    No news on which Premiership teams will be licensed this time round, I take it?

  • MrBiggles #30 5 years ago

    Looks horrible, Fifa 08 will kill it in gameplay, graphics, online.

    Just horrible...

  • pfm #31 5 years ago

    Quoting:
    superdelphinus
    18-Jun-07 14:15:53
    "Whatever you say, pes still has the best feel for a football game "

    Exactly! Thats what makes all the more frustrating...sometimes it seems that the easy bits to pull off right ...are being completely overlooked by the dev team

  • keano #32 5 years ago

    " why do we keep having players chase through balls in a predetermined "on rails" path!? "

    pfm ..(nice name lo)...by holding r1 and r2 (aka cancel) u can move "off the rails" to grab a through ball before the defender does...infact its in the control videos in the training section...try to learn the full game before ur criticise it mate

  • pfm #33 5 years ago

    keano,

    mate, i do know the game i've played every version since ISS Pro Evolution on the PS1 (and previously coming from sensible soccer on Amiga , fifa94 and ISS Deluxe on SNES, ISS 64, 98 and 2000 on the N64, Fifa 96 to 2000 on the PC)...so i do know what im talking about. What i was questioning is the mere existence of the Super Cancel "move". The design of the game should have evolved to make the Super Cancel (which should only have been a temporary fix) obsolete.

    try to read and understand what you read before criticising it mate...

  • MGG #34 5 years ago

    This new "Team AI" isn't new at all - EA published a paper about it years ago, in conjunction with a Canadian uni (Alberta?). Also, being able to choose how many defenders you have in a wall - that was in Kick Off 2 on the Amiga! Does that also mean we dont have to have a defensive wall for a free kick pracitally on the half way line anymore?

    Frankly, as other posters have said, there are far more things to fix before they start adding new features. Super Cancel being a prime contender, but I would also like to add free kicks (I have *never* scored from one, no matter what skill level/person I'm controlling - and yes, mock if you wish), some sort of corner tactics, etc etc.

    PES stopped "evolving" at PES4, as others have said. From now on, come on Konami, hire a new artist at least!

  • Steroyd #35 5 years ago

    But I would also like to add free kicks (I have *never* scored from one, no matter what skill level/person I'm controlling - and yes, mock if you wish), some sort of corner tactics, etc etc.

    *mock* *mock* *mock*

    I don't know what they could do with Freekicks to make them easier other than making a cursour that tells you exactly where you're going to kick *shudders*

    Pro Evo 6 has made scoring direct from free kicks harder, and i blame that down to the extra buttons you have to press to even make a threatening free kick in the first place.

  • Lonestar #36 5 years ago

    I passed on PES 6. It will be interesting to see if they sort out:

    "...And Cristiano Ronaldo skips past the chronically obese, asthmatic right back and races down the wing. What's this ? The right back - who has been nursing a broken leg - has managed to catch him up and make the tackle ! "

  • Yossarian #37 5 years ago

    they could also spend time on a UI that is consistently inconsistent, ugly, ungainly, and counterintuitive.

    but they won't

  • Mr_Brown #38 5 years ago

    Wonder if Bundesliga will feature this time...if not I may give it a miss.

  • kentmonkey #39 5 years ago

    Oh you can SUPER CANCEL to get a through-ball then Keano.

    Ooooh, oh that makes all the difference.

    You see when I have a controller in my hand and it's plugged in, I stupidly thought that I was controlling the player on the screen. Every other game has always fooled me into thinking that. But PES has shown me the light.

    Out of these two options:

    1) the player actually does what you tell it to

    2) the player is actually half-controlled by the AI

    I'd obviously always go for option 2.

    That's why when I choose to shoot in the top right hand corner but instead it goes down the middle of the goal straight at the keeper. It's the AI assisting me.

    Oh man, nothing to criticise there. Absolutely nothing at all.

    Super cancel ftfw!!!

    (quite why something where you have to press two buttons to actually gain control of it is "SUPER" I'll never bloody know!)

  • Gruff #40 5 years ago

    If they don't fix the slowdown in wide view for the 360, they can go and jump off a cliff

  • AlpTighen #41 5 years ago

    In honour of my boys' recent promotion, I propose they change the name "Master League" to "Sophia's Boobies"

  • Steve007 #42 5 years ago

    All I need to know is which is the lead version, 360 or PS3?

    I would have thought the PS3 version will be the main focus and MS's console will just get the scraps. Isn't that how Konami usually work?

  • Steroyd #43 5 years ago

    PS2 will be the lead console at this rate.

  • Tweakmonkey #44 5 years ago

    Pro Evo feels like a cheat now where as it required skill, imagination and strategy in it's glory days

    If you don't think the game requires skill or strategy then may I ask, what game does?

    I can honestly say I think each version has been better than the previous. I don't doubt that this version will be the best either.

  • ruttyboy #45 5 years ago

    I don't even like football and I could make a better control system tham PES's using both analogue sticks and the shoulder buttons.

  • Yossarian #46 5 years ago

    it is worrying that the single most important control mechanism remains the super cancel. you're basically giving the player the chance to break the game's animation/ai because they won't do the job if left to their own devices.

  • Furbs #47 5 years ago

    I've never understood supercancel. Why not just let the player move where they want when the ball is in flight? Ok it might take some getting used to, but isnt that one of the things people like about PES anyway?

    I'm not getting into the FIFA/PES debate, but one of the nice features of the "current" gen versions of 06 and 07 was that on the whole it lets you move the player where you wanted when the ball was in the air. I dont understand why the PES/nexgen FIFA engines feel they need to move your player for you.

  • Benno #48 5 years ago

    graphics are appalling

    i have always swayed to PES, but the annual clone is getting too much

    Fifa anyone?

  • lambtron #49 5 years ago

    And the music. Oh sweet lord the music.

    Wanky japanese electro-jazz FTUMFL.

  • Les #50 5 years ago

    If Konami were to create a PES6 with (free) regular roster updates and an anual downloadable core engine update (not free), consider me sold. With all consoles being online, there's just no excuse for those minor annual full price updates anymore.

  • Steroyd #51 5 years ago

    I've never understood supercancel. Why not just let the player move where they want when the ball is in flight? Ok it might take some getting used to, but isnt that one of the things people like about PES anyway?

    I've often thought of that too then i came to the realization.

    It's the stuff that you can't see where semi controlled comes into play, having a fully controlled player when the opposition boots the ball up the pitch is a nightmare to judge because until the ball comes down you can't exactly position your player to receive the ball when they're off screen.

    And then you've got to come up with counter agent to the hold R1 syndrome, naturally you'd want your player to run back and defend quickly or your striker to attack fast as well, but how do you run into a certain position quickly and ensure you don't over run or under run because your holding R1 or not holding it at all until it's too late to act?

    And when does the Ai who made a good run between defenders stop and when you control the player start? You don't want the player to stop suddenly and then start again because it's adjusting to being controlled manually by the player.

    Fully controlled characters is something i want but at the same time, i don't want to yearn to go back semi controlled players because the cons outweigh the pros.

  • Tweakmonkey #52 5 years ago

    If Konami were to create a PES6 with (free) regular roster updates and an anual downloadable core engine update (not free), consider me sold

    I'd love the downloadable roster updates, and I'd even pay for them. However it would mean that people would only buy the new version for (shock, horror) the features. It'll never happen ;-)

  • Browntracky #53 5 years ago

    Where is the Wii version? Come on Konami.

  • Feanor #54 5 years ago

    Good post, Steroyd.

  • pfm #55 5 years ago

    Steroyd makes an excellent point.
    But i still think the supercancel is too cumbersome, there are tons of ways to make it more simple. here is one...

    you make a through pass and the target player doesnt get selected until the ball reaches his feet, you can however simply press the player select button to take control at any time before the ball reaches you.

  • Slurmseh #56 5 years ago

    Can't belive people are upset with the graphics. They're hardly atrocious! I'm a die-hard PES fan but if this is the same as the "next gen" PES6 I'm giving it a miss and will look into *shudder* FIFA.

  • immateriaux #57 5 years ago

    It's interesting that they focus on AI as AI has been the big weakness in PES for a few iterations now, getting more and more obvious as Fifa steadily improves. Don't imagine giving it a new name name will be enough though to drag it out of the very basic "let's make eight players chase the ball all the time" mode but as least they appear to be facing the fact that they have awful AI in the game.

  • chiz #58 5 years ago

    Proper analog controls wouldn't go a miss.

  • ProEvoNut #59 5 years ago

    has anyone heard about the pro evo controller that shingo takatsuka wanted made for the 360, coz the d-pad sucks on the original 360 controller

  • Cregser #60 5 years ago

    "has anyone heard about the pro evo controller that shingo takatsuka wanted made for the 360, coz the d-pad sucks on the original 360 controller"

    Don't say that! He wants to downgrade the 360 controller to his 1990's 8-directional system? o_0

    I'm loosing... I've almost lost faith with PES. I still play PES6 thinking "it's got to be me, it can't be the game that's wrong. If I practice more then the game will get better". But sadly I can't produce the wonderful flowing football I enjoyed in PES5 (IMO the zenith of the series). I just can't learn how to play PES6 because it's random.

    PES6 is broken. I used to be able to play PES5 in windowed mode with a footy scores browser open and maybe a video. But not PES6 thanks to incomprehensibly slow performance.

    I had to download the crack EXE file in order play the game at an acceptable frame rate!!

    The lesson learned (for the first time in the PES series) - try before you buy.

  • chiz #61 5 years ago

    "But not PES6 thanks to incomprehensibly slow performance."

    That's proper poo mate. Pes specs haven't changed since pes4 in november 2004.

    Which is a shame, because the PC version seems to get the shit ps2 port. It looks like the dev platform of choice is the PC this time, so here's hoping.

    Surely they can't milk anymore out of this on the ps2?

  • chiz #62 5 years ago

    "I had to download the crack EXE file in order play the game at an acceptable frame rate!! "

    Stop scratching your CD then. That's got fuckall to do with the game.
    Edited by 1 at 19/06/07 @ 02:44

  • absinthe #63 5 years ago

    Wow this smells like a hastily cobbled together announcement because FIFA has got some good coverage in the last couple of weeks.

    Konami are a bit worried it would seem.

    To whomever was talking about the Bundesliga. It won't be in PES as it's exclusive to EA. All Konami can do is license a small number of clubs individually.