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Posts with tag winning-eleven

Free online PES magazine is a good way to kill some time

Posted Mar 27th 2008 7:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Fan stuff

Do you eat, sleep, and breathe Pro Evolution Soccer 2008? Well then, not only do you have an amazing digestive system, but also you'd probably be interested to know that Konami wants to further feed your addiction.

Why else would the company team up with GamerZines to make an online magazine completely dedicated to PES Wii? Oh right, promotional reasons. At its core, this mag is just an attempt to hype up people for PES 2008. Even so, if you're a fan of the game or are thinking about buying it, you might find a few interesting things in this free zine.

Aside from pictures of happy people who are supposedly playing the game, the magazine offers gameplay videos, as well as an interview with PES 2008's Wii producer, Akiyoshi "Greyhound" Chosogabe. There's also an entertaining little game-like quiz/competition where you have to identify five soccer players (which this blogger failed at miserably).

All in all, there's not that much to it, but current and potential PES lovers might find reading it to be a nice distraction.


[Thanks, Dave]

Wii Warm Up: Hey, batter batter batter, swing, batter

Posted Mar 23rd 2008 10:30AM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Wii Warm Up

One of the best uses of the Wii's motion controls, in our opinion, is for sports games -- which is probably why Nintendo bundled a game full of sports demos with the console. Take the Wii version of Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer, for example, which was hailed by critics as bringing new life to the series.

What do you think, though? Do motion controls add an extra layer of immersion to sports titles? Or, do you prefer to play your sports games without waggle?

Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/10-3/16

Posted Mar 21st 2008 4:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Another Week in ...


Japanophiles and sales chart nerds, it's that time of week again to take a look at last week's sales in the Land of the Rising Sun. Those of you who've been keeping up won't find much excitement in this week's chart, though. All the same software from the week before showed up, but it might not be long before Family Ski and Winning Eleven fall out of the top thirty.

It was also nice to see Metroid Prime 3: Corruption stick around, as the Nintendo FPS nabbed the number eleven spot for this week. Other than that, the only noticeable difference is that Smash Bros. dropped to fourth. What's interesting is that Brawl is no longer the best selling Wii game, either, as Wii Fit reclaimed that honor. We also learned that you can't keep the big three (Wii Fit, Wii Sports, and Wii Play) out of the top ten for long.

In hardware sales, the Wii fell a smidge behind the PSP, and did only slightly better than the DS.

Hardware:
  • PSP: 57,651
  • Wii: 55,845
  • Nintendo DS: 53,266
  • PlayStation 3: 14,934
  • PlayStation 2: 9,930
  • Xbox 360: 1,744
To see the software numbers and rankings for last week, make sure to click past the break.

Continue reading Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/10-3/16

Metareview: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

Posted Mar 20th 2008 7:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Metareview



Thanks to its point-and-pass mechanics and Mii integration, the Wii version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 can safely be described as the biggest upheaval of the series in years. But have such sweeping changes to one of the most finely balanced franchises in gaming been for the better? Well, the critics certainly seem to think so ...

Official Nintendo Magazine UK -- 90%: First out of the tunnel with its views is the UK edition of Official Nintendo Magazine, which suggests that persevering with the new Wii controls will pay dividends: "Easily the best football game on a Nintendo system. It takes a while to get used to the new controls but once you get your head round them, they become second nature." [March 2008, p.58 -- excerpt found at Metacritic]

IGN -- 86%: IGN's Matt Bozon argues that the Wii controls play a crucial role in creating the "most strategic" soccer experience ever: "The integration of IR into a sports game has been extremely minimal so far, but is absolutely ideal in this situation, allowing players to not only play the ball specifically, but direct traffic and precisely move every player on the field in tandem, making for the most realistic, strategic, and intuitive soccer experiences we've ever seen."

1UP -- 75%: And it's more of the same from 1UP's Andrew Pfister, who expresses surprise that the Wii version is so superior to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions: "It's always refreshing to see a unique application of the Wii's motion controls, and it's even more encouraging to see a new idea that's not only functional, but something that really can't be done any other way. We're not sure what's going on over at Konami's PES team: on one hand, there seem to be some major issues in regards to PS3/360 development, yet the less-technically apt Wii version ends up being the game to move the franchise forward."

Gallery: Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/3-3/9

Posted Mar 14th 2008 6:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Another Week in ...

To most of us, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is old news. The U.S. has had it since last summer, and even Europe has been enjoying the game for a few months now. It only debuted in Japan last week, though, and we were happily surprised to see it make the top five. It only sold 32,000 copies in its first week, but that's still not too shabby for a Metroid game in Japan. Hopefully, the game will have some legs and not plunge off the charts after its first week, like many other first-person shooters tend to do.

As for other software, the Wii didn't have too many games in the top thirty -- only eight, in fact -- yet it was still the second most represented gaming system on the charts. With the exception of the aforementioned Metroid and Everyone's General Knowledge Training TV, all the Wiis top games have consistently stuck around for (at least) a few weeks.

In other news, Smash Bros. once again failed to take the first place spot. The game beat out last week's chart champ, the new Gundam for the PS2, but fell behind the newly released Yakuza 3.

In hardware, the Wii claimed the top spot once again as Japan is clearly so over the Mint Green PSP (that was so five minutes ago). You can check out the hardware and software numbers for last week in Japan after the break -- we recommend that you do so.

Continue reading Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/3-3/9

Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/25-3/2

Posted Mar 7th 2008 5:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Another Week in ...


People interested in Japanese game sales probably have one question on their minds: Did Super Smash Bros. Brawl hold onto the top spot last week?

Well, the answer is, no. The new Gundam game for the PS2 managed to end Brawl's reign, and end it convincingly. In fact, Smash barely stayed in second, with Wii Fit being right up the fighter's grill.

The Wii itself also lost the top spot last week, overtaken by the PSP in hardware for the first time since Brawl's release. Aside from those major changes, though, everything looks to be what we'd expect, with Winning Eleven and Family Ski continuing to champion the cause for third parties.

Go on and take a look at the numbers after the break ... or else.

Continue reading Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/25-3/2

Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/18-2/24

Posted Feb 29th 2008 1:30PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Another Week in ...

Super Smash Bros. Brawl hung onto the top spot last week, but not by much. For the first time, the king of Nintendo fighters was actually close to the game behind it, with a lead of less than 10,000 units. Considering that Brawl has dominated for a month and is already over the million mark, though, we're not surprised to see a little less dominance from the title.

A lot of new software was released last week, which finally caused Super Mario Galaxy to fall out of the top thirty. Winning Eleven: Play Maker 2008 was the Wii's new game, debuting at the number six spot. Family Ski also managed to jump up five spots, despite the plethora of new titles.

On the hardware side, the Wii continues to reign in first place. The PSP and DS aren't too far behind, but the Wii is outselling the PS3 4:1 with the help of Brawl.

You can check out the listings and sales numbers -- they're posted after the break.

Continue reading Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/18-2/24

Winning Eleven changes its name

Posted Feb 6th 2008 10:30PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News


Those of us in the U.S. call Konami's soccer series Winning Eleven rather than Pro Evolution Soccer. Winning Eleven will soon be no more, however, as the title for the new U.S. game will officially be Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, like its European counterpart.

As IGN points out, this is unfortunate timing. Had the newest game kept its Winning Eleven name, it's title would have been Winning Eleven 11. Only Japan will have that glory now.

We at Nintendo Wii Fanboy tend to prefer Winning Eleven to Pro Evolution Soccer, but at the end of the day, what's in a name? At least this change might serve to cut down on some confusion.

Gallery: Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

Winning Eleven's Mii support video turns heads

Posted Feb 4th 2008 7:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Video

Very big heads, that is. The folks behind the Official Nintendo Magazine posted a video showing off Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008's RTS-esque plays and what the pitch will look like when you replace your team of normal-sized-head players with a squad of Miis, goofy expressions and all. It's worth watching the five-minute clip for both of those details!

The game looks as goofy as NBA Jam's Big Head code, except with soccer! Also, PES 2008 matches will feature full commentary by Jon Champion and Mark Lawrenson, and not some guy yelling out a bunch of foolishness like "Razzle dazzle!" and "Boomshakalaka!" If that sounds like a minus to you, you always have the option of shouting those lines out yourself; that's what we do whenever we're at the dinner table. Kick the read link below for the video.

Gallery: Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

Down on the pitch with the latest Winning Eleven screens

Posted Jan 22nd 2008 3:00PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Screens


We've been treated to loads of video from the Wii version of Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, but not so much with the screens. As mystifying as this would normally be -- since it's usually the opposite! -- when considering the effort that's been put into building the game for the Wii controls and platform, it actually makes a lot of sense.

Doesn't mean we didn't want to see some screens, though, and now we've got a fresh set, which we've tucked away in a gallery just for you.

Gallery: Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

Fresh Winning Eleven info emerges from the tunnel

Posted Jan 17th 2008 7:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News



As we have previously discussed, the Wii version of Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 will be a very different game from the version that appeared on other consoles (and we're not just referring to the Wii-specific logo above). Is that a good or bad thing? We'll know soon enough, because Konami has announced that the game will be out in March.

Scouring today's press release, we also learned about a random bunch of other features that are exclusive to the Wii edition. These include the ability to fashion a squad of 16 pre-defined Miis, a "Champions Road" mode that sees you building a team from the opponents you defeat (similar to the "Gacha-get" mode in the DS version), and the way in which sliding tackles can be executed and 'keepers brought out with a shake of the Nunchuk.

Oh, and it will have full online play, but if the online support is anything like other versions of the game, expect it to be absolutely lagtastic.

[Via press release]

New Winning Eleven footage shows off Wii controls

Posted Jan 7th 2008 5:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Video



To those of us reared on playing Winning Eleven games with d-pads and/or analog sticks, the Wii version of Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has the potential to be a slightly unsettling experience. As the video above shows, pointing your cursor to pass actually looks very natural and fluid, but we're also hoping this doesn't make Winning Eleven on the Wii too simplistic. The series has long been defined by the subtlety of its gameplay, and while greater immediacy would potentially draw in new fans, learning how to master each new game in the series is one of its biggest attractions.

We're remaining positive though, if only because series creator Shingo "Seabass" Takatsuka has repeatedly demonstrated that he knows more than most people about producing superb soccer games. Here's hoping he nails this one.

A little more video of Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer

Posted Oct 16th 2007 7:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News


Konami seems to be one of the few companies using motion controls to make a game potentially more in-depth instead of more casual-friendly. That seems like the right approach for the new Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008. We can't imagine the Winning Eleven series being anything but complicated, and we wouldn't want to see it transition into a party game or whatever.

GamesRadar took some video of the game in action, which allows us to see what a real gameplay session would look like. Pointing to pass seems like a natural method of control that will also allow for greater precision and quicker moves. Way to make us care about soccer games, Konami!

Friday Video: Keep your eye on the ball

Posted Oct 12th 2007 8:07PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Friday Video


Soccer fans, take note -- Konami's next installment of Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer is looking pretty good, and it seems they spent some time on the Wii controls. In this week's video spotlight, we've got a lengthy look at the control scheme ... and it's no watered-down, casual-friendly deal, either. Check out the video and see for yourself.

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