The gulf between the FIFA and PES series couldn’t have been more expansive than the current times. The two franchises have endured contrasting fortunes in recent years, and one of them hasn’t been able to translate past success into current dominance. Triumphs and failures in video games can often come down to small things – critical management decisions, minute design elements, etc. In this regard, EA Sports might have been less ambitious, but it has meant that their products have borne stability.
On the other hand, Konami announced an ambitious rebrand of the PES or the Pro Evolution Series. It is now called eFootball and has followed a different path than the FIFA series. While the rebrand grabbed much attention initially, the implementation has been hardly satisfactory. Moreover, it has resulted in this once-strong rivalry becoming a memoir of the past.
How the FIFA vs. PES rivalry has diminished over the years
Both the FIFA and PES series have been grappling with each other since the start of the new millennium. In the late 90s, EA Sports did have an open market to cater to, although gaming back then was much different from what it’s today. A new rivalry was born in October 2001 when Pro Evolution Soccer (European title) was released.
EA Sports already had a monopoly on the license of the world’s most significant football leagues, and this trend has continued until today. Despite the considerable disadvantage, Konami managed to capture the audience’s attention with gameplay that was considered ahead of its time back then. Konami released earlier football games in the 90s on older consoles, but the first Pro Evolution Soccer game began a new era.
The battle then spread onto the newly launched PS2 consoles, which feature better graphics and hardware. EA Sports’ focus from the very beginning was on licenses and official information. Konami knew that this was something they couldn’t win over, so their focus was always on the gameplay. This was to an extent where even EA Sports admired what Konami was doing.
In an interview with The Guardian, FIFA lead designer Gary Peterson admired PES:
“I don’t think there was another sports game that created such varied, emergent, emotive gameplay back then. I loved it.”
Peterson admits how he tried to adapt what Konami was doing and implemented them in the FIFA games. While the Japanese developers concentrated on the graphical aspects of things, it always came up second in the sales race. The numbers were quite promising at first, and the competition was close, but by 2015, the gulf was huge: EA Sports sold 18 million copies while Konami could only manage 1.7 million. This gulf has consistently become bigger; modern times are an accurate picture.
How Konami’s PES rebrand killed the rivalry with FIFA?
Rebrands are supposed to lift a franchise and usher it in a new direction. Konami perhaps had the same idea bout eFootball, the new name for their beloved PES series. When this was announced in 2021, the gaming landscape had changed. FIFA was already the market leader in sales, thanks to its Ultimate Team mode, which became a blockbuster hit. Both games were also available on mobile phones, and this is where things went wrong for one of the brands.
The mobile versions of the two franchises were very different, and EA Sports perhaps understood the limitations of mobile devices. Its offering was quite an arcade and very different from the version available on PCs and consoles. Konami decided to bridge the gap with eFootball, aiming to offer the same experience on every platform. Ultimately, the curtain between ambition and naivety was breached, and it started the downfall of the PES brand.
The new game released in 2021 was horrendous in terms of quality. Although it was available as a free-to-play title, it became one of the worst-reviewed games on Steam. From poor graphics to botched gameplay, everything which could go wrong for Konami went wrong. It didn’t help that the developers didn’t incorporate many of the promised things in the first place. While a smooth launch would have made matters more straightforward, it didn’t happen. While Konami tried fixing the debacle, EA Sports kept rolling with their juggernaut.
What’s sad is that the recent FIFA games haven’t been perfect. There have been repeated complaints from the community about how EA Sports has shown no love to any game mode barring the Ultimate Team. Volta has hardly managed to capture the vibes created by the old-school Street franchise. Career Mode has barely evolved over the last couple of years, and nobody will claim that FIFA 23 is the epitome of a perfect video game.
However, EA Sports got one thing spot on – Ultimate Team. The developers have continued to put all their attention into this game mode and have had great success. With FIFA World Cup-themed content rolling out in the latter months of 2022, the mode has never felt more attractive. It has managed to hide the pretty substantial cracks. As for Konami and PES, the franchise barely survives as it tries to do everything to create a rivalry, which was once there in the early years of the new millennium.
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