The Retro-PES Corner

[Dooky]

 

[Dooky]

 

[Energia]

I played many hours on it on my first home computer in 1985 when I was a child...

MSX Philips VG-8020

Play it online...



Konami released for MSX platform, many of the best games of the time


nowadays for the new generations seeing a game like this makes you laugh, but at the time it was the best video game football could offer and it seemed like something extraordinary for childs used to playing football only on Commodore 64, a mass-market home computer of the time, clearly inferior to what any MSX of any brand could offer

"konami's SOCCER" is the true antesinian of what many years later became the winning eleven / pro evolution soccer series

 

[robertob]

Question: I'm revisiting some older titles again at the moment and encountering an issue, especially in PES4, when playing with the wide camera (in the past I always used the default one but these days can't do without wide), that the games stutters and slows down significantly when there are a larger proportion of players in the frame. That issue doesn't happen in the normal cam view because there are hardly ever so many players in the frame, but in the wide camera, if you want to build play, the game comes nearly to halt. Anything I can do (beside changing the cam) to speed it up?

 

[metalex]

I managed to find where PES2008 EU PS2 has the hardcoded 3 subs struct in the .ovl files.

So right now, there are two options to use 5 subs in all modes:

Method A - .pnach for PCSX2 - add this in your existing .pnach file for PES2008

//5 Substitutions in all modes (Cup, League, Master League)
//Changes: addiu $v1, $zero, 3 -> addiu $v1, $zero, 5
//At 0x00388CAC in MATCH_SETTINGS init for competitive modes
//Sets numSubs field at struct offset +0x13 (0x005B9AC3)
patch=1,EE,00388CAC,word,24030005 //24030003
//Data patch: forces MATCH_SETTINGS.numSubs=5 continuously (covers ML and all modes)
patch=1,EE,005B9AC3,byte,05

Method B - .ovl file hex edit - this works everywhere, emulator or real hardware, and is the cleanest solution

We need to extract unnamed_1.ovl (cmt.ovl) and unnamed_17.ovl (league_common.ovl) from over.afs with GGS.

we have 3 total hardcoded li 3 + sb numSubs writes across all OVLs:

league_common.ovl -- 0x03DFF8 -- Main competitive mode init
cmt.ovl -- 0x029398 -- Commentary/match setup path 1
cmt.ovl -- 0x0295F0 -- Commentary/match setup path 2


For each, we open the .ovl with hex editor and go to these offsets. We then change byte at the offset from 03 to 05. (the least-significant byte of the little-endian word 24030003 → 24030005).

so we need to do three single-byte changes across two OVL files — all changing addiu $v1, $zero, 3 → addiu $v1, $zero, 5:

league_common.ovl (unnamed_17) -- 0x03DFF8 -- 03 → 05
cmt.ovl (unnamed_1) -- 0x029398 -- 03 → 05
cmt.ovl (unnamed_1) -- 0x0295F0 -- 03 → 05

These are the only places in all OVL files that hardcode numSubs = 3. The instruction word changes from 0x24030003 to 0x24030005 (first byte in little-endian).

To use on real hardware, insert these modified OVL files back into over.afs with GGS.

Like i said before, I have no intention of pursuing this for other games, but the logic should be exactly the same in the same files (league_common and cmt ovl), so it should be relatively easy to find what to patch for other PS2 games.

Attached to this post is the OVER.AFS file of PES2008 EU ENG/SPA (SLES549.13), with ML Start Year 2025 and 5 subs in all modes - you can just replace the OVER.AFS in your ISO with GGS.

https://evoweb.uk/threads/5-subs-in-all-modes-pes2008-ps2-research.104670/

Hello, good day. My apologies—do you happen to know anything about enabling the trophy presentation scenes when you win a league, for example, the Premier League?

@marqisspes6 you have a info bro?

 

[Juventino32]

A patch already existed for the US version of ISS Deluxe (SNES).
I created one for the EU version. You can find it here.
I also release the basic editor I created with ChatGPT in order to produce this patch.

 

[H_G]

 

[Juventino32]

2008 is PC I guess ?

 

[H_G]

2008 is PC I guess ?

yes,

PES 2008 is back online
The eightserver by pes6.es – no VPN, no Hamachi​

Hi everyone,

We're very happy to announce that Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PC) can be played online again. You don't need a VPN or Hamachi: you connect straight from the game's own online menu, just like when Konami's servers were up.

The pes6.es team has built a new server for PES 2008, the eightserver. It runs alongside our PES5 and PES6 servers.

What you can do

• Ranking and friendly matches: quick match, or create and search for rooms
• Invite your friends to your room
• Your last 20 matches and the in-game rankings
• Monthly seasons with points and rating
• Lobbies and played matches, with teams and results, in the new Eightserver section on pes6.es

How we did it
PES 2008 speaks almost the same language as PES6, so the eightserver is built on the same base as our sixserver. We worked out the differences by reverse-engineering the game itself and from network captures of matches played over Hamachi. Every feature has been tested between two PCs on different networks, with no VPN.

How to join
The server opens to everyone on [DATE]. You need the PC version of PES 2008 (we tested it with the official 1.20 update) and a pes6.es account.

1. Sign up at pes6.es/signup. In the PES 2008 serial field, enter the serial your game was installed with (20 characters). Then activate your account from the email we send you.
   Already have a pes6.es account? Add your PES 2008 serial in your profile and save it.
2. Edit your hosts file. Open Notepad as administrator, open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts and add these two lines at the end:
   

   46.101.172.11 pes7pcgate-e.winning-eleven.net
   46.101.172.11 pes7stun-e.winning-eleven.net

   If you already play PES6 with us, keep the lines you have and just add these two.
3. Log in from the game. Go to the online menu. In the password field, type your pes6.es username and password joined by a hyphen. For example, if your username is karim and your password is benzema9, type karim-benzema9.

For now there's one lobby, No Patch / Original, for the unpatched game.

Can't get into a room, or the match won't start? Forward UDP port 5739 to your PC on your router, or turn on UPnP. If PES6 is open on the same PC, close it first, because both games use that port.

Thanks to everyone who kept asking for PES 2008 all these years. See you on the pitch!

The pes6.es team

P.S. The server is up and running, and all game features are functional; however, over the next few days, you may notice occasional downtime as we make some improvements.

 

[drigOrange]

Question: I'm revisiting some older titles again at the moment and encountering an issue, especially in PES4, when playing with the wide camera (in the past I always used the default one but these days can't do without wide), that the games stutters and slows down significantly when there are a larger proportion of players in the frame. That issue doesn't happen in the normal cam view because there are hardly ever so many players in the frame, but in the wide camera, if you want to build play, the game comes nearly to halt. Anything I can do (beside changing the cam) to speed it up?

Hello, my friend.
I had the same problem with PES 3. I spent years trying all sorts of things to fix it. The only solution that worked for me was installing dgVoodoo.
I'll leave a video here that explains the step-by-step process. HERE.

 

[kerim]

[J.League WE 2007 CC] All Leagues & Divisions Added – Fully Playable in Master League!​

Hi everyone! 👋

I'm happy to share a major update on my J.League Winning Eleven 2007 Club Championship project!

After a lot of work modifying the game's internal files and engine, I've successfully added all the championships and divisions, and they're now playable in Master League! 🔥

As you can see in the screenshots, the game now includes multiple leagues and divisions from around the world, including:

• English Premier League & Championship
• Italian Serie A & Serie B
• Spanish La Liga
• French Ligue 1
• German Bundesliga
• Portuguese Liga
• Dutch Eredivisie
• Turkish Süper Lig
• Russian Premier League
• Scottish Premier League
• Japanese J.League Division 1 & Division 2

And more!

🔧 What's next?​

I'm still working on several important improvements:

• League & Cup modes: Finishing the integration and making sure everything works correctly.
• Competition formats: Adjusting league structures and schedules. For example, some championships will have teams playing each other three times per season.
• Scoreboards: My next step will be implementing custom scoreboards for the different competitions.
• Graphics: I'd also love to add authentic 2006–2007 kits, player faces, hairstyles and stadiums.

⚠️ Current limitations​

The biggest missing part right now is the graphical content.

I don't have enough kits, faces and stadiums to properly implement everything in the game.

If anyone has PES 6 / WE10-compatible kits, faces, stadiums or graphical resources from the 2006–2007 season, I'd really appreciate your help! 🙏

There's also one technical limitation:

PCSX2 currently requires the 128 MB RAM option enabled to run this expanded version properly.

However, I plan to release a lighter version in the future, with reduced memory requirements.

🚀 The goal​

My goal is to push J.League Winning Eleven 2007 Club Championship far beyond its original limitations, with more leagues, more divisions, more competitions and a much bigger football world, while keeping the original PS2 gameplay.

There's still work to do, but the progress so far is very encouraging!

Check out the screenshots and let me know what you think!

More updates coming soon! ⚽🔥

 

[dontellmama]

[J.League WE 2007 CC] All Leagues & Divisions Added – Fully Playable in Master League!​

Hi everyone! 👋

I'm happy to share a major update on my J.League Winning Eleven 2007 Club Championship project!

After a lot of work modifying the game's internal files and engine, I've successfully added all the championships and divisions, and they're now playable in Master League! 🔥

As you can see in the screenshots, the game now includes multiple leagues and divisions from around the world, including:

• English Premier League & Championship
• Italian Serie A & Serie B
• Spanish La Liga
• French Ligue 1
• German Bundesliga
• Portuguese Liga
• Dutch Eredivisie
• Turkish Süper Lig
• Russian Premier League
• Scottish Premier League
• Japanese J.League Division 1 & Division 2

And more!

🔧 What's next?​

I'm still working on several important improvements:

• League & Cup modes: Finishing the integration and making sure everything works correctly.
• Competition formats: Adjusting league structures and schedules. For example, some championships will have teams playing each other three times per season.
• Scoreboards: My next step will be implementing custom scoreboards for the different competitions.
• Graphics: I'd also love to add authentic 2006–2007 kits, player faces, hairstyles and stadiums.

⚠️ Current limitations​

The biggest missing part right now is the graphical content.

I don't have enough kits, faces and stadiums to properly implement everything in the game.

If anyone has PES 6 / WE10-compatible kits, faces, stadiums or graphical resources from the 2006–2007 season, I'd really appreciate your help! 🙏

There's also one technical limitation:

PCSX2 currently requires the 128 MB RAM option enabled to run this expanded version properly.

However, I plan to release a lighter version in the future, with reduced memory requirements.

🚀 The goal​

My goal is to push J.League Winning Eleven 2007 Club Championship far beyond its original limitations, with more leagues, more divisions, more competitions and a much bigger football world, while keeping the original PS2 gameplay.

There's still work to do, but the progress so far is very encouraging!

Check out the screenshots and let me know what you think!

More updates coming soon! ⚽🔥

Nice job!
I really like JLWE 2007. JLWE 2007’s pace is slower than JLWE 2008, and the lead on through balls is relatively normal; starting from PES/WE 2008, the lead on through balls has been too much.

 

[kerim]

Nice job!
I really like JLWE 2007. JLWE 2007’s pace is slower than JLWE 2008, and the lead on through balls is relatively normal; starting from PES/WE 2008, the lead on through balls has been too much.

Thanks a lot! 😁

I completely agree with you! One of the main reasons I chose JLWE 2007 CC is its gameplay. I want to preserve the original physics, slower pace and overall feeling while making the game much bigger and more realistic.

I've also managed to implement some new systems in Master League! 🔥

For example:

• Manchester City, PSG and Newcastle receive financial boosts and become much more aggressive in the transfer market.
• Deportivo La Coruña and Hamburg have been given the opposite treatment, with more limited financial resources.
• Saudi Arabian clubs can become extremely wealthy after a certain number of seasons, allowing them to compete for major transfers.

My goal is to make Master League feel like a living football world, where clubs evolve financially, transfer strategies change over time, and new football powers can emerge.

I'm also working on making the UEFA Champions League follow its real competition rules, including the correct qualification system, group stages and knockout rounds.

I want every championship to have its own authentic format and rules, rather than simply using the same generic system for every league.

There's still a lot of work to do, especially with the League and Cup modes, but I'm really enjoying pushing this game beyond its original limitations.

The ultimate goal is to combine the classic JLWE 2007 gameplay with a much deeper, more realistic and dynamic Master League experience! ⚽🔥

P.S. I have very limited coding knowledge myself. 😅 Claude AI is actually handling almost all the technical work, including coding, reverse engineering and game modifications. I mainly come up with the ideas, define what I want to achieve, test everything in-game and report any issues. So a huge part of the credit goes to Claude! 🤖

 

[baygonstroberi]

[J.League WE 2007 CC] All Leagues & Divisions Added – Fully Playable in Master League!​

Hi everyone! 👋

I'm happy to share a major update on my J.League Winning Eleven 2007 Club Championship project!

After a lot of work modifying the game's internal files and engine, I've successfully added all the championships and divisions, and they're now playable in Master League! 🔥

As you can see in the screenshots, the game now includes multiple leagues and divisions from around the world, including:

• English Premier League & Championship
• Italian Serie A & Serie B
• Spanish La Liga
• French Ligue 1
• German Bundesliga
• Portuguese Liga
• Dutch Eredivisie
• Turkish Süper Lig
• Russian Premier League
• Scottish Premier League
• Japanese J.League Division 1 & Division 2

And more!

🔧 What's next?​

I'm still working on several important improvements:

• League & Cup modes: Finishing the integration and making sure everything works correctly.
• Competition formats: Adjusting league structures and schedules. For example, some championships will have teams playing each other three times per season.
• Scoreboards: My next step will be implementing custom scoreboards for the different competitions.
• Graphics: I'd also love to add authentic 2006–2007 kits, player faces, hairstyles and stadiums.

⚠️ Current limitations​

The biggest missing part right now is the graphical content.

I don't have enough kits, faces and stadiums to properly implement everything in the game.

If anyone has PES 6 / WE10-compatible kits, faces, stadiums or graphical resources from the 2006–2007 season, I'd really appreciate your help! 🙏

There's also one technical limitation:

PCSX2 currently requires the 128 MB RAM option enabled to run this expanded version properly.

However, I plan to release a lighter version in the future, with reduced memory requirements.

🚀 The goal​

My goal is to push J.League Winning Eleven 2007 Club Championship far beyond its original limitations, with more leagues, more divisions, more competitions and a much bigger football world, while keeping the original PS2 gameplay.

There's still work to do, but the progress so far is very encouraging!

Check out the screenshots and let me know what you think!

More updates coming soon! ⚽🔥

Holywhit

 

[dontellmama]

Thanks a lot! 😁

I completely agree with you! One of the main reasons I chose JLWE 2007 CC is its gameplay. I want to preserve the original physics, slower pace and overall feeling while making the game much bigger and more realistic.

I've also managed to implement some new systems in Master League! 🔥

For example:

• Manchester City, PSG and Newcastle receive financial boosts and become much more aggressive in the transfer market.
• Deportivo La Coruña and Hamburg have been given the opposite treatment, with more limited financial resources.
• Saudi Arabian clubs can become extremely wealthy after a certain number of seasons, allowing them to compete for major transfers.

My goal is to make Master League feel like a living football world, where clubs evolve financially, transfer strategies change over time, and new football powers can emerge.

I'm also working on making the UEFA Champions League follow its real competition rules, including the correct qualification system, group stages and knockout rounds.

I want every championship to have its own authentic format and rules, rather than simply using the same generic system for every league.

There's still a lot of work to do, especially with the League and Cup modes, but I'm really enjoying pushing this game beyond its original limitations.

The ultimate goal is to combine the classic JLWE 2007 gameplay with a much deeper, more realistic and dynamic Master League experience! ⚽🔥

P.S. I have very limited coding knowledge myself. 😅 Claude AI is actually handling almost all the technical work, including coding, reverse engineering and game modifications. I mainly come up with the ideas, define what I want to achieve, test everything in-game and report any issues. So a huge part of the credit goes to Claude! 🤖

One point where JLWE 2007 is better than JLWE 2008 is that JLWE 2007’s AI more often chooses to combine with teammates when attacking, whereas PES/WE 2008’s AI more often chooses to dribble into the box all by itself (even starting to dribble from the SB position!!). This flaw has been much alleviated since PES/WE 2009.

 

[kerim]

One point where JLWE 2007 is better than JLWE 2008 is that JLWE 2007’s AI more often chooses to combine with teammates when attacking, whereas PES/WE 2008’s AI more often chooses to dribble into the box all by itself (even starting to dribble from the SB position!!). This flaw has been much alleviated since PES/WE 2009.

That's a really interesting observation!

I think that's another great reason to preserve the original JLWE 2007 gameplay.

The way AI-controlled players build attacks and combine with their teammates is a big part of what makes this game so enjoyable.

My priority is to expand the game without changing its original gameplay mechanics or on-pitch AI behaviour.

I'm mainly focusing on improving Master League, adding more competitions, realistic financial systems, smarter transfer activity and authentic league structures.

I'm also currently working on implementing a Wonderkids system!

The idea is to gradually introduce future football talents as the seasons progress, for example Eden Hazard in 2008 or Lamine Yamal in 2016, with huge potential for development.

I'd love to see these young players develop over the years, attract interest from major clubs and eventually become world-class stars.

My goal is to make Master League as rich, dynamic and unpredictable as possible, even after 10, 15 or 20 seasons.

I really want to push Master League to its absolute limits! 🔥

By the way, if any of you have ideas for new features, gameplay systems or improvements that could make Master League even more realistic and immersive, I'm all ears!

I'll ask Claude AI whether your suggestions are technically possible to implement in the game's engine. 😁

I'm not an experienced programmer myself, but I have plenty of ideas, and Claude is helping me turn them into reality!

The ultimate goal is to preserve everything that makes JLWE 2007 special while creating a much deeper, more realistic and evolving Master League experience!

 

[dontellmama]

That's a really interesting observation!

I think that's another great reason to preserve the original JLWE 2007 gameplay.

The way AI-controlled players build attacks and combine with their teammates is a big part of what makes this game so enjoyable.

My priority is to expand the game without changing its original gameplay mechanics or on-pitch AI behaviour.

I'm mainly focusing on improving Master League, adding more competitions, realistic financial systems, smarter transfer activity and authentic league structures.

I'm also currently working on implementing a Wonderkids system!

The idea is to gradually introduce future football talents as the seasons progress, for example Eden Hazard in 2008 or Lamine Yamal in 2016, with huge potential for development.

I'd love to see these young players develop over the years, attract interest from major clubs and eventually become world-class stars.

My goal is to make Master League as rich, dynamic and unpredictable as possible, even after 10, 15 or 20 seasons.

I really want to push Master League to its absolute limits! 🔥

By the way, if any of you have ideas for new features, gameplay systems or improvements that could make Master League even more realistic and immersive, I'm all ears!

I'll ask Claude AI whether your suggestions are technically possible to implement in the game's engine. 😁

I'm not an experienced programmer myself, but I have plenty of ideas, and Claude is helping me turn them into reality!

The ultimate goal is to preserve everything that makes JLWE 2007 special while creating a much deeper, more realistic and evolving Master League experience!

This patch improves both the AI and the graphics. You could try using Claude to see whether it can achieve similar results.

https://evoweb.uk/threads/pes-2013-ps2-updated-ai-and-textures.105648/

 

[kerim]

This patch improves both the AI and the graphics. You could try using Claude to see whether it can achieve similar results.

https://evoweb.uk/threads/pes-2013-ps2-updated-ai-and-textures.105648/

Thanks for the suggestion! 😁 I'll take a look at that patch and ask Claude if some of its AI and graphical improvements could be adapted to JLWE 2007 CC.

Regarding PS4, PS5 and Xbox compatibility, I'm not planning to make dedicated versions for those consoles at the moment.

It would be interesting to see if the game could run on them, but someone would need to test it.

Unfortunately, I don't own a PS4, PS5 or Xbox. I only have an original PS2. 😅

For now, the expanded version requires the 128 MB RAM option in PCSX2, so it might also be possible to run it on a PS2 development kit with expanded memory, although this would need to be tested.

I'm also planning to create a lighter version in the future, hopefully compatible with a standard PS2.

If anyone has a PS2 development kit, PS4, PS5 or Xbox and wants to experiment, I'd be very interested to hear the results! 😁

 

[H_G]

I guess we will see PES 6 Xbox 360 ported to PC in the near future

 

[niceplay89]

Some real old-school retro gaming with Winning Eleven 2002 for the PS1.
Crazy how much fun this game is!

 

[H_G]

 

[Billy Jov]

[J.League WE 2007 CC] All Leagues & Divisions Added – Fully Playable in Master League!​

Hi everyone! 👋

I'm happy to share a major update on my J.League Winning Eleven 2007 Club Championship project!

After a lot of work modifying the game's internal files and engine, I've successfully added all the championships and divisions, and they're now playable in Master League! 🔥

As you can see in the screenshots, the game now includes multiple leagues and divisions from around the world, including:

• English Premier League & Championship
• Italian Serie A & Serie B
• Spanish La Liga
• French Ligue 1
• German Bundesliga
• Portuguese Liga
• Dutch Eredivisie
• Turkish Süper Lig
• Russian Premier League
• Scottish Premier League
• Japanese J.League Division 1 & Division 2

And more!

🔧 What's next?​

I'm still working on several important improvements:

• League & Cup modes: Finishing the integration and making sure everything works correctly.
• Competition formats: Adjusting league structures and schedules. For example, some championships will have teams playing each other three times per season.
• Scoreboards: My next step will be implementing custom scoreboards for the different competitions.
• Graphics: I'd also love to add authentic 2006–2007 kits, player faces, hairstyles and stadiums.

⚠️ Current limitations​

The biggest missing part right now is the graphical content.

I don't have enough kits, faces and stadiums to properly implement everything in the game.

If anyone has PES 6 / WE10-compatible kits, faces, stadiums or graphical resources from the 2006–2007 season, I'd really appreciate your help! 🙏

There's also one technical limitation:

PCSX2 currently requires the 128 MB RAM option enabled to run this expanded version properly.

However, I plan to release a lighter version in the future, with reduced memory requirements.

🚀 The goal​

My goal is to push J.League Winning Eleven 2007 Club Championship far beyond its original limitations, with more leagues, more divisions, more competitions and a much bigger football world, while keeping the original PS2 gameplay.

There's still work to do, but the progress so far is very encouraging!

Check out the screenshots and let me know what you think!

More updates coming soon! ⚽🔥

I spotted the club I support, Iraklis, in one of the screenshots, which is kinda rare to find in a football game unless it has a greek patch, but the emblem it uses is the retro one, you sure you aren't using a roster from a classic Iraklis squad and not the 2006-07 one?

 

[kerim]

I spotted the club I support, Iraklis, in one of the screenshots, which is kinda rare to find in a football game unless it has a greek patch, but the emblem it uses is the retro one, you sure you aren't using a roster from a classic Iraklis squad and not the 2006-07 one?

Thanks for your comment!

Yes, the squads are based on the 2006–2007 season, using the Football Manager 2006 database as a reference.

I'm trying to give every club its authentic 2006-era badge, but the graphical side of the project is still a work in progress. Some clubs currently have retro or modern badges, which I'll gradually correct. My priority right now is getting all the new systems working properly.

I've also managed to implement something quite interesting in Master League: a dynamic UEFA coefficient ranking system!

For example:

- England starts with 4 Champions League qualification spots.
- Russia starts with 2 qualification spots.
- Clubs earn UEFA coefficient points based on their performances in European competitions.
- If Russian clubs perform consistently well in Europe, their league can climb the UEFA rankings and eventually earn an additional Champions League spot.
- The same applies to other countries, meaning qualification places can change over the years!

I really want European football to evolve naturally throughout Master League, rather than having fixed qualification rules forever.

Another big feature I'm working on is the Wonderkids system!

Between 2007 and 2026, around 1,200 young talents will become available progressively, depending on the in-game year.

For example:

- Eden Hazard becomes available in 2008.
- Arda Güler becomes available in 2022.
- Many other future stars will appear as the seasons progress.

The idea is to make long-term Master League saves much more interesting, with new generations of players, changing financial powers, evolving UEFA rankings and realistic transfers.

My ultimate goal is to make Master League feel like a living football world that evolves over 20 seasons, while preserving the original JLWE 2007 gameplay!

There's still plenty of work ahead, but I'm making progress!

 

[sleevel]

Some real old-school retro gaming with Winning Eleven 2002 for the PS1.
Crazy how much fun this game is!

Retro fun yet with updated rosters.

 

[gabe.paul.logan]

It has been 19 years ago, and i know it came right after such games as PES4, 5, 6 and not to mention the WE versions but i kinda remember PES 2008 (the next gen version) was the game next to PES 2014 (next gen again) which i played for only 10 hours tops then skipped it entirely as it was so "unplayable".

Lets just focus on PES 2008 as i totally dont remember why but that i disliked it from the get go. I tried to look up the original usual main post here on evo-web on that game to read the impressions but im to lazy to find it. Do you remember how was your reception of PES 2008? Again the PS3, Xbox360 or PC version - those were pretty much the same apart from slight graphical and performance differences and of course the limited edit mode on Xbox.

 

[PES4eva]

It has been 19 years ago, and i know it came right after such games as PES4, 5, 6 and not to mention the WE versions but i kinda remember PES 2008 (the next gen version) was the game next to PES 2014 (next gen again) which i played for only 10 hours tops then skipped it entirely as it was so "unplayable".

Lets just focus on PES 2008 as i totally dont remember why but that i disliked it from the get go. I tried to look up the original usual main post here on evo-web on that game to read the impressions but im to lazy to find it. Do you remember how was your reception of PES 2008? Again the PS3, Xbox360 or PC version - those were pretty much the same apart from slight graphical and performance differences and of course the limited edit mode on Xbox.

First impressions of PES 2008 was this is the best PES yet... Because I played it on PS2.
Played the PS3 version some years later purely to see why everyone thought it was bad and my first impressions were "what is this horrendous steaming pile of 💩"
Replayed it even more years later on PC and have settled on that I don't think it's a bad game but I don't think it's a good game either. It's ok but I would never have a reason to play it again.

 

[sleevel]

First impressions of PES 2008 was this is the best PES yet... Because I played it on PS2.
Played the PS3 version some years later purely to see why everyone thought it was bad and my first impressions were "what is this horrendous steaming pile of 💩"
Replayed it even more years later on PC and have settled on that I don't think it's a bad game but I don't think it's a good game either. It's ok but I would never have a reason to play it again.

Moore’s Law of Gaming states that any game that is unplayable or a steaming pile will be considered “solid” in 10 years and any game that is considered decent will be considered legendary.

 

[drigOrange]

It has been 19 years ago, and i know it came right after such games as PES4, 5, 6 and not to mention the WE versions but i kinda remember PES 2008 (the next gen version) was the game next to PES 2014 (next gen again) which i played for only 10 hours tops then skipped it entirely as it was so "unplayable".

Lets just focus on PES 2008 as i totally dont remember why but that i disliked it from the get go. I tried to look up the original usual main post here on evo-web on that game to read the impressions but im to lazy to find it. Do you remember how was your reception of PES 2008? Again the PS3, Xbox360 or PC version - those were pretty much the same apart from slight graphical and performance differences and of course the limited edit mode on Xbox.

I still remember my reaction as if it had happened yesterday.
Back then, my PC didn't have the hardware required to run the game. So I used to spend time at a LAN gaming center, where friends would get together to play games, chat, and share the same passion for football video games.

It was there that my best friend made me an offer:
"Hey, I've got PES 2008 installed on my PC. Would you like to come over, try it out, and give your assessment?"

At the time, I needed to review the game in order to earn a moderator position on a Brazilian forum dedicated to the WE/PES series. So this opportunity meant much more to me than simply getting my hands on a new game.

I arrived at my friend's house at around 11 PM, doing my best not to make any noise and wake up his family. I felt quite embarrassed about the situation, as it wasn't exactly a conventional time to visit someone. However, nothing was going to stop me from finding out for myself how the franchise had evolved on the next generation of consoles.

The problem was that it took only a few moments after kickoff for my excitement to turn into profound disappointment. My reaction was almost one of wanting to cry. I was absolutely devastated by how much Konami seemed to have regressed in areas that I considered fundamental to the identity of the series.
My experience with PES 2008 was marked by a series of problems that, in my opinion, undermined precisely what had made Winning Eleven/PES so special.

• Animations and player movement: The players looked robotic, with unnatural movements and very little fluidity. To make matters worse, their excessively long shorts, which reminded me of surfers' board shorts, added to the strange visual presentation.
• Ball sound effects: The sound of the ball being struck reminded me of a coconut being hit with a piece of wood. Every touch produced that repetitive "thunk, thunk, thunk" sound, which felt completely out of place in a football simulation.
• Player vocalizations: The players made strange grunting noises that sounded to me like gnomes being suffocated inside a compressed-air pipe. Instead of adding realism, these sound effects made the whole experience feel almost cartoonish.
• Build-up play: The gameplay lacked depth when it came to constructing attacking moves. The ball moved too quickly through the different areas of the pitch, connecting midfield to attack without requiring the same degree of patience, positional awareness, or deliberate build-up play. It felt as though tactical complexity had been sacrificed in favor of a faster, more superficial style of football.
• Graphics and atmosphere: The colors looked washed out, and the visual presentation fell short of my expectations for a new generation of hardware. Environmental details and features that I had appreciated in previous installments, such as rain, snow, and visible wear on the pitch, seemed to have lost some of their importance. I simply couldn't understand how a technically superior generation of hardware could fail to preserve certain features that had already contributed to the immersion of the PS2 games.

That night, I came to a rather clear conclusion: the franchise was entering a critical phase. What should have represented a technological leap forward instead felt, in many respects, like a departure from the identity that had been built over the years. Konami seemed to have lost sight of some of the qualities that made its series so engaging for more demanding players.

It was at that moment that I began to believe the franchise was heading into decline and could eventually be overtaken by Electronic Arts.
And that is precisely what happened in the years that followed.
FIFA 08 represented a significant leap forward for EA Sports' series, while subsequent installments consolidated its rise and gradually established it as the market leader in football gaming.

Of course, this transformation wasn't caused by a single release, nor can Konami's decline be explained by PES 2008 alone. Other factors, development decisions, and changes in the market all contributed to the situation. Nevertheless, that first experience remains symbolic to me. It felt as though I was witnessing, in real time, the beginning of a historic shift in the rivalry between the two biggest football video game franchises.

I had no way of knowing everything that would unfold in the years to come. But that night, sitting in front of a computer screen at a friend's house, I felt that something fundamental had been lost.
And time would eventually confirm many of my impressions.
But that's a story for another time, folks.

 

[gabe.paul.logan]

Moore’s Law of Gaming states that any game that is unplayable or a steaming pile will be considered “solid” in 10 years and any game that is considered decent will be considered legendary.

So i just fired up the game, and i felt like im entering a twilight zone because.... as much as i remember disliking it exactly like @drigOrange and @PES4eva (thanks for the input guys) .... i kinda think its a solid game?! I have played only 5 games and exhibition only but the general gameplay feel is pretty solid oldschool PES and there is a variety of goals, randomness, errors, AI attacking patterns, you can score from any angle, you have to think about the build up as there isnt that much of space on the pitch suprisingly, and the AI plays the ball backwards too and heck i just saw Messi dribbling through the defence for 20 meters passing by 3 defenders into the box to attempt a shot.

• Now does it miss some elements from the PS2 era PES? Sure.
• Does it have the generational leap content-wise as expected? No.
• Are the graphics that good compared to PES6? Not at all, not even compared to PES 6 mods from 2007.

But i do think we have been eating too good at the time that we were considering this a bad game, and probably its true for the entire list of games of that generation. Which i did not like that much but they were kinda solid games. Heck just think about PES 2014 or the games of that generation where for YEARS we had to wait to have proper goalkeepers, or to be able to score more than 2 type of goals, like fundamentals were missing from those games up until PES 2021 - and im not even that much of a fan of that game as the AI is holy crap with its 3 attacking pattern. Lets not even talk about the state of offline gaming today because its none and the AI is on PES 2021 level still.

So yeah, with all that in mind its fair to prefer any old PES game over 2008 but its a frigging hidden gem as we had such high standards, and im shocked playing it now and thinking i had the luxury discarding it in hindsight. Im heavily suggesting to anyone who did not touch it to give it a second go.

 

[gabe.paul.logan]

Stealing the limelight of my previous post but happy birthday PES 5! It was released today exactly 21 years ago in Europe.