‘Love The Past, Play The Future’: PES 2016 storms gamescom as seminal football title makes public debut alongside final cover and confirmed demo date

Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. hits gamescom with the eagerly-awaited PES 2016, marking the series’ 20^th anniversary by making its playable debut to visitors at Europe’s largest consumer gaming event. KONAMI will also produce a new trailer for the show highlighting the many advances in the new game, final cover and has confirmed that a free playable demo will be released on August 13^th.

The PES series’ heritage is appropriately celebrated in PES 2016’s new tagline ‘Love The Past, Play The Future’, highlighting the series’ recent return to core PES values in last year’s PES 2015 – winning gamescom’s coveted ‘Best Sports Game 2014’ award in the process. This year’s gamescom presence will detail the many new gameplay and presentational elements that will establish PES 2016 as the definitive football experience.

PES 2016 continues to lead the way in the recreation of ‘The Beautiful Game’. The new game strives to create a realistic, yet always exciting match between users, and deliver quality gameplay as per KONAMI’s ongoing ‘The Pitch is Ours’ mantra. From further integration of the industry-leading Fox Engine bringing the on-pitch action to life, to the full commitment to creating the best gameplay experience and to the full redevelopment of Master League, every facet of PES 2016 has been enhanced to deliver yet another outstanding product.

Every aspect of the game has benefitted from refinement and enhancement, following feedback from the incredibly well-received PES 2015. On the pitch, the physicality of top-level matches is stressed via a significantly improved collision system that calculates how players interact and creating a unique outcome depending on the type of impact. Aerial battles are also a completely unique experience this year as the left stick is used to unsettle a larger, more powerful player or find the best position to make the header/volley. Other on-field advances include one-on-one control adding a wider range of movements within the existing control structure. Response times have been improved, allowing players to maneuver in tight situations and benefit from the upgraded feint moves that allow sudden directional change.

The individuality of players is also further demonstrated via the ongoing Player ID and Team ID projects. This ensures players in PES 2016 not only resemble, but have all the playing traits, of their real-life counterparts. Defenses will automatically be set up to play to a team’s strengths, while the special skillsets of players will be used intelligently within the game’s extensive tactical options. The ID system has also been extended to goalkeepers, in a bid to improve quality and add unique individuality in performance. New goal keeper parameters have been added spanning Catching, Clearance, Collapsing and Deflecting. This adds definition to ‘keepers’, who you can count on catching the ball rather than punching, or are better at stopping close range shots.

PES 2016 has also received a stunning aesthetic overhaul. The new game boasts 3x the number of animations of last year’s iteration. Goalkeepers have an abundance of save animations added, while outfield players shoot, pass, dribble and tackle with incredible variety depending on the situation. Players complain when a foul isn’t given, or berate a teammate when a pass isn’t made, while tricky players can wrong-foot their opponents with shimmies and feints that can result in causing the opposing player to lose his balance and fall in the wrong direction!

The many advancements of KONAMI’s Fox Engine also benefit the game visually in other ways. Surface water during rainy match days will splash as players slide in to win possession, or the turf will kick up as you strike the ball into the top corner. New night-time lighting and real turf textures are among some of the many improvements as well. Crucially, and for the first time in the PES series, dynamic weather has been introduced. Rain can start during a match and the ever more realistic ball physics will accommodate the change in circumstances. Rain changes how the game can be played with passes speeding up, less skilled players are likely to struggle with trapping and players are more likely to slip and fall due to incorrect studs or blades. The variety in playing conditions also demonstrates PES 2016’s incredible ball physics, wherein every spin, bobble or ricochet, has been calculated using real ball physics data, helping keep every moment in every game unique and unpredictable.

The gamescom demo will focus on the on-field element of the game, but KONAMI has also extensively reworked the backroom elements of PES 2016. The eternally popular Master League enjoys a total revamp, allowing users to immerse themselves in the managerial world of soccer. Every element has been redesigned or reworked, from all-new menus, to the new and exciting player transfer system, PES 2016 sees one of the series’ most integral modes redefine the single-player experience. A brand new Team Roles feature allows players to function as a Star Player, or Icons, who are players committing their career to just one team and influence the management of the club and team performance. The game’s myClub option has also been further improved based on user feedback. Player level systems, and players exclusive to the mode, have also been added, while users can use points acquired through matches, or with myClub coins, to experience realistic club management to develop a squad. The mode, brought in last year, consistently updates players on a weekly basis. More competitions, events and campaigns are to be expected. There will also be an announcement soon after launch regarding special exclusive players – more details on this soon. Choose the manager, consider coaches, and build the strategy based on what your aim is with your team. Build Your Team, Create Your legacy! 

Edit mode has seen some important improvements for PS4 users, which allows the ability to import images to be used to customise squad kits, which extends to team emblems and manager pictures. 

KONAMI is also delighted to confirm that the brilliance of PES 2016 will reach an even wider audience on August 13^th, as a free playable demo will be released via the usual digital channels. The demo will feature both club and national sides and will offer a perfect snapshot of the many on-field advances the new game offers. Those suitably impressed by what they play can also gain an advantage in myClub by pre-ordering and receiving the following incentives:

About Konami Group

KONAMI CORPORATION was established in 1973, and became a holding company of the Konami Group on March 31, 2006. KONAMI　CORPORATION covers the fields of “Digital Entertainment Business”, “Health & Fitness Business”, “Gaming & Systems Business” and “Pachinko & Pachinko Slot Machines Business”. KONAMI CORPORATION went public on Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1988 and the London Stock Exchange in 1999. Home Page URL: www.konami.co.jp. Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. is a wholly-owned subsidiary, responsible for popular franchises like Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill and Pro Evolution Soccer amongst other top sellers. Konami Group is also the manufacturer of the wildly popular Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, which has sold more than 25 billion cards worldwide. For more information concerning Konami Digital Entertainment and its products, please visit www.konami-europe.com.

All copyrights or trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used under permission.