Every fan of football video games had their breaking point — that moment when you finally crossed that forbidden line… from Pro Evo to FIFA. In the PS2 era it was barely a competition, I didn’t even bother with FIFA, but at some point — probably around FIFA 08/09 — I made the migration, and I never looked back.
But either some are stubbornly refusing to make the switch or (more likely) football nuts are buying both, because Konami has announced that Pro Evo 2012 has sold one million copies since September 2011, which is pretty incredible number considering FIFA’s dominance.
Deep within the tendrils of my ice cold heart, I still have a secret love for PES. When I play FIFA I switch the controls to alternate, simply because it’s the closest thing to PES controls and I can’t unlearn that skillset.
Nowadays FIFA, for me, is just the more polished product. It always had production values, but now it has a great set of core mechanics, an incredible array of options, and solid online. There’s no way I could go back to PES in a massive way, I’d never switch out FIFA for it. But every year, I have a couple of games with the new PES, just to see what’s changed, what’s evolved, etc.
Because I sort of long for the days of Master League, having to rename all the players and the teams. I’ve loved this series since the SNES, when it was called International Superstar Soccer, loved ISS 64, moved over to Pro Evo with the PlayStation 2. It’s a sporting institution!
And of course, a bit of competition never hurt anyone.
Pro Evo Soccer 2012 sells a million, drop kicks price [Joystiq]
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