Winning Eleven
From Infocentral
Winning Eleven Winning Eleven is a football (soccer) video game series made by Konami Tokyo. It is the original Japanese version of Pro Evolution Soccer. Every year, the new version of the game is released first as Winning Eleven in Japan, and after a few months a slightly modified version is released worldwide, in two different packages: Winning Eleven International for the Americas, and Pro Evolution Soccer for the rest of the world. Additionally, in some countries a localized version is released, featuring local leagues and teams, instead of European ones. From 2007 and on, the franchise uses the name "Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer" for the American market.
History and Features Winning Eleven's popularity has grown over the years, and is currently one of the most popular football games world-wide, fiercely rivaling EA's FIFA Series. Winning Eleven 10 is the latest version of the game and was released in Japan on 27 April 2006.
The Winning Eleven series has been produced under the guidance of Shingo "Seabass" Takatsuka at KCEJ.
Winning Eleven 8 screenshot.The main single-player mode is the Master League mode, where the player is given control of a team of his/her selection. However, the players are all generic, fictional players with relatively poor statistics. These players have become cult figures to many people playing the Master League. The aim is to use these players and gain points by winning matches, using acquired points to purchase real players to join the team. Ultimately, one should end up with a team of skilled players. In Winning Eleven 8, players' growth and decline curves were added, where a player's statistics may improve or decline, depending on training and age. This added a new depth to purchasing players, as one is less likely to purchase an aging star whose statistics are declining over an up-and-coming youngster whose statistics rise dramatically.
Since Winning Eleven 3, the game has been co-narrated by Japanese commentator Jon Kabira.
Starting with the Japanese release of Winning Eleven 8 LiveWare Evolution, an online multiplayer mode was introduced into the game. This allowed for players to compete with each other online. The game is primarily made to be played in Japan and therefore has most changes done in Japanese.
Contrary to popular belief, the Winning Eleven series does not precede the International Superstar Soccer (ISS) series which debuted on Super Nintendo. The ISS series on Super Nintendo was created by a different division of Konami, not by KCET. A version of ISS was made for the Gamecube and Playstation 2, ISS2, while ISS3 was also available on Xbox.
Winning Eleven 9 International introduced a unique new feature for online games. While waiting for an opponent to be found, you are able to just play for a short while against a CPU player. When an opponent has been found and selected, you will switch back to this new match.[1]
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Versions
PlayStation
- Winning Eleven (jul/1995)
- J-League Winning Eleven (jul/1995)
- J-League Winning Eleven '97 (nov/1996)
- Winning Eleven 3 (dec/1997)
- Winning Eleven 3 World Cup France '98 (may/1998)
- Winning Eleven J-League '98-'99 (dec/1998)
- Winning Eleven 3 Final Version (dec/1998)
- Winning Eleven 4 (sep/1999)
- J-League Winning Eleven 2000 (jun/2000)
- Winning Eleven 2000 U-23 Medal e no Chousen (Challenge to the Medal) (aug/2000)
- J-League Winning Eleven 2000 2nd (nov/2000)
- J-League Winning Eleven 2001 (jun/2001)
- Winning Eleven 2002 (apr/2002)
PlayStation 2
- Winning Eleven 5 (mar/2001)
- J-League Winning Eleven 5 (nov/2001)
- Winning Eleven 5 Final Evolution (dec/2001)
- Winning Eleven 6 (apr/2002)
- J-League Winning Eleven 6 (sep/2002)
- Winning Eleven 6 Final Evolution (jan/2003)
- Winning Eleven 6 International (mar/2003)
- Winning Eleven 7 (oct/2003)
- J-League Winning Eleven Tactics (dec/2003)
- Winning Eleven 7 International (also available as an Adidas Premium Package in Japan) (feb/2004)
- Winning Eleven 8 (oct/2004)
- J-League Winning Eleven 8 Asia Championship (nov/2004)
- K-League Winning Eleven 8 Asia Championship (nov/2004)
- Winning Eleven 8 International (feb/2005)
- Winning Eleven 8 Tactics European Club Soccer (dec/2005)
- Winning Eleven 8 LiveWare Evolution (mar/2005)
- Winning Eleven 9 (oct/2005)
- Winning Eleven 9 LiveWare Evolution (only for Korea) (feb/2006)
- Winning Eleven 9 International (feb/2006)
- J-League Winning Eleven 9 Asia Championship (nov/2005)
- K-League Winning Eleven 9 Asia Championship (dec/2005)
- Winning Eleven 9 Bonus Pack (jan/2006)
- Winning Eleven 10 (also available as a Konamistyle Special Edition in Japan) (apr/2006)
- J-League Winning Eleven 10 + Europe League '06-'07 (nov/2006)
- Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (feb/2007)
- Winning Eleven 10 LiveWare Evolution (only for Korea) (feb/2007)
GameCube
- Winning Eleven 6 Final Evolution (jan/2003)
Xbox
- Winning Eleven 8 International (feb/2005)
- Winning Eleven 9 International (feb/2006)
Xbox 360
- Winning Eleven X (dec/2006)
- Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (feb/2007)
PC
- Winning Eleven 7 International (apr/2004)
- Winning Eleven 8 International (feb/2005)
- Winning Eleven 9 LiveWare Evolution (only for Korea) (mar/2006)
- Winning Eleven 9 International (apr/2006)
- Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (jan/2007)
Arcade
- Winning Eleven Arcade Game Style (2002)
- Winning Eleven Arcade Game Style 2003 (nov/2003)
- Winning Eleven 2006 Arcade Championship (dec/2006)
Game Boy Advance
- Winning Eleven (apr/2002)
- J-League Winning Eleven Advance 2002 (oct/2002)
Nintendo DS
- Winning Eleven DS (also available with limited edition Winning Eleven Jet Black DS Lite in Japan) (nov/2006)
- Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (feb/2007)
PSP
- Winning Eleven 9 Ubiquitous Evolution (sep/2005)
- Winning Eleven 9 International (feb/2006)
- Winning Eleven 10 Ubiquitous Evolution (dec/2006)
- Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (feb/2007)
Wii
- Untitled Winning Eleven (TBA)
Licenses
Over the years, Winning Eleven has tried to get licenses from international teams and clubs. This helps create realism by allowing the game to include real clubs, their players and kits. The following licenses were obtained for Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007.
Leagues
- Serie A
- La Liga
- Eredivisie
- Ligue 1
Licensed Clubs in Unlicensed Leagues
- Arsenal
- Manchester United
- F.C. Copenhagen
- FC Bayern Munich
- Juventus F.C.(Serie B)
- Olympiakos
- Rosenborg B.K.
- S.L. Benfica
- F.C. Porto
- Sporting
- Celtic F.C.
- Rangers F.C.
- Djurgårdens IF
- Galatasaray S.K.
- FC Dynamo Kyiv
National Teams
- Australia
- England
- Netherlands
- Japan
- South Korea
- Italy
- Spain
- Sweden
- Argentina
- Turkey
- Czech Republic
- France
- Peru
Patches & Option Files
Fans of the series often make "option files" which modify all player names into those of their real life counterparts, as well as including transfers from the latest transfer window and, occasionally, altered stats of more obscure players whose in-game attributes do not precisely replicate their real life skills. These are distributed via the internet in digital format, then transferred to the Playstation 2 memory card using hardware such as the Max Drive. More experienced gamers often use "patches", editing the actual game code and modifying the graphical content to include accurate kits for unlicensed teams, new stadiums, and footballs from Nike, Inc., Puma AG, Umbro and Mitre, as well as more Adidas balls. Most patches also contain licensed referee kits from FIFA and the official logos of the various European leagues. Since these patches are technically a breach of copyright, and are often sold illegally in territories in the Middle East and South America, Konami have become less tolerant of this kind of fan editing in recent years, and now encrypt the data pertaining to kits and player statistics in each new release. However, fan communities invariably find ways to crack this encryption, and patches still appear once this has been achieved.
This has become a controversial topic in fan circles. Since patchers adhere to a strict code of working for non-profit (those who attempt to sell their work are ostracised from the fan community), many feel that Konami's encryption is somewhat mean-spirited, especially as they would argue that the vast profits generated by the series should be invested in obtaining more licenses in the first place. For their part, Konami accept that patchers act out of love for the game, but protest that the loss of sales from pirate operations selling pre-patched copies (against the wishes of the original patchers) leave them with no alternative. 'Seabass' even placed a message to prospective patchers in the game code for recent versions, visible only when the code has been opened in a hex editor, which expressed his reluctance at the move, but explained that commercial considerations make the encryption necessary.
Konami have not taken steps to prevent translation patches, which convert the game text from Japanese to English (or any other language). Thus, it is still easy for gamers outside Japan to purchase the game and patch it into their own language, provided they have a modified PS2 capable of playing backup copies.
Modify Winning Eleven Polish Patches for WE2002 and PES "Option File" editor, applicable to both Pro Evolution Soccer and Winning Eleven.
Pro Evolution Soccer
Main article: Pro Evolution Soccer Pro Evolution Soccer is the European counterpart to Winning Eleven. It is slighty updated and focuses on European clubs, rather than Winning Eleven, which focuses on the Japan national football team. Purists traditionally prefer the Japanese release, feeling that the European version is faster and less subtle, although differences in gameplay between the two versions have become less pronounced in recent years.
