Manchester United Warms Up For PES 2009

[Steve_OS]

Konami snaps up rights for European champions for PES 2009

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced that it has reached agreement to feature Manchester United in its forthcoming PES 2009 title. The current English and European Champions will appear fully licensed in all versions of the eagerly-awaited football title, which will be released for PLAYSTATION®3, Xbox 360, PC-DVD, PSP® (PLAYSTATION®PORTABLE), and PlayStation®2, in the Autumn. A Wii version is scheduled for release in Spring 2009.

PES 2009 is the latest installment of the award-winning Pro Evolution Soccer Series, and features a wide array of extensive new additions that will enhance the series’ reputation as the most realistic football game available. In addition to all new control elements, and player AI routines that elevate its gameplay to new levels, PES 2009 also enjoys a stunning graphical update. Its players look identical to their real-life counterparts, while new moves, and key online enhancements will further bolster the realism of the new game.

The inclusion of Manchester United within the game is another major step forward for the series’ realism. PES 2009 will feature the most detailed likenesses of the European Champions, and full use of the team’s kits and club crests. Similarly, PES 2009 also captures the unique skills of the Manchester side’s key players with the game’s recreations of Carlos Tevez, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Edwin van der Sar boasting bespoke animations to ensure they move like their real-life counterparts in addition to looking like them.

“Konami is continually striving to add key licences to the PES series, and the capture of the English game’s most successful club is another major step forward,” commented Jon Murphy, PES Team Leader for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “The team has worked hard to recreate the skill and pace of Manchester United, and their fans will be delighted with the most realistic recreation of their squad in any video game.”

PES 2009 will be released for PLAYSTATION®3, Xbox 360, PC-DVD, PlayStation 2, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and mobile phones in Autumn, with a Wii version to follow in Spring 2009.

[LingeringRegime]

Sounds great!

[K-train]

lol @ Manure.

It should be Liverpool getting that License.

[calcutta]

Liverpool are licensed.

[Moses Shuttlesworth]

Quote: Originally Posted by K-train

lol @ Manure. It should be Liverpool getting that License.

Haven't they been licensed for a while now?

[billmatic]

In 2008, it was just Tottenham and Newcastle. The year before I believe it was Man U and Arsenal.

[PeruvianPlaya954]

Quick question, I know FIFA has the licensing rights for all these club teams which is why PES has less teams and less real kits, but when does that expire so that PES can get the official licensing for all teams? Or is it a team by team thing? Someone explain this to me because I've always been unclear on how this worked.

[calcutta]

Quote: Originally Posted by PeruvianPlaya954

Quick question, I know FIFA has the licensing rights for all these club teams which is why PES has less teams and less real kits, but when does that expire so that PES can get the official licensing for all teams? Or is it a team by team thing?

I'm guessing its a league by league thing, or rather national association. EA have an exclusive license for England (probably separate licences for the Premier League and then the Football League too) and as of this year, the Spanish leagues, which means most of the Spanish league clubs in PES 09 are not licensed...although i've read unconfirmed reports that indicate this simply means that Konami can't use the "Spanish Primera" tag, and that the clubs themselves are still licensed, lets hope thats true. I've only read of FC Barcelona being officially licensed in PES 09 so far though...

Meanwhile Konami have an exclusive license to the J-League, and even the Japanese national team (which was not in FIFA 07 or 08), they just never bother to put the J-League in their worldwide versions of Winning Eleven.

Konami can go after the licenses once they expire, but EA will simply keep renewing them before that can happen. EA extended their English Premier League licence in 2006, to hold them exclusively until the 2010/11 season, inclusive - LINK

As for the lesser leagues, i'd find it hard to believe that EA would have exclusive licenses for leagues like Belgium, Portugal let alone Ireland and Australia. Its likely more a case that Konami don't see these full leagues as worthwhile to pay licensing fees for, and thats when they opt to acquire licences on a club by club basis to ensure they at least acquire the licences for the more recognisable teams (like Porto and Anderlecht etc).

What's really worrying about Konami, if what i read over on the PESFan forums is true, is that the year Konami got all these league licenses for Italy, Spain, Holland and then France a year later, apparently that also included the license to use real kits and names for second division clubs!! Seabass always claimed that there was too little disc space on the PS2/Xbox to add more teams, but whats his excuse now?! That is assuming the whole thing is true...