Enomoto:From the very first Winning Eleven title in 1995, all the way to the present, Pro Evolution Soccer (hereafter referred to as Pro Evo) has appeared on a variety of platforms, and has gone through many stages of development as what might be called a "button-controlled soccer game". This time, however, we set to work on developing a soccer game for Wii, intending to come up with a new way to play Pro Evo which was different from all the previous games. The most significant feature of this title is that we haven't produced a game controlled in the traditional way, using the buttons on the control pad, but have instead utilised the completely new control system which the Wii interface offers.

Chosogabe:The nature of the hardware for Wii is fundamentally different from all of the other platforms which Pro Evo titles have appeared on up to now. Pro Evo is a series that has developed as a game played using the control pad buttons, but we knew that if we were going to develop a Pro Evo title for Wii, it could not simply be ported across with the same control system as for other consoles. We knew that if we didn’t make use of the Wii Remote to produce a unique game that was only realisable on Wii, then it would be a pointless exercise. That was the thinking behind the development of this title.

Enomoto:Before Wii was officially announced, we had heard that the controller for Wii would not be a "button-style" affair and we initially had some doubts, thinking: “Are you really going to be able to play games on this console?” We subsequently had the opportunity to play demo games, such as fishing simulators, at Nintendo and any doubts we had vanished straight away. As this was before Nintendo had made any official announcements about Wii, we were not able to tell anyone about the nature of the Wii Remote. So I would return from a trip to the Nintendo offices and everyone in my team would be asking me: "So what were you doing there?" I really wanted to tell them about it, but all I could say was: "I can't tell you anything yet, but wait until you see what they've come up with for the controller!" (laughs)

Chosogabe:When I first heard about the Wii Remote, I was a little uneasy. But later, when I was able to see the control system for myself, I understood what Enomoto meant when he spoke about the feel of the controller. After that, when we began to discuss producing a Pro Evo title for Wii, the idea of having a control system where you could use a pointer to select players and then pull them around the pitch came to me quite naturally as I used the Wii Remote.
At first, when I brought up the idea to the production team staff, there was a lot of confusion about this completely new control system and I faced questions like: “Is a system where you point and then pull players to move them around the pitch really feasible?” There was a particular programmer in the production team who was positive about the idea and he said: “Well, we'll know whether it’s do-able or not by actually giving it a go!” He then came up with a prototype. When we tested that, suddenly everyone's feelings about the system of controlling players by pointing at them changed and they were saying: “Hey! This could work!” During that process, I sensed that the unease which the staff had felt about making the basic control system for this game gradually diminished and shifted to anticipation about creating something entirely new. At this stage - that is, at the early part of the game's development - I felt that once we had ascertained that this new control system was achievable, that became a real motivating factor driving us on to produce a new type of soccer game.

Chosogabe:One of the most striking features of this new title is that you can point with the Wii Remote and pass to anywhere you want to on the pitch. As well as being able to select the player you want to pass to, you can choose the precise point that you want to pass to: that means you can even pass into open space. Of course, in previous Pro Evolution titles you can also select who you want to pass to and pass the ball into space, but this time it can be done after a split-second decision, making attacking moves possible in a much more instinctive and intuitive way. What’s more, the crucial difference between previous Pro Evolution titles and this one is the ability to perform “free runs”¹. The original Pro Evolution titles had a system where you could only control the player with the ball, but this time round you can make players on your team who don't have the ball move too. This means that you are able to put together a whole move where multiple players link up in any way you want. This is our attempt to bring the true experience of soccer to this game.

Enomoto:It’s not just passing and “free runs” which can now be controlled in a more intuitive way with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. It’s also the basic skills of soccer such as dribbling and shooting. By combining passes, dribbling and making “free runs”, complex moves are now possible, meaning that almost any move imaginable in a soccer game can be pulled off.

Chosogabe:In terms of the level of realism in a soccer simulation, because the new control system allows moves like “free runs”, aspects of the game are much closer to the real thing than previous Pro Evo titles. However, on the other hand, as far as controlling the player who is on the ball, there are some things that can no longer be directly controlled. That is due to the fact that the concept behind this game is different from that which lay behind previous Pro Evo games. The system in previous Pro Evo titles was that you controlled the player on the ball while the surrounding players were controlled by the computer. In this title, however, you can also control the other players. In other words, to the extent that your ability to control the whole team has expanded, we have balanced this by allowing some of the controls for the player with the ball to be taken over by the computer. As the roles carried out by the player and the computer have changed, the balance of player and computer control has also shifted. If you think of it that way, I think it will be easier to understand. For instance, when you took a shot in previous Pro Evo games, you controlled the power and direction of the shot. However, in this game, if you select a shot, the player in the game will automatically alter his stance and gauge the power with which to hit the shot. By altering the roles of the player and the computer, we feel that we have successfully preserved the balance between both your awareness of the ball and your awareness of your entire team.

Chosogabe:This time around we were developing a soccer game where you would issue instructions to all your players in real time, which meant there were no precedents which we could follow in terms of the control system to use. This made it a continuous process of trial and error. The issue which caused us particular headaches was using the analog stick on the Nunchuk. We were aiming to produce a title with gameplay that was radically different to what had come before, so at first we looked into the possibility of developing the game without using the analog stick at all. But while you were controlling the surrounding players, the player with the ball would keep getting the ball taken from him. Since controlling players who don’t have the ball and putting together attacking moves is a key part of the gameplay in this title, it was important that the player with the ball could keep hold of it during attacks, while you are moving other nearby players. To make possible “free runs” and “combination plays” we finally introduced the feature where you can use the analog stick to dribble to some extent, but only when your attacking players have the ball. Speaking from a gameplay point of view, the function we gave the analog stick was not to dribble the ball through the defence, but rather the new function of holding up the ball. This gives a completely fresh gameplay experience.

Chosogabe:Due to the fact that we changed the system of controls used in Pro Evo titles up to now, it has become a completely new type of soccer game. This is not only true for the 1 vs. 1 aspects of the game; the number of “open spaces”², “defence lines”³ and other features mean that you are paying attention to the overall balance of your team while you’re playing a match. Rash dribbling moves and sliding tackles to win the ball have been reduced, and due to this difference in the gameplay, you may feel some gap in the sense of speed between this title and previous Pro Evolution games. But in actual fact, with players like Cristiano Ronaldo in the game - and the speed of the ball itself - nothing has changed from previous Pro Evo titles. You will be able to enjoy a match with a real feeling of pace and tension. As a spectator, I think that while watching this game, you will feel the matches have the same tempo as the games you watch on TV.

Enomoto:In real soccer, there is a particular type of forward⁵ whose style of playing is to wait at one end of the pitch for the ball to come to them. In Pro Evo games up to now, it has been impossible to get a player to wait in one place. But now if you drag the player and send them to a position as far forward as possible, you can get the player to wait there for the ball to come to them. That is a style of play that is only possible in this title.

Chosogabe:Among the production team, there is a particular tactic that we call "the avalanche" (laughs) which you basically use when you need to get a last minute goal back. So right after the kick-off following a goal, you can pull all of your players and get them to surge forward in an attacking manoeuvre. As the Pro Evo titles up to now were controlled with the buttons on the control pad, the level of action in the game was very high and to become a good player, you really needed quick reactions. It demanded real gaming skills. So I think there were people who might love soccer but who were never able to become good at Pro Evo. This time, by releasing a completely new type of soccer game, I think you could say that the barrier of gaming technique which some players were running into has been reset. With this title, strategy and tactics come directly from the player's intentions, and are decided in real time. As this may well be the first time people have experienced this, if both players share the same idea of putting on a real match, I would say that the gap between experts and beginners will diminish substantially with this title.

Enomoto:With Pro Evo titles up to now, when someone who knows a lot about soccer went head to head with someone who was an expert in action games, I think the experienced gamer would have most likely come out on top. But, even if it is a game, my ideal would be for the person who can play as if he’s playing soccer in real life to be the winner. Perhaps this title will not be the exclusive preserve of hardened gamers. I would really love to see how a player with a lot of knowledge about football who had learned the controls properly would fare against a player who was very good at video games.

Chosogabe:In this title, instead of the “Master League” which appeared in Pro Evo titles up to now, we have developed a new mode called the “Champions Road”. In this mode, you create your own team and take part in various cups. By winning these cups, you can build up your team’s strength by gaining new players and skills. The aim is to win all the cups and become the dominant team.
Concerning online play via Wi-Fi, we did a lot of testing and worked on perfecting the system, finally getting it right at the very end of the project. Depending on how good your connection is, there are three different online modes. We have adjusted it so that whatever kind of internet connection you have, you will be able to enjoy the optimal gameplay possible. And I'd like you to look out for the Japanese national team’s new kit!

Enomoto:When developing Pro Evo for Wii, we knew that we had to come up with something completely new. For that reason, we felt that we would have to first dismantle that part of the gameplay that was connected to the button controller. For that reason we went ahead not with Takatsuka's⁶ team, who had developed Pro Evo titles up to that point, but rather with Chosogabe's team. And we got the result we had aimed for: this Pro Evo turned out to be different, and I feel that we might well have come up with a whole new type of soccer game. Takatsuka was very aware of what we were doing and when I felt that he recognised that we had achieved this new type of game, that response from him really made me feel confident that we had managed to complete the game.

Chosogabe:If the Pro Evolution Soccer games up to now have been made by taking important elements from real soccer and then reconstructing them in a soccer game, this new title has taken different elements from the same 90 minute game and put them together into something entirely new. With the change in the game's interface, we have been able to recreate a different side of soccer with this title. This might sound like a very serious way of putting it, but I think that this title makes an abstract version of real aspects of soccer in a different way to previous titles in the series. As we developed the game around the concept of creating a whole new type of enjoyment, it's not just a case of the control system being revamped. I would be really pleased if you could play this title while all the while sensing how original it is as a game.

Chosogabe:It’s not a competition between this title and previous Pro Evo games to see which one is the most fun. The aim of both games is completely different, so I believe that fans of the series up to now will be able to play this title and get a whole different kind of enjoyment out of it. You won’t be able to string together complex passing movements straight away, but if you start by simply dragging a player in front of the goal and getting them to shoot, anyone will be able to play without feeling that it is too difficult - just pick it up and give it a go!

Enomoto:The key concept for this title is “a whole new soccer reality”. We undertook a tough challenge in bringing in elements that were impossible with the system in the original Pro Evo games. There are elements in this game which can be found in real soccer, but not in the previous Pro Evo titles. I want everyone to enjoy a soccer experience that can only be had with this title.