"The Fan Base Is With The Current Gen"

PES 2014 raised eyebrows by exclusively targeting current-gen consoles rather than expanding onto PS4 and Xbox One, a decision informed by concerns over "how quickly the uptake of the next generation will go" and potentially splitting the loyal fanbase.

Konami marketing executive Manorito Hosoda voiced their concerns to CVG. "We're not sure how quickly the uptake of the next generation will go", he said. "The fan base is with the current gen, and before moving on we want to make a good game with the new engine."

John Murphy, another Konami rep, echoed Hosoda's statement, while suggesting that PES has been burned before by transitioning from PS2 to PS3 before they were ready.

"We're kind of damned if we do and damned if we don't," he argued. "I think we're in a slightly different position [to FIFA], because we've been criticised in the past about producing a 'next gen' version when we weren't ready. Perhaps we're in a slightly different position to another company in that sense."

"We can't get away with producing a version that isn't absolutely shit-hot on next generation."

"I think we want to be confident when we do bring something out and not in a position where people are criticising us for producing a sloppy, second rate port. We're going to produce something that puts us back to where we should be in terms of quality".

PES 2014 releases this year on PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and PSP. It's powered by Kojima Productions' scalable FOX Engine - more details here.