According to a press release from gameindustry.biz , mobile games and esports have helped to drive revenues for Konami to $1.75 billion on the year. When I first saw this press release, I could not help but think to myself, “if Konami is making that much money, then why does PES seem like an indie title?” Harsh? Absolutely, but it was my initial reaction. Now, keep in mind that “revenues” and “profits” are completely different, but it’s still a big number. So let’s talk about what this could mean for the future of PES, and whether it may mean PES gets some more resources moving forward.
The first thing that comes to mind in most PES discussions is licensing. According to reports, EA shelled out nearly $85 million over three years to secure the exclusive rights to the English Premier League. I am a firm believer that the two main reasons for the sales/popularity gap between FIFA and PES are due to licensing and solid online performance (more on this later). As much as I enjoy a good option file on the PS4, the reality is average gamers don’t know about option files, or if they do, they do not want to deal with the hassle of loading them. Even with the amazing things option file creators can do, they can only work within the parameters of the PS4, meaning there are space limitations, limited league slots, etc. Now, imagine if PES had the official Premier League license (including all 20 official stadiums) instead of FIFA. How many casuals would jump ship to play with teams from the most popular league in the world? The global impact of the Premier League cannot be understated, especially in key emerging soccer markets in Asia.
Published: Feb 15, 2019 2:37 AM UTC