Football video gaming is a bipartisan pastime. Two games rule the market and their virtues are extolled and debated by friends, families and colleagues the world over. Bonds have been made, strengthened and even broken over allegiances to FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer (PES), such is fans’ commitment to their respective franchises.
FIFA fans flock for goal-fests, fast-paced gameplay and the world football naming rights that mean confusion is avoided over teams or players’ real-life equivalents. For those that fell in love with PES though, the realistic build-up play, need to master off the ball movement and players such as Roberto Larlos and Von Mistelroum made it the only game worth playing.
PES swept its counterpart aside for years as gamers fell in love with Konami’s dedication to replicating the beautiful game and its smallest nuances until FIFA upped its game and PES lost sight of what made it such an iconic product with a cult following.
In 2008, Konami did away with some of the best loved features of PES and slow, unresponsive gameplay and a lack of innovations saw users turn their back on the product and move to FIFA.
In 2013 Marc Melton joined the PES family, taking up the role of head of emerging markets at Konami Digital Entertainment. What he found was a once much-loved product desperately in need of a fresh impetus, lagging behind its peers.
“We had a lot of success and I think it’s fair to say that three years ago we dropped the ball on the game,” Melton told Sport360. “We had a difficult challenge but now, as we celebrate 20 years, we again have a critically-acclaimed game that is roundly regarded as better than other games on the market.”
The reviews of PES 2016 and the reaction of fans certainly appear to support Melton’s claims, with the game’s stunning new visuals and fluid gameplay earning widespread acclaim.
One major addition to the game for fans in the Middle East was the first appearance of an Arab superstar on its cover as Al Ain and UAE supremo Omar Abdulrahman shared the spotlight with Barcelona and Brazil superstar Neymar.
The presence of ‘Amoori’ is in keeping with PES’ ambition to showcase and spot the best talent around the world and allow the game to connect with people in each region.
“What we’ve been trying to do is educate the company overall about the opportunity and the cultures across the world so that we can make the best game that appeals properly to each region,” added Melton. “We look at how we can appeal and connect with a passionate football audience, when there are other games available, shall we say, without naming them. We know that, we’re not living in a bubble here.
“PES is a little more aggressive. We feel we are closer to grassroots fans and football fans locally in all markets and part of what we’re trying to do there is connect with people locally and highlighting talent.
“Omar not only represents to the Middle East but the broader audience what we are trying to achieve as a brand. He’s a very skilled, well-loved player who has fans beyond Al Ain and I think with his family heritage from Yemeni descent, through Saudi Arabia and the Emirates helps him connect with the region. We feel Omar is absolutely the right fit while PES is resurgent.
“We’re aware of the parallels between Neymar nominated for the Ballon d’Or and Omar on the shortlist for Asian Player of the Year but there is a reason why brands like PES and Nike value a partnership with Omar because he is the right person for us to represent, not just the Middle East, but to reflect the global interest of football within and outside the Middle East.”
It makes perfect sense that PES would use Omar to front its campaigns and is another feather in the 24-year-old’s cap as one of the most marketable Asia players in history. His face adorns a huge Etisalat billboard on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road and now also fills the stores of malls on the cover of one of the world’s most popular games.
Not only is he on the back of an AGL title-winning season with Al Ain, but he also put himself in the shop window with a superb display in the 2015 Asian Cup which saw the UAE claim third place. It also earned him a new four-year deal with The Boss, worth a reported Dh14 million per year to add to those lucrative sponsorship deals. Abdulrahman’s involvement this year is the beginning of Konami’s wider plan to tap into local markets and give the game an identity that resonates with users in each market.
“I think our relationship with Omar has been very successful,” said Melton. “It’s the first time I’ve been able to secure support for a local endorsement player and I believe for local football it’s been very beneficial for both parties. It’s our ambition, long term, to continue to work with the best partners in the region.”
And with a gaming market worth over $2bn in the MENA region (accounting for 2.19 per cent of the world market according to Newzoo’s ‘2015 Global Games Market Report’), it makes perfect sense for PES to attempt to position itself in one of the world’s most rapidly growing regions.
The Middle East has also long been at the forefront of PES and Konami’s global growth, something that the Omar front cover reinforces. Old Konami arcade games were imported and shipped through the UAE even before the country’s official formation thanks to its position along the trade route that saw the game makers take their products beyond local East Asian shores.
“The Middle East is hugely important because of the passion for football, the love for the competition and the history that we have with the game, from Konami’s Winning Eleven right up to PES,” said Melton.
“A long-time ago, our founder met a collector in the UAE and was buying arcade machines when he was starting out. As a result, that trade partnership between the regions was always very strong and those early versions of the game found a good home of key, big gaming fans who enjoy football and gaming.
“The Middle East is widely regarded as a hugely passionate gaming and football region.”
And while Melton could not share sales figures in the region due to company policy, he did say that Konami “are very happy with numbers on sales and investment”. At the first week of its release in the UK last year, FIFA 16’s sales were down seven per cent on their 2015 game and although it still comfortably outsold PES, the resurgence of Konami’s flagship football title may well have played a role.
It seems that PES is finally back on track and its renaissance is something Abdulrahman will have been at the heart of if sales continue to grow year on year and FIFA’s slow.
“We would be wrong in the past if we hadn’t benchmarked against competitive products, as I’m sure FIFA benchmarked against PES,” Melton added. “We do look over our shoulder, it would be unhealthy not to. But do we look forward? Absolutely, and that’s where the majority of our focus is. The reality is, if you get too obsessed with the competition then you miss out on setting the bar yourselves. “We are competitive but we don’t have a dart board with a FIFA cover on it in the office.”
Either way, it certainly looks like PES have hit the bullseye with their latest product, its place in the hearts of Middle East gamers jolted back into life – thanks in no small part to the association with Abdulrahman.
