Nintendo Switch owners will be able to play some virtual football this year when FIFA 18 arrives, and it should be an interesting release. EA will have a clean run without competition, however, as Konami has confirmed what was already quite obvious - PES 2018 isn't coming to Nintendo's console.
Though that is the case, Konami is open to future entries on the system, which would buck the trend of recent times (none of the PES titles came to Wii U). It seems that the relative success of Super Bomberman R and the Switch itself have kept the door open. PES global product and brand manager Adam Bhatti and assistant producer Kei Masuda said the following to Eurogamer.
Bhatti: One thing that I will say about the Switch is, we're getting asked that quite a lot. The fact is, we've announced all the platforms that PES 2018 is coming to. But as I've been saying to a lot of people, we have a great relationship with Nintendo - we've obviously brought out Bomberman which has done fantastic for the Switch. So as a company it's a platform that we're looking at, for sure. So for PES it's just - we never want to say no, we never want to close the door. Let's see how it goes. Personally speaking, I love the machine. We think it's definitely performed amazingly well. And we really hope that it continues to do very well.
Masuda-san: We always like to hear what the fans think as well, depending on the amount of reactions we get then we definitely would like to look into it.
In some ways it's the same-old scenario, though if FIFA 18 achieves decent sales and the Switch maintains momentum, Konami may be tempted to try and tackle Nintendo's system.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 91
Oh FFS!
Developers - "get down on your hands and knees and BEG for your vidya gaemz you second class gaming peasants!"
Massive amounts of hyperbole and unfairness there of course but man does it get old hearing Nintendo fans have to 'campaign' for a game to come to Switch.
[insert 3rd party game] is skipping Switch. Not surprising!
With FIFA 18 coming and looking so good, who cares?
With fifa 18 coming who cares about pes ?! Lol
This is proves AAA 3rd parties are straight up garabge. The Original wii and the (PS2) had :
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012
Pro Evolution Soccer 2013
But the Origanal wii was not powerful than the Xbox 360 and PS3. 3rd parties did not care how underpowered the wii was they still release games like COD games, Pro Evolution Soccer, Fifa, madden and NBA 2k series. When the Wii U came out they said the Wii U is not powerful to run this games. Now the switch came out its the same Bullpoo
@Folkloner agreed. Pity, sure, but I already accepted this is a Nintendo only machine. Accepted that since the wii days.
Zelda Botw is/was worth of the entry price alone. What about the new Metroid? Pikmin? New Mario looks amazing..
We want it all, yes! BUT not posible..did I mention it's an amazing portable? I'm pretty happy for the switch, sold my ps4 for it
There is a reason why almost every company is passing the Switch. Probably because they have their production-line ready for xbone, ps4 and pc. These 3 bring in more than enough money.
Why take the risk to add another platform? A product in 2017 is not done at release. So they need next to planning and developing: support, added servers, bigger testteam, dlc building, marketing, packaging, presence in eshop etc.
The risk seems too high. Perhaps this will change when Switch keeps being a success / has higher sales.
@Desy64 I hear you man. I'm happy with my Switch also, i just want it to be the best it can be, and to appeal to as many people as possible. Let's see, if sales continue to be strong a year from now, whether developers start taking it more seriously.
I honestly don't mind at all for now because I already can't keep up with releases on the PS4 and 3DS. As long as we can get very good quality over absurd quantity I'll be a happy gamer.
What more do they need? Fuuuuuuuuuuuu....
They love the machine. It's done amazingly well. They're getting asked about PES on Switch already. Bomberman is selling. Come on, grow a pair guys. Speculate to accumulate etc.
And please don't use Fifa as a finger in the air. I for one would rather have PES any day of the week, and if it was coming I'd definitely hold out for it.
Edit: Okay, rant over. Bit cranky today. I'll enjoy my 1st party games so much the time will fly by until publishers jump on the bandwagon next year.
Well, why would they want to have to compete against the "Best Portable FIFA ever released?"
Seriously, though, Konami managed to sell a $20 game for $50 and lead the charts on the Switch. You can be they're planning on on reliving the magic, PES or not.
@koekiemonster Props for being one of the very very few people who seem to understand the business
Konami skipped the 3ds for the last 3-4 years the and wii u completely. I couldn't care less if it comes or not. We are getting fifa 18 with all features apart from the journey and i know it the gameplay feels like fifa 15+ but at least EA are trying and giving us the game.
No they won't release one in the future unless it's Japan only
Bring Dance Dance Revolution for Nintendo Switch, Konami !
The Revolutionary must continue on Nintendo Switch.
@koekiemonster
Exactly. Games take years to develop. Switch has been on the market a matter of months. Games won't magically appear on Switch 3 months after release... not after Wii U- not until they see it's a sure bet and profitable platform. Which, they're probably starting to see right about now, and will know for sure by year's end.
Which means holiday 2018 is when 3rd party releases will start increasing significantly. Certainly never to the extend of other platforms, but far more than we see now, without question. And by mid to late 2019, it'll probably start peaking with releases like 3DS in its heyday
Time to post this one again, methinks:
If I had the option to choose, then it would be PES over Fifa any day of the week, for millions of years to come. As far as bringing across that real footy vibe, it's just a better game, far as I am concerned.
But all joking aside, obviously this was to be expected, for reasons already mentioned by some other smart people...
@Folkloner for sure they will
@BensonUii PES feels more like a real foot sim, albeit a tad faster, while Fifa has become a weird experience, players move like robots
Both games are terrible in terms of tactics though
FKonami Hashtag
I'm no tech expert, but this game runs on the FOX Engine which the Switch doesn't support. Isn't it up to Nintendo to approach Konami and make it happen - just like they did with Unreal and Unity?
Anyone can see the Switch is a dead system. Nintendo have maybe 2 games announced all year, they are allowing any indie that can print 'Hello World' on screen create games and third party is non existent. 3 months is plenty of time for the Switch to have trumped PS4 already.*
*Wow! I actually felt my IQ plummet whilst typing this bunch of sarcasm. Honestly, why are people thinking like this already???
If I wasn't already so disillusioned - as a longtime fan from International Soccer Deluxe to PES 2014 - I probably would've been outraged by that.
Konami's games were some of my most favourite for a long time, but after several bad decisions (especially regarding the PC version), shows of laziness and lack of passion I just stopped playing PES alltogether two years ago.
Apparently Konami don't care about quality or innovation anymore, they just care for maximized profits. I mean that in regard to PES but I guess it also applies to MGS (ask Hideo Kojima...).
I would be happy to learn otherwise and be surprised by Konami, but I seriously doubt it. Their focus seems to be on Smartphone games.
@BensonUii For me personally, it really brings that real football feeling across, more so than Fifa, which at first glance always seems like a good choice, because of having all the licenses, so in Pro Evo, you'll come across some really weird club and stadium names, but other than that, PES just has the mechanics more right, somehow.
Perhaps it is a bit difficult to explain or bring across in words alone. PES did have a few bad outings, but currently they are on top of their game again. Fifa just keeps adding more tricks and more realistic looking grass and players, but other than that, PES should be the preferred game for any real football/soccer fan.
@Dakt Where the heck are you going with that comment?
Yeah I'd only buy one of them anyway. No big loss.
3rd parties will succeed on Switch if they are A) Honest B) Deliver C) Be Creative. Stop making annualized games for Nintendo.....well Just Dance keep making that cause it sells I guess.....but be honest, we aren't making X game because Switch is a unique gaming option that is different from consoles and PC, instead our vision is "whatever" and we love the system so we plan on bringing 1 (or what ever the number is) game a year to Switch along with DLC periodically to keep our sports franchises, shooters, RPG's, sim games, whatever fresh. Here is COD switch, and GTA Switch, and AC Switch, and FF Switch , even if they are remasters of older titles that never made a Nintendo Console with some added content they would present an option and build a fanbase within the community.
Ehh I'm ranting, but still if PES18 was announced for Switch and Konami said it was the only PES they were planning on making for the system, but would produce Paid DLC annually for rosters, I think they would be surprised by the sales. Of course they game would have to work well and they would have to follow through on what they promised
I'm not going to beg for games. Either you put it on systems that can run it or you don't and you lose out on potential sales and goodwill of your customers.
I have no issue with dev cycles pushing current games or games that have gone gold out of the launch window/year. HOWEVER for an annual title that means you should be looking at your next release going onto the new system. If konami has said, "sorry we have finished development for 2018 pes but we are preparing resources for pes 2019 to go to switch" I would be fine with this. But expecting fans to beg and cry and plead to buy something is ridiculous. I have to grovel AND pay you? Yeah no not happening. Thank you for ensuring that Fifa gets my support day 1.
I am convinced the Switch was launched ahead of schedule. Nintendo was bleeding out with the Wii U. So, Bomberman and even Zelda needed a stability patch (Bomberman!!! Fer crying out loud!), some games couldn't hit the launch day and got delayed. Xenoblade 2 looked very choppy at the Switch reveal and nobody had anything to show lol. Dev kits were not readily available (but I bet they are now) All the third party games releasing this year have been in development for well over a year. The real Switch launch I would guess was yo be October / November, by which time I think folk will have stuff to announce going forward. Nintendo are doing a solid job bolstering their line up with Wii U games until their OS, online, virtual console and third party partners are actually ready lol.
I think is fair this game skip Switch for now since the console is super new. But games plan for next year that can run on Switch and aren't release then yes we have a problem.
I have literally never heard of PES. We're getting FIFA, so...I think this PES thing should beg to be on Switch, not the other way around. Obviously not a big deal 😃
Another title up for consideration. lol
Is the constant uproar about games like Monster Hunter, FIFA etc. Not enough to show that we want AAA releases of any kind? Constantly telling us to beg is pathetic and makes me glad that I have an Xbox One S as well for Battlefront, Battlefield etc.
Maybe (adverb) - PR speak for 'no'.
Thats too bad. I bought it for 3ds. Didn't played more than 10-20 minutes but still.
Kick off 2 final whistle remake (Amiga) would be nice. Greatest football sim ever.
''Personally speaking, I love the machine.''
Every dev loves the Switch.
@Dakt Oh okay, still don't get it but never mind. Thanks for elaborating anyway.
@Octane Except not enough to buy it dinner or some nice presents to play with...
E3 proved to me that the switch is mainly going to be nintendo only games. I wish this was not the case. Games skipping the switch will be common news.
But i brought the switch know that nintenfo will make some great games for it.
Wait and see?! >spits to the ground.
@Ryu_Niiyama i agree with your sentiment completely. I wonder how many of these games that are skipping the Switch are because the developer received a dev kit too late in the development process to make the game's deadline. I guess we'll find out next year.
@therealgamer This proves none of what you said. What it does prove, is that for profit companies are interested in... well... profits.
The Wii sold over 100 million units. The Wii U did terribly, so it makes perfect business sense for companies to give that system a pass. It also makes perfect sense to be reluctant this early on in a new system life cycle before they know how it will perform. Nevermind the fact that the title would have been in development well before the Switch launched.
This is business as usual. As a consumer, it sucks, but it's completely understandable. Addressing the developer's concerns is something Nintendo needs to handle. And to be fair, they're doing a good job this time around, so I would expect many more 3rd parties to jump on board by next year, but it's hard to blame developers for being reluctant.
Translation: Konami will not consider future releases.
I get that the Switch isn't as powerful as other consoles but the decision to skip it all the time is annoying. It's starting to look like the Wii U's situation
Sorry but this line is getting old.
No difference between "I love the Switch" (for lack of third party support) and "I'm not racist I have black friends" #NintendoSwitch
They're absolutely stupid.. it would've taken minimum effort to port the upcoming PES. With all the crap EA has been spewing with lies left and right Konami could've done brilliantly with PES on the Switch.
Now I'd only buy either game if they were fully fledged knockouts
PES has always been better than FIFA. All it's missing is the full FIFA license.
Maybe they couldn't get last year's version if PES running on the Switch, like they seem to constantly do on PC.
I honestly forgot that they still makes PES games...
Konami just lost an opportunity to release a PES version close to XB1 and PS4 (in game modes with little downgrades in graphics) and compete with Fifa.
That's sad, not because they are not releasing a PES, but after good sales for a minigame like Bomberman, they have reasons to show a different position.
Anyway, that's why I said EA was ok with its version of Fifa for Switch.
Companies are very skepticism to bring there games on switch and the reason is very simple. They cannot make games to catch nintendo games quality. Nintendo consoles owners are waiting most for nintendo games than the repetable 3rd party games. Other companies like sony and Microsoft they ready to blow Raggie in order he give to them some games .
Personally I haven't played either since the N64 days but always a shame to miss out on a game that's on other consoles.
Desktop vs may have attracted a lot of people.
Konami these days is even worse than EA. At least Ea is putting their game on the Switch and it looks fairly decent.
The best way to send a message to Konami is to buy FIFA Switch in droves.
@Switch81tch I'll edit a bit your brilliant comment by changing "some people" with "everyone". Well said!
The only football game I ever remember enjoying was the first Japanese ISS game on the SNES. It was the best football game at the time, had those awesome crazy Japanese commentators and above all else, it was fun. They should just bring that version to the Switch, way more fun than the serious mundane football games they do now. Who the heck wants to see Rooney's face rendered in polygons? It's just plain weird.
Basically they won't port anything until the install base is the size of the Wii or until Nintendo pays upfront for the ports.
Flock off. I can live with the Switch as a Nintendo machine, but shove your "tests" somewhere else.
@Samurai_Goroh Well, I mean...They did at least bring back Bomberman
just give us a castlevania game for switch
I don't see why anyone expected PES 18 for Switch. PES 19 is a possibility, with PES 20 being more likely.
The last football game i bought was International Superstar Soccer 98 for my USA N64. I just hope Konami are working on bringing back more classic franchises to Switch with the success of Bomberman. It will be interesting to see how Fifa does though...
@IronMan28 considering PES sales are very low in Japan and in Europe why wouldn't people expect konami to seek extra revenue streams.
PES sales on xbox one are extremely low. Obviously konami didn't expect the switch to sell well so that's why they avoided the platform.
If they still released two games per year like they use to in Japan I think we would have seen a switch version released in Feb 2018.
Instead we will have to wait till September 2018 instead.
Oh No!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are getting an awesome fifa! So no hard feelings for pes one soccer game at a time. Next year they have to compete hard wich is better.
But now fifa convinced me for the switch version. Looks beautiful
@Equinox I play fifa and pes(WE) since PS1 and for me fifa was always better than PES. PES isnt a bad game but for me fifa is way better. Pes is more arcade and fifa more of a simulator.
Missed opportunity. For a few years PES was dross. Basically broken. Since 2015 though it's overtaken FIFA again in terms of being an actual game of football (not the rest of the stuff, ultimate team etc.). Shame they can't make it onto the switch this year, they sound taken by surprise that it's done so well.
@duhsoares21 FIFA use to be simulation from about 08 but gradually it has got worse. Ultimate team has generated huge amounts of money for EA but the gameplay has suffered. EA have always failed to develop realistic AI and more importantly individuality. They have the majority of teams in the world but generally they all feel the same.
Playing career mode ends up becoming boring as each team you play feels the same. If you put the level up to world class it gets silly as you can be Barcelona and play against Bolton and Bolton pass the ball like they are Barcelona. The stats don't really mean much.
PES has always excelled in individuality. Playing against Sunderland for example feels completely different then playing against Chelsea.
When I get the ball with hazard for example it feels like a genuine representation of the real thing. EA have always struggled to create that with FIFA.
Also PES actually make the midfield battle feel important. FIFA can feel like the midfield isn't important at all. Tactically PES is miles ahead. FIFA has tactics but again they don't really seem to make any difference on the Field. On FIFA you can try and play with a defensive midfielder to protect the defence for example but too many times he just goes wandering out of position.
@duhsoares21
It's the other way round. PES is by far the better representation of football. For a few years FIFA was the better game but generally, FIFA is the simple arcade game for those who aren't massive football fans.
If Nintendo can't convince third parties to invest in the Switch, there is a problem.
More bridges need to be built. The Switch's ongoing market viability depends on these important early deals. Nintendo need to take this deadly serious, right now.
Konami can 'euphamism' off though.
@dimi Wrong! Sensible World of Soccer is the greatest football game ever! The Amiga was admittedly spoilt for choice.
As for PES, in my heart I prefer it to Fifa, but EA has more or less copied the best gameplay elements of Konami's title over the years and arguably, in some years, superseded it. I honestly don't know which game is better today, as I'm out of the loop, but we're no longer in an era where Fifa plays like, er, Barnsley to PES's Barcelona.
Edit: Just read @kobashi100's post. Looks like we're back to the bad old days...
@HappyMaskedGuy I am really not sure if nintendo can be blamed.
the guys at PES just like the guys developing dragon ball fighterz come out with the "keep telling us you want our games on nintendo hardware"
why do they and others contine to treat nintendo gamers differently? why do we have to literally beg for them to bring there titles to switch.
@kobashi100 I'll be honest, I wasn't sure of their release schedule. I assumed it was more like any other sports franchise. Regardless, I still assume Switch will get the entry after the next, if not the next. And yes, a lot of that has to do with most people's expectations of the Switch's performance before launch.
"Beg for your games, unworthy Nintendo peasants!"
-just about every 3rd party developer/publisher
Konami San stop this
Bummer PES seems so much better than Fifa. I hope we get a future PES game
I think you guys made a mistake. FIFA is a soccer game, not a football game. Simple error, anyone could've made it.
@BiasedSonyFan
Profitable now? If that were true they'd be crawling over each other to release their games. Profitable for major Nintendo games? Sure. Profitable for indies who have far less competition than other platforms? In some cases, yes. Profitable for major 3rd party games which require 1-2 million sold? Very unlikely.
Even Zelda and Mario Kart have barely sold 2 million on Switch. Games like FIFA will be lucky to break 250-500k, and that's not profitable. This is an act of charity on EA's part (and exactly why they have no other games).
Switch will be exponentially more likely to be profitable a year from now. And sure, they could announce now, but they're not 100% sure it's going to stay selling yet. After all it's only been 3 and a half months. That's not surety of anything yet. They want to be sure they can make a profit. And that surety won't come until Switch passes at least the 10-15 million mark and crosses that viral point of no return, where the console's trajectory is set in stone and nothing can stop it. So until it does, don't expect much of anything aside from those whom Nintendo has negotiated with, or smaller indies who can profit from far less sales.
Developers are considering the Switch right now means they haven't even started developing, so it'll be 2 years minimum before we see most 3rd party games getting released simultaneously.
"Fans have to make noise, of course..."
Don't worry, I already sent Konami's home office a package with a string-tripped airhorn. That outta make plenty o' noise...
...though, I didn't send it in response to PES or anything like that. I just wanna mess with those guys.
Shame, PES on Wii, Playmaker Style was THE Footy Game, the only one, and will always be, a perfect balance of action and strategy. Never bought another PES since then.
Shame, remember the days when Nintendo's console had the best football game as an exclusive made by Konami? (ISS 64)
How things have changed...
Don't see why they would not release it. FIFA is a watered down version so if PES was a feature filled release it would sell
That's the thing with game companies nowadays. They simply refuse to take our money.
Pfft...everyone knows that all 3rd party games are uninspired trash anyway.......until a Nintendo port is announced..... then they're ok!
@Jayvir first of all fifa is not watered down.
secondly PES will never sell more then fifa. it gets hammered every single year.
does that mean fifa is better? of course not but lets be realistic here.
also please remember that even when EA decided to not release fifa on wii u that konami still chose to not release PES om the console. They would have had no competition at all but they still felt the game wouldnt sell enough units on nintendo hardware.
@Ichiban
Lol, that just about sums up Nintendo life for ya, one minute they hate Ubisoft and BOOM a game is announced and then they become best publishers ever, same for EA, konami, Capcom plus others but especially capcom due to mh issue, problem with switch owners they think it's their God given right to have most games on it, but when a game isn't coming they throw their toys on the floor in a tantrum, I like some Ninty games but hate more than I like, so that's why I buy multiple hardware
@kobashi100
Hmm but fifa was released on wii u
@EDF one version then they left the whole market free for konami to take advantage of and konami still felt a Wii U version wasn't worth it.
Just for the record, Winning Eleven FE bombed on the GameCube also when it was released.
As the switch has done well and it should continue to do well we should hopefully see PES 2019 released.
@kobashi100
Yep one version but it's better than none. Switch probably will only get one aswell, pes might make it but Japan only I would have thought, just like the Vita versions of pes, konami released about 5 games for vita in the West but never a pes
@EDF PES wasn't released on Vita in Japan either.
What!? a new game not coming out for the switch?? but on every other platform. I personally dont care about this game, but many would and this is getting really quite silly now.
Its a Sad time indeed that we got the super expensive bomberman R over PES. This reminds me of the time that they managed to release winning eleven 6 Final Evolution in Japan on Game Cube, but nothing for other markets. Was hands down the best football game on that system in my opinion. (3 copies imported)
The World has simple gone mad, my portable high res master league dreams will be waiting a little longer i guess.
To me its just a better Game, Even with the fake names etc.
Sad times. I will i think reluctantly have to purchase Fifa, but will try to wait to see if a digital deal materialises somewhere £60 is a bit rich for my blood.
We can but hope ... or perhaps brush up on our Japanese in preparation.
Please let the next one be on the switch. Master league on the go would be amazing.
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