Numbers first: on May 9, 2018, Konami revealed PES 2019 with a trailer and set the release for August 30 in Europe and the rest of the world, with a debut two days earlier, on August 28, in the United States. Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Three versions were announced: the Standard Edition, with Brazilian Philippe Coutinho, then at Barcelona, on the cover; the David Beckham Edition, featuring the former English player; and the Legend Edition, digital only.
On the technical side, PES 2019 stayed on the Fox Engine, with 4K and HDR support on compatible platforms, reworked lighting and more individual skills to give the players personality. Two gameplay changes stood out. The first, a new fatigue system: in practice, this means the athletes’ tiredness over the course of the match would weigh on strategy and substitutions. The second, new physics, including that of the goal nets.
The myClub mode, Konami’s equivalent of Ultimate Team, received what the company called its biggest overhaul to date, with a new card system and the “Players of the Week,” players with temporarily boosted attributes according to real-life performance.
Translating the licensing jargon: PES 2019 brought 15 fully licensed leagues, with newcomers such as Argentina’s Primera División, the Scottish Premiership and the Russian Premier League. In return, Konami lost the UEFA Champions League license after ten years of partnership; the rights went to EA’s FIFA 19.
What came next
The game came out on the promised dates and was well received: Metacritic scores of 79 on PS4 and 82 on Xbox One, and a 9 from GameSpot, which called it one of the best football games ever made. A curiosity: Liverpool used PES 2019 footage to present its third kit for the 2018-2019 season. Final score: good gameplay, incomplete licenses, as usual for the series.
Source: Konami.
Max Xavier
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