During the Konami Press Conference at the Leipzig Games Convention today, it has been confirmed that a Wii version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 will be released during the course of, err, 2008. While the current generation versions of the game will be out October this year, Wii'll have to wait before kicking off.

While it's currently unknown how exactly the game will differ from its console counterparts, you can likely expect a complete overhaul of the control method. We already envision strapping Wiimotes to our legs and frantically kicking our TVs over in excitement. Well, we do that already, but now we'll have a game to go with it.

The next installment Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series (also known as Winning Eleven in Japan and America) is coming this fall.

The title touts an adaptive AI system entitled Teamvision. According to press release, "all 'Next Gen' versions [PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360] will also benefit from an extensive Edit mode, allowing gamers to customise their PES experience."

In addition to the aforementioned next-gen platforms, PES 2008 is coming to Nintendo DS, Sony PSP and PS2 -- sorry, Wii fans, you'll have to settle for Electronic Arts' FIFA 08, with Ronaldinho, which is also due out this fall for every console known to Man.



Check out the latest Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 news!

It's as simple as this: FIFA 07 for Xbox 360 will include 7 professional leagues (actually, just 6, as Juventus is the only team featured from Italy Serie B) and 21 stadiums for $59.99. FIFA 07 for Xbox/PS2 will feature 28 leagues and 47 stadiums for just $39.99. Which one you buyin'?

Heck, even the thrifty ($29.99) DS version's got 25 leagues packed inside that tiny cart, which begs the question: what's limiting EA's "next-gen" sports releases? Both FIFA and Madden continue to lack content and features present in the Xbox and PS2 versions.

The good news is, Pro Evolution Soccer's arrival on Xbox 360 will likely encourage EA to clean up its act for the next go-around. Unfortunately, without competition, the same can't be said for Madden ...

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Furious footie fans were quick to cry foul when Microsoft announced at the Leipzig Games Convention that Pro Evolution Soccer 6 was to be a 12-month, next-gen exclusive for the Xbox 360. The initial wave of anger has since been replaced with confusion, as several remarks from Konami seem to indicate that Microsoft was already celebrating a goal which they hadn't quite scored yet. Has Microsoft been caught in a lie or is this merely a case of misinterpretation and marketing hyperbole? The story thus far:

• After the initial announcement, Konami shoots down claims that Pro Evolution Soccer 6 is exclusive to the Xbox 360, pointing out that the game is a planned "multi-platform release" in order to satisfy "as many people as possible." Konami was right to take issue, as Microsoft never claimed to have total exclusivity. The deal only encompasses next-generation platforms. That means the PS2 version, sure to be the most widely played one, remains unaffected.
• Next, 1UP has a chat with series producer Shingo Takatsuka and triumphantly reveals that "Winning Eleven is not exclusive to Xbox 360." Well done, especially considering that Microsoft was speaking about Pro Evolution Soccer and not Winning Eleven. Same game, different regions. Microsoft is certainly to blame for not clarifying further, but nabbing Pro Evolution Soccer affects European territories, the only place where the series goes by that name.
  
• Takatsuka goes on to say that Konami "never said exclusive for one year on the next-gen platforms. We said this year. We were agreed that it was this year." The agreement largely occurs by default, as the man admits that the PS3 entry in the series has no chance of being completed before 2007. Next Spring is the earliest date it could see release and even then, it would be the Japanese Winning Eleven first, followed by the European edition. Can Konami put together the European release before 12 months have elapsed? Absolutely, especially if they want to prove Microsoft wrong.

It would seem that Microsoft could be accused of being overly vague but not of being untruthful. Both Microsoft and Konami are correct and the confusion thus far is only due to different naming conventions and choice marketing words. Still, it'll be interesting to see which really lasts the longest -- Microsoft's 12 months or Konami's development time on a PS3 Pro Evolution Soccer 6. The race is on.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]

Read -- Microsoft's original announcement.
Read -- Konami denies 360 exclusivity.
Read -- Series producer chimes in on the situation.

Speaking at the Leipzig Games Convention, Microsoft has announced that if you want to play the most graphically impressive footy games without gallivanting outside and running the risk of getting someone's head lodged in your chest, you'll have to do it on the Xbox 360. In what is sure to be a valuable coup, both FIFA 2007 and Pro Evolution Soccer 6 are bound exclusively to the Xbox 360 for a period of 12 months.

The latter game is hugely popular in Europe and may prove to be quite a head butting killer app for Microsoft's next-generation console. The exclusivity doesn't include current generation consoles, it seems, but a significantly improved 360 version of Pro Evolution Soccer with Xbox Live support would likely prove irresistable to most. As for FIFA, well, it has "ultra realistic player motion and delivers complete responsiveness due to its ability to branch animations and the real-time calculation of real human biomechanics," according to producer Hugues Ricour. "Essentially our software engineers are writing human decision-making code."

Look forward to not making a decision at all regarding the console when you buy a next-gen soccer game in 2007.

Alice spotted this snap of the geek's version of the World Cup from the Electronic Football Challenge '06. I'm sure many gamers are intrigued by the logic behind a football game that doesn't require much more effort than rapid wrist movements and lets players argue with the referee over irc. Also, check out the absent keeper from the nearest team: they must have replaced him with a firewall (sorry).

If you're the type that prefers -- slightly more -- real football, then you might be pleased to know that Konami dropped us a line to say that they've signed (according to the press release) "one of the most dangerous strikers in soccer today", Adriano "lightning balls" Ribeiro, to be the figurehead of Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007.