These themes resonated throughout the conversations had with Adam Bhatti, who was quick to point out that the PES brand wouldn't be here without its incredible fan-base sustaining it. Launching back into another tireless football metaphor, then, despite standing under a hefty financial shadow, PES also knows how to utilise its history, to keep fans happy by making progressive changes to core gameplay, working in cycles much like a club would, and working towards bigger and better things.

In terms of the core gameplay, PES quite regularly trumps FIFA. Just because Bayern Munich might spend 160 million in one transfer window, does that mean Borussia Dortmund should just go home? Much in this vein, the PES team has always known there's something to work towards, and ultimately still to be won each year out on the pitch, away from the market stats and restrictive elements, such as the club licensing. That's not to say that PES hasn't been an extremely impressive game, though, but just like a football team would do, Konami has been very pragmatic about how it competes with its rival brand. Just as there is no denying that LFC's best period came during the trophy-rush of the '70s, in the same way, the PS2-era of PES3, 4, 5 and 6 seems like the golden era for the franchise, particularly in terms of popularity. However, when put in more practical terms, due to the financial power behind FIFA's publishers, they are rather more like Manchester City, whereas PES could be perceived as a slightly less powerful outfit, like Liverpool, a team no less capable of picking up all the spoils, but will still be viewed as sleeping giants of sorts, considering recent history. In some ways, since many football games have been and gone during their time, the two brands are rather like Barcelona and Real Madrid, dominating in turn over the decades, never letting many others challenge. Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA have thrived upon their rivalry. As well as extensive testing of the E3 build, Cubed3 also had the chance to speak with the ever-enthusiastic PES Global Brand and Product Manager, Adam Bhatti, about how this iteration is shaping up, as well as reflecting a little on the brand in recent years. Cubed3 was recently at Anfield Stadium, home of Liverpool FC, to get an early hands-on impression of Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, which is scheduled for release on 14th September in the UK and Europe.

Pes 2017 online pressure