Usain Bolt? Really? The recent announcement that the world's fastest man is to feature in Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 seems a strange, misleading and possibly even misguided step. PES has earned its reputation not on gimmicks, but by taking the sport it simulates very seriously indeed. A headline-grabbing move this may be, but it's also a little desperate, and not very PES at all.
As it turns out, Bolt's inclusion is a particularly odd choice this year, as one of the most notable changes about PES 2018 is a tangible drop in pace. "It's one of the elements [we changed] to enhance the variation in strategic choices you have once you're in possession," says assistant producer Kei Masuda, via a translator, as we chat in a not-especially-quiet corner of the media suite at Anfield. The decision to slow things down a little wasn't simply a response to last year's game, he adds; his team has taken into account fan feedback from the previous three entries.
It's a sign that Konami understands it can't allow PES to stagnate, or let its current audience drift away. The publisher wants to cater to existing players by responding to complaints about previous entries, while simultaneously building upon the game's foundations in ways designed to attract newcomers to the fold. Hence Bolt, I suppose. "It's a bit slower" isn't really something you can put on the back of the box and expect people to get excited about, after all.
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