Konami drops ‘Winning Eleven’ title for US, renames to Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

Soccer fans, be confused no more: Konami decided to unify the Winning Eleven series under a single, consistent name – at least in the Western front. The company has confirmed that the title for Winning Eleven Soccer for US fans will now stay similar to the European version, Pro Evolution Soccer. If Konami were to keep the name for one more year, it’s latest title would have been Winning Eleven Soccer 11. More at the full story.

The Winning Eleven series has often contested Electronic Arts‘ FIFA line, though W11 caused the most confusion when it came to its different versions and their titles. ‘Winning Eleven’, often used for the Japanese version of Konami‘s soccer title, will now be dropped to reduce the title to the European ‘Pro Evolution Soccer’ brand.

Konami confirms that the once the game hits shelves on March 11, 2008, fans of the game will have to resort to looking for Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 or PES 2008 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and mobiles), instead of the longer Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008. The cause of the change is unclear, though it must be noted that the latest installment is the 11th release of the franchise in the US.

Japanese fans will continue admiring the Winning Eleven brand in their region, and any Winning Eleven title released outside of Japan will adopt Konami’s newly consistent Pro Evolution Soccer brand.

Buy: [ Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (DS) ]
Buy: [ Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS3) ]
Buy: [ Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PSP) ]
Buy: [ Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Wii) ]
Buy: [ Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Xbox 360) ]

Via IGN