Konami states this new system will give users complete control over secondary players while the runner has the ball and represents “an astonishing advance for the series”.

It further revealed the teammate system works in two ways and has two modes on offer:

“The Teammate Control system works in two ways, with users pressing the right analogue stick in the direction of the player they wish to control. The Assisted mode allows the user to activate a second player by depressing the R3 button, and allows users to get to grips with the greater level of control via effective running movements.

“Greater control is offered by the Manual mode, wherein the user has complete freedom of movement of the second player, and can make shuttle runs, find space, and shake off markers before calling for the pass from the player still with the ball.

“The player will then revert to computer control when the R3 button is released, and can also be used to override any AI runs the player wants to cancel. Both can be affected at any time, so players can make moves without waiting for a pass to be completed.”

Konami also revealed details about some other changes it’s made to PES 2012. Penalties will revert to a behind the taker view in the game, and that shot feints and the Challenge Training mode will be making a comeback.

“The addition of Teammate Control is something we have been working on for a while now, and we are delighted that it will make its debut in PES 2012,” said PES European team leader Jon Murphy.

“We have been building to create a control system that truly lets the player do whatever they like on field, and the ability to manually control a second player while simultaneously running with the ball opens all kinds of attacking options.”

He signed off by saying this is the start of a major new era for PES:

“This is the start of a major new era for PES. In the coming weeks we will detail more on how the ever-popular Master League has evolved, and will be unveiling the new face of the series.”

PES 2012 launches this autumn for PS3, 360, Wii, PC, PSP and PS2.

Thanks, CVG.

“Our ultimate destination is to experience through a video game all the things that you’d find in real football,” Enomoto said in the latest Iwata Asks.

“And our ultimate goal is to express in the game everything that happens in the stadium.”

When asked which aspects of the sport the PES team felt they had mastered, Enomoto answered: none.

“Even though we’ve been doing this for 10 years, I don’t feel as though we’re even close to capturing real football,” he said, highlighting opposition and teammate AI s a particularly troublesome challenge.

“I think computer AIs today are still far from their ideal form in all current video games throughout the world.”

The director said the team would never produce a perfect football game, because the sport itself keeps changing – but that doesn’t stop some pretty exhaustive attempts.

“First of all, the production staff watches all sorts of football matches, particularly European matches, over and over. Unless we understand what sort of actions football itself is composed of, we can’t render them in the game.

“… During the planning stages of production, we watch videos of matches that we’d like to recreate, and we do it exhaustively,” he explained.

The developer’s perfectionism is so extreme that the series’ character animations are derived from motion captures of the development staff themselves, rather than professional athletes.

“We have asked J. League members and professionals for help before, but we can’t have them do things that are too dangerous over and over again, and we can’t do retakes the way we’d like to,” Enomoto said, adding “Since the goalies dive many times, it may be dangerous for a pro to do it as they might get hurt.

“It’s also something that would be rough on them physically. But our staff can take turns to do such things one after another to do as many captures as we like.”

Thanks, Eurogamer.

Fable III asks some very thought-provoking questions. Where do you draw the line between king and tyrant? Are a leader’s promises just empty words?

Fable Coin Golf, er, asks significantly less interesting questions.

During its CES 2011 keynote, Microsoft announced a Fable game for Windows Phone 7. Yay! It’s even got that coin golf minigame Microsoft assumes you loved so much. Specifically, that’s all it’s got.

But hey, you can transfer your hard-earned winnings over to Fable III on Xbox, which is a sobering reminder that Windows Phone 7 isn’t a “real” platform yet something, we suppose.

A version of Microsoft’s retro service Game Room also popped up briefly with a clip of suitably ancient classic Centipede. The software behemoth later revealed that Asteroids Deluxe, Shao-Lin’s Road, Time Pilot, Lunar Lander, and Pitfall will be available as part of the package, and all of them will be compatible with a shared Game Room profile across Windows Phone 7, Xbox, and PC.

Also revealed were Full House Poker (sadly not based on the sitcom), Pac-Man, a version of Pro Evolution Soccer, and ngmoco’s iPhone hit, Pocket God.

Konami’s just announced it’s bringing four 3DS titles to Europe, including Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater.

Other titles confirmed include an all-new Pro Evolution Soccer, Contra and Frogger.

Further information will be coming “in the coming months.”

“We are delighted to confirm that Konami has four major titles in development for Nintendo’s 3DS system,” said Konami Europe boss Kunio Neo.

“The chance to explore popular franchises such as Metal Gear Solid, Pro Evolution Soccer, Contra and Frogger within a 3D realm is an exciting opportunity, and we cannot wait to share more news in the coming months.”

Since the 3DS reveal back at E3, Metal Gear Solid 3DS has probably been the much asked about third-party title for the hardware.

It was recently confirmed it would launch next spring in Japan.

3DS launches in March in the US and Europe following a February 26 release in Japan.

Cheap is good. Football is great. What do you get when you combine the two? Amazing madness.

MCV‘s reporting that UK supermarket Tesco will be selling Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 for £30 at launch tomorrow.

Unlike FIFA 11, where you had to buy another chart title before buying it for the same pricepoint, the latest deal comes with no strings attached.

We’ve yet to find out if any other supermarket will join in the price-cut madness.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 launches tomorrow on PS3, 360, Wii, PS2, PSP and PC

Pro Evolution Soccer’s Shingo Takatsuka has confirmed to IGN that Natal and Sony’s wand will be implemented in future editions of the series.

“Up until 2009 we believed all the platforms should have the same controls and features,” he told the site. “That’s no longer the case, because there are specific controllers for different machines, what with Natal and the PlayStation motion sensor system. I cannot say much, but I can say we are looking at integrating those devices into our games very aggressively.”

Konami’s development team also plans to continue listening to PES players, whose feedback helps refine the new iterations of the game.

Hit the link for the rest.

Konami has posted record sales figures for fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, with total sales reaching $3.24 billion which is a y-o-y increase of 4.2 percent.

Net income fell 40.7 percent ($114m) over last year, but revenue in the Digital Entertainment division increased 4.9 percent to $1.96 billion.

Worldwide, Metal Gear Solid 4 stood at 4.75 million units with Metal Gear Online claiming 1.3 million registered users, and the Pro Evolution Soccer series sold over 8.48 million units.

More numbers and figures are posted on Gamasutra.

David Reeves plays Pro Evolution Soccer over FIFA, he’s told Eurogamer.

“I have to say – and I shouldn’t really say it, because someone from EA’s going to read this – but I guess I played Pro Evo from a way back and I’m stuck to it,” he said.

The bombshell was made in the exec’s final interview before leaving Sony as president.

There’s some funny stuff in there. Hit the link.

EA Sports president Peter Moore told Eurogamer last week that there’s “distance” between the quality of FIFA PES.

The Konami game is now in EA’s “rear view mirror,” said the exec.

Moore, added that he’s demanding a Metacritic rating of 90 for this year’s version, up from the 87 accrued by FIFA 09.

“I want 90,” he said. “It’s a challenge, and as I said in the presentation, it’s not easy with sports games to continue to raise the bar every single year – and it’s half tongue-in-cheek as I know how difficult it is.”

More through the link.

“I would think about it really seriously because I still believe that EA’s engine and animation is really superb, very good,” he said.

“The modelling of the characters is perhaps not really to my taste actually, so I might not take that part, but seriously, I think their engine and their motion style is really great.”

Blimey. Check out the full interview through the link.