A Natural Style of Soccer
Enomoto : In the actual soccer, players can adopt a play style that involves waiting at the very top of the field for the ball to be forwarded to them. In the past versions of WE, you couldn't order players to wait [for the ball] at a precise spot. But in the new version, as you can drag players and bring them very high on the field, you can also give them the instruction to wait for the ball right there.
Chosokabe : Among the production team, we called this tactic "Avalanche" *laughs*, but anyway, the fact is that putting all the team mates on the offence right after the kick-off [following a goal] is actually called "power play", which is a tactic that is possible in this new game.
Up until now in the series, because of the type of controller used, the games were quite action oriented, so to become more skilled, you should be counting on your reflexes, and you should also be pursuing to learn the game technics. So I think that even a person that liked soccer couldn't necessarily become good at the old-school WE game. This time, thanks to the new control scheme, I feel like the wall set up by the game technicality between every kind of soccer fan is, for once, reset.
And because the player's tactics and strategies will be, perhaps for the first time, animated in real time , provided that some players will already have the tactical development of the match in mind, the difference between an advanced player and a beginner player could fairly shrink, don't you think ?
Enomoto : In the case of the old-school Winning Eleven series, when a soccer expert and a skilled action gamer would engage in a WE match, perphaps the gamer would end up being particularly strong. However, I would say that ideally, the player that can play a soccer game similarly to the real soccer SHOULD be the particularly strong too. And probably that in this new installment of the WE series, the skilled gamers will not remain unchallenged in their field. In fact, whether it is about the soccer expert who wants to perfectly master the controls, or the naturally skilled gamer, a match must be an enjoyment however way you choose to play.
-New elements
Chosokabe : In this new installment, the "Master League" has been entirely replaced by a new mode called "Champions Road". It's a mode where you compose your own team by entering various tournaments, thus winning players or skills along the road. Your goal being to strengthen your team so that you can successfully complete all the tournaments. Regarding the Wi-Fi online Vs, we're currently working on it right up until optimization, as we're play testing the game at the same time. Regarding the quality of the connection, we've established three level of communication corresponding to three different quality of connection, depending on the comfort of the communication environment, so it can be adjusted for a more agreeable play session.
By the way, may I add the Japanese soccer team are actually sporting their brand new jersey ?
-Reflecting on their production
Enomoto : This time, as we were working on this new Wii installment of the Winning Eleven franchise, we really had to consider entirely new things. So, I really felt like our experience with traditional buttons-type controllers was, for this time, rendered useless. Because of that, to take up on the challenge, was chosen, not the traditional Takatsuka Team, but a team led by Chosokabe.
Consequently, by taking a different aim than the traditional WE series, we could make an entirely kind of new soccer game. And Takatsuka was very conscious of that too, and when I felt that, I was convinced that we could successfully complete this new build.
Chosokabe : Another important element from the real soccer that is often left out in the soccer video games is the fact of reconstructing the play. In the case of the old-school WE series the fact of reconstructing your entire play during the 90 minutes of play-time was an often left out element ; however, I feel like this is not the case in the new version. In fact, the interface being different, some different elements of the real soccer game reappear.
I could appear a little stubborn with this talk, but I would like to reiterate that not only this new version pretty much manages to change the old-school, abstract soccer of the traditional series into a game assimilated with the real soccer, but it is also creating a new concept of fun. And this, not only because the controls feel fresh, but also because the feeling of newness exhaled by the whole game as you're playing it is really pleasant.
-To every player
Chosokabe : It must be said that the old school style and the new style aren't in competition at all. Because the fact is that as we are going in a completely different direction, the people that where brought in by the old school WE games can play and have fun too. If suddenly an advanced combination gameplay is impossible, you can still simply lead the ball holder straight in front of the goal and make him shoot to the goal from there. In fact, anyone has the possibility to play at the difficulty level anybody wish to play at.
Enomoto : The key expression of this version would be "Another Reality of Football.
Because we couldn't use the same game system as the traditional Winning Eleven series, this was really a big challenge for us. And the fact that we aimed for a game closer to the real soccer makes this version completely different than the traditional version.
And given that for a while, you will not be able to experience another soccer game like this brand new version of the Winning Eleven series, I hope you enjoy it.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=238549