When I took on this article about 48 hours ago, I was planning on conducting a rather thorough analysis of the top 100 ranked players in PES, attempting to somehow understand the enigma that is the game’s rating system. I was going to talk about legacy and nostalgia, perhaps popularity of players driving ratings and not actual skills, among other ideas. But luckily for me, and all PES fans, head of Konami Europe Shinji Hirano, did us all a big favor, and let the cat out of the bag.  And before I skin that cat, I wrote the text below for the article, that by the grace of the PES gods, just happens to be in line with Hirano’s comments:

I get the feeling that team dedicated to determining player ratings for PES don’t actually watch that much soccer. That’s not to say that they don’t love the game, have their favorite team, and are passionate about what they create. It’s more a comment to the fact that they are not the all-consuming statistical powerhouse that EA is, which allows EA to provide practically up to the minute adjustments to a players rating and form.

Konami on the other hand appear to be simply out of touch with what is really happening in the game today. It’s as if they find a relatively arbitrary number, likely based on what they have read about a certain player in the news, or perhaps what even FIFA has ranked them at, and be done with it. But maybe, just maybe, the player ratings themselves are a reflection of just how far behind PES is in the market.  The ratings for some of these players seem about 5 years behind, and it can be said that much of PES feels the same. Case in point, Diego Milito and Antonio Cassano.  Milito and Cassano, in their day, were a fabulous strikers for the Milan sides, but at their age and current form, they are certainly not deserving of a 92 rating when compared to the likes of Daniel Sturridge for example.”

Yup, I wrote that before I even read Hirano’s comments. Incredible! Now, as much as I find it disappointing and somewhat unsurprising to learn that the PES development team doesn’t follow European football as closely as one would expect, I do find his overall comments refreshing, and certainly encouraging.  Konami appears to have listened to the fans, recognized the failures of the “transitional” PES 2014 offering, and is attempting to right the ship with the creation of the FCS and allowing Konami Europe to get involved at the programming level.

Bottom line; PES 2015 WILL be better than 2014, no doubt.  Whether it exceeds it by leaps and bounds is yet to be seen, but I have high hopes for the Fox Engine, 1080p PS4 rendering, and hopefully some deeper and more engaging play options.

Thanks Hirano for saving me some time! 🙂

1. Messi 99 (SS)
2. C Ronaldo 99 (LWF)
3. A. Iniesta 98 (CMF)
4. Buffon 97 (GK)
5. Xavi 97 (CMF)
6. Aguero 96 (CF)
7. Pirlo 96 (DMF)
8. Van Persie 95 (CF)
9. Casillas 95 (GK)
10. Falcao 95 (CF)

11. Ibrahimovic 95 (CF)
12. Cavani 95 (CF)
13. L. Suarez 94 (CF)
14. Rooney 94 (CF)
15. Neuer 94 (GK)
16. Julio Cesar 94 (GK)
17. David Silva 93 (AMF)
18. Vidic 93 (CB)
19. Handanovic 93 (GK)
20. Cesc Fabregas 93 (CMF)

21. Ronaldinho 93 (AMF)
22. Cech 92 (GK)
23. Terry 92 (CB)
24. Kompany 92 (CB)
25. Frey 92 (GK)
26. D. Milito 92 (CF)
27. Chiellini 92 (CB)
28. Tevez 92 (SS)
29. Di Natalie 92 (CF)
30. V. Valdes 92 (GK)

31. Neymar 92 (SS)
32. Higuain 92 (CF)
33. Thiago Silva 92 (CB)
34. Robben 92 (RMF)
35. Robinho 91 (SS)
36. Cassano 91 (SS)
37. Totti 91 (SS)
38. Xabi Alonso 91 (DMF)
39. Lavezzi 91 (SS)
40. J. R. Riquelme 91 (AMF)

41.Ribery 91 (LMF)
42. R. Lewandowski 91 (CF)
43. Eto’o 91 (CF)
44. S. Cazorla 90 (AMF)
45. Ozil 90 (AMF)
46. Hazard 90 LMF
47. Berbatov 90 (CF)
48. Hart 90 (GK)
49. Dzeko 90 (CF)
50. Nani 90 (RMF)

51. Bale 90 (LMF)
52. David Pizarro 90 (DMF)
53. B. Valero 90 (CMF)
54. Rossi 90 (SS)
55. Samuel 90 (CB)
56. Giovinco 90 (SS)
57. De Rossi 90 (CMF)
58. Villa 90 (SS)
59. Puyol 90 (CB)
60. A. Sanchez 90 (SS)

61. Benzema 90 (CF)
62. Modric 90 (CMF)
63. Sirigu 90 (GK)
64. Sneijder 90 (AMF)
65. Drogba 90 (CF)
66. Vermaelen 89 (CB)
67. Juan Mata 89 (SS)
68. Reina 89 (GK)
69. Jovetic 89 (SS)
70. Marchisio 89 (CMF)

71. Klose 89 (CF)
72. Abbiati 89 (GK)
73. Pique 89 (CB)
74. Sergio Ramos 89 (CB)
75. Pepe 89 (CB)
76. Joao Moutinho 89 (CMF)
77. Alexandre Pato 89 (CF)
78. Alexsandro de Souza 89 (AMF)
79. Fred 89 (CF)
80. Luis Fabiano 89 (CF)

81. Van Der Vaart / Vandevoors 89 (AMF)
82. Ivanovic 88 (CB)
83. Mikel 88 (DMF)
84. Nasri 88 (AMF)
85. Jesus Navas 88 (RMF)
86. Valencia 88 (RMF)
87. Giggs 88 (CMF)
88. Coloccini 88 (CB)
89. Wilfried Bony 88 (CF)
90. Adebayor 88 (CF)

91. Cigarini 88 (DMF)
92. Aquilani 88 (CMF)
93. Cambiassio 88 (DMF)
94. Vidal 88 (CMF)
95. Vucinic 88 (SS)
96. Storari 88 (GK)
97. Montolivo 88 (CMF)
98. El Shaarawy 88 (SS)
99. Balotelli 88 (CF)
100. Hamsik 88 (AMF)

Follow Lachlan Galbraith on Twitter @soccerdisciple and check his personal website out Thesoccerconvert