Konami plans to keep its hit soccer game Winning Eleven 6 ‘exclus...
Konami plans to keep its hit soccer game Winning Eleven 6 “exclusively on Sony PlayStation 2 in the foreseeable future,” Konami of America (KOA) Product Mgr. Robert Goff told Consumer Electronics Daily. As reported, KOA plans to introduce soccer…
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series in N. America in March after achieving success with it in Europe (where it’s known as Pro Evolution Soccer) and Japan. Konami said last month it had sold nearly 4 million units of games in Winning Eleven series worldwide, “making it the world’s best-selling soccer game for the PlayStation 2.” Goff said title -- developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo -- had sold about same number of units in Europe as in Japan, Goff said. Although soccer isn’t nearly as popular in U.S. as in Europe or Japan, he told us: “Soccer is an emerging genre in the U.S. We have a very strong entrant that will grow with the popularity of the sport.” Although he didn’t indicate how many units company hoped to sell in U.S., he said: “Our expectations are consistent with the current size of the genre… Winning Eleven appeals to soccer purists as well as casual gamers.” When asked how much it planned to spend on promoting game in U.S. this year, Goff replied: “Although we cannot reveal those numbers, we can confirm that the title will be supported with a sizable marketing campaign. The game will be featured in a comprehensive print and online advertising campaign, sample game demo, distribution, a national beverage cross-promotion, regional tournaments, online sweepstakes and aggressive in-store POP” (point-of-purchase) material. KOA spokesman told us playable demo disc would be included in May issue of one major consumer videogame magazine and beverage cross-promotion would be with Langers Juice. He also said Konami planned to release another version of game with online element late next year, but additional details were unavailable.