The PES Productions Team based in Tokyo have been developing a new approach to football for four years and can now confirm their new system uses Kojima Production’s Fox Engine at its core. The team have extended and enhanced Fox Engine to match the bespoke and complex demands of a football title.

Based on six founding standards, the new system has allowed every aspect of PES 2014 to be totally reworked, throwing off the shackles of previous limitations and allowing the PES Productions team to produce a game much closer to their vision of recreating the excitement and variety of a top-level match. The central theme of fluidity is based on the constant moving of players and switching positions which characterises the modern approach to football. PES Productions have looked at how matches ebb and flow, with player individuality key to a team’s success, and well-drilled tactics helping underdogs produce giant-killing feats.

In a recent interview Konami marketing executive Manorito Hosoda revealed that the developer/publisher is not bringing Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 to the next-gen Xbox One and PS4 consoles.

Konami has been critisized in the past for bring previous PES iterations to next-gen consoles before their tech/knowledge was adequate is one of the main reasons why this time the franchise will be skipping the new machines, as well as the fact that the much larger user base for current-gen which is much more appealing than the slow growth of new players on freshly launched consoles.

Konami's PES team lead Jon Murphy acknowledged the fact that it will be playing it safe this year and instead focus on delivering qualite on consoles they know.

Working from the ground up, PES Productions have strived to rework every element of play, creating a fresh and energetic new standard for football titles. In addition to noticeably improved graphics and seamless animation, the thrust of the new system’s power has been used to redefine the way football is played on a home system. Gone are the limitations imposed by dated animation systems and AI elements, and instead PES 2014 boasts a central core that perfectly mimics the skill and awareness that elevates the world’s greatest players above their peers.

Visually, the game will benefit from an incredible level of acuity, from the weave of the kits, through to facial movement, and a new animation process that offers slick segues from one move to the next, with no pauses or restrictions on control. Stadia will be faithful to real-life, with the entrances to the pitches recreated, crowds that move during the course of the game The new system also allows for a new light-mapping effect, adding a natural look to the proceedings. The flow of a match has also been improved, with tactical decisions made on the fly, and the removal of cut scenes after specific events.

Free kicks and penalties have also been radically changed. Control over free kicks has been expanded with decoy runs added and short passes now unrestricted. To counter, players can now move the position of their keeper for the kick, while the wall will react to the kick instinctively to block or deflect the ball.

Penalties now use a target guide that is changed according to the kicker’s ability and where they intend to place the ball. The goal keeper can now opt to move ahead of the kick, sensing when the penalty taker is not particularly strong.

PES 2014 will also mark the first appearance of the recently-signed Asia Champions League, adding a wealth of officially licensed clubs to the competition; and the new game will also exclusively retain its use of the UEFA Champions League club competition, with other tournaments expected to be announced shortly.

Further details of PES 2014’s content – including all-new online elements – will follow, but the new game represents a quantum leap from what football fans have been used to.