Pro Evolution Soccer Series

Pro Evolution Soccer is a series of football video games developed and published by Konami. The series has been produced under the guidance of Shingo Seabass Takatsuka. Every year, the game is released around late September and/or early October with two different titles: World Soccer: Winning Eleven in Japan, and Pro Evolution Soccer in other countries. The Japanese version is a localized version that features local leagues. In 2007, the franchise began to use the name Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer for the American market, which was later changed to Pro Evolution Soccer in 2008, dropping the Winning Eleven moniker entirely for that region. Partially as a result of EA Sports' affinity to purchasing exclusive rights for their FIFA series, the games have historically lacked the sheer volume of licenses present in EA's offerings, with the most notable absences being the English Premier League and German Bundesliga. As such, team jerseys, names, and players may be inaccurate. Currently, Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo is the face of the franchise, appearing on front cover of every game being released in the series and in promotional campaigns and advertisements in the media. As of December 2011, the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise has been localized into 19 languages and available in 62 countries. The series has sold more than 75.43 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises.