Life-sap fears reach crisis point as PES ship figures revealed

Pro Evolution Soccer should be banned. It ruins your life. A bit like crack, without the tooth decay and constant thieving. "One more game? Come on, it's only one AM!" is always followed by "Oh no! it's four thirty, I have to go to work and my girlfriend's going to kill me!"

Konami Europe today announced that its initial shipment of games to retail in Europe alone is a shade over 1.5 million units. The economy will surely suffer.

"We have worked hard to ensure that Pro Evolution Soccer 4 is a better game and have listened to our consumers on how to make key improvements,” commented Kunio Neo, President for Konami of Europe that no one has ever seen with their own eyes. “It seems that our efforts have been rewarded with this record day-one shipment figure, and shows that word is spreading about the quality of the game. We are delighted that more and more people are being introduced to the delights of the Pro Evolution Soccer series. With the first version for Xbox set to follow a month later alongside a very strong PC-DVD version, we have very high hopes for Pro Evolution Soccer 4 this year.”

Konami will no doubt have its sights firmly set on Electronic Arts' FIFA 2005 currently running rampant in the charts. Although the latest FIFA iteration is a definite step up in quality, it will still be threatened by the almighty lure of PES 4: arguably the greatest sports title ever created.