Come hell or high water, every year brings with it new instalments in Konami and EA Sports’ football simulation franchises, and of course, 2019 is going to be no different. Both PES 2020 and FIFA 20 are out very soon, and both of them are making some interesting changes this year. As we gear up for their respective releases, in this feature, we’ll be taking a look at fifteen total things you need to know about both games- eight for FIFA 20, and seven for PES. With all that out of the way, let’s kick off.
FIFA 20: VOLTA
FIFA 19 brought an end to the story-oriented The Journey mode that was introduced in FIFA 17, but EA Sports are replacing it with something very interesting in FIFA 20. VOLTA is a street football-focused mode, which lets you play in seventeen different arenas across the world in several variants- 3v3, 4v4, 5v5, or even professional football with futsal rules. We will also be able to customize our own created player, across gender, clothing, shoes, accessories, tattoos, and more. Interestingly enough, VOLTA will also have a story mode to replace The Journey, which will chart the journey of our own created player.
FIFA 20: CAREER MODE INTERACTIONS
Career Mode has been a mainstay of the FIFA franchise for as long as anyone can remember, but sadly, in recent years, it’s grown a bit stale. With FIFA 20, however, it seems like EA Sports are listening to feedback and making some important changes and improvements. For instance- interactions with the press, and with our own players. Pre and post-match conferences will see a better and more dynamic visual representation, where you will be asked questions by the journalists in attendance based on a variety of things, such as the match’s result, your opponent, goals scored, the time of season or the stage of competition, and more. One on one conversations will see you interacting with players in your club through a messaging-app-style screen, like in previous games, but will give you more options in how to respond. Both press conferences and player conversations – and how you handle them – will affect things like your manager rating and the morale of players in your club.
FIFA 20: MORE CAREER MODE IMPROVEMENTS
There are other improvements coming to Career Mode as well. Manager avatars will be much more customizable. For the first time ever, players will be able to create a female manager. In terms of customization, players can change various aspects of their manager’s appearance. You will also be able to change the outfits and accessories of your manager at any time in the Career Mode.
Another significant new improvement is being made to player morales. Factors such as the team’s performance, how much match time a player is getting, what their wages are, and how the player is performing will all have an impact on morale, with morale in turn influencing players’ attributes in upcoming matches. Meanwhile, potential overall ratings for players have also changed, and will change dynamically based on how they have been performing.
FIFA 20: SET PIECES
It seems like every two or three years now, FIFA introduces a completely new way to take free kicks and penalties- and it’s happening again in FIFA 20. Players will now have a target on the screen, allowing you to aim with more precision. Meanwhile, free kicks can also be spiced up by adding curl, dip, or knuckle to your shots.
FIFA 20: BALL PHYSICS
FIFA 20 is also implementing something called the Ball Motion System, which will allow for physics-based movement of the ball, making for (in theory) more realistic movement of the ball itself. Authentic spins, realistic bounces, realistic curl, and more should hopefully help pave the way for more dipping shots, curling shots, rising strikes, and more.
FIFA 20: NEW ULTIMATE TEAM MODES
Ultimate Team is the moneymaker for FIFA as far as EA Sports is concerned (thank you, gambling surprise mechanics), and a couple of new game modes are being added to Ultimate Team in FIFA 20. There’s King of the Hill, in which players will fight for possession of the ball in a randomly designated area of the pitch. The more you keep the ball in that area, the more the next goal you score will be worth. Then there’s Mystery Ball, which will see every match boosting a particular stat of your team at random, including Passing, Shooting, Dribbling, Speed- or even all attributes.
FIFA 20: NEW ULTIMATE TEAM ICONS
Every year sees more new legendary former players being added to the list of icons in FIFA Ultimate Team, and FIFA 20 is adding 15 more FUT Icons this year. Among these, the likes of Ronald Koeman, Zinedine Zidane, Andrea Pirlo, Didier Drogba, Ian Wright, and Carlos Alberto will be included.
FIFA 20: NINTENDO SWITCH VERSION
Yeah, the Switch gets FIFA games every year as well- we all keep forgetting, right? It’s easy to see why- EA releases heavily hamstrung and inferior versions of its game on the system, which don’t even run on Frostbite, and are always lacking in major modes and features. But with FIFA 20, things are going to be even worse for Switch owner, since the Nintendo platform is only getting a Legacy Edition release this year. Which means it’s going to be literally the exact same game as last year, but with updated kits, squads, and licenses. They’re officially not even trying anymore.
PES 2020: PUSH FOR ONLINE
The first and most obvious sign that Konami are going in a new direction with PES this year (other than, you know, them saying it) is the fact that the game’s name has changed. It’s no longer just Pro Evolution Soccer. No, this year’s game is called eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020. Which is a mouthful, sure, but it’s significant, because it signifies a great push for online gaming, and a greater push for esports with PESLeague and eFootball Pro tournaments.
PES 2020: LICENSES
If there’s one area where the PES franchise consistently lags behind FIFA, it’s the licenses. And while the major domestic leagues and the Champions League licenses are still with FIFA, PES 2020 is at least offering official, full licenses for several individual teams. These include Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and Juventus. This includes their stadiums as well, as well as fully body scanning for many of their players.
Interestingly, with Juventus, PES 2020 has an exclusive license, which means it’ll be the only game with Juventus appearing in an official capacity. In FIFA 20, Juventus will be called Piemonte Calcio, and will have a custom badge, kit, and and a generic stadium. That said, that’s all that will be affected- Juventus players, though, will still be represented with their real names and likenesses.
PES 2020: MATCHDAY
The new Matchday mode is indicative of that greater push for online gaming that we spoke of. Each week, Konami will pick two teams or a derby match, and players will then be able to side with either of those two teams. Every successful action in matches – from passes to goals – will contribute to the total points for the team you’re playing as. At the end of every week, the game will analyse the best-performing player for both sides, and these two players will then be able to compete in a Grand Final. This final, incidentally, will also be livestreamed, which, in turn, will be integrated in Matchday mode itself.
PES 2020: MASTER LEAGUE
Master League, which is PES’ career mode, has been in dire straits for a long time, but it seems like it’s getting a much needed reinvention this year. For starters, there’s a new dialogue system in place, which will allow players to have more control over the choices and decisions they make as a manager. Financial elements, such as transfer fees and player wages, are also being made more realistic.
PES 2020: MORE MASTER LEAGUE IMPROVEMENTS
Several other major improvements and additions are also being made, such as able to create and customize sponsor logos (which you’ll be able to see in the background during press conferences and interviews), being able to customize your manager avatar, or even being able to select one of several legendary former players as your manager avatar, including the likes of Zico, Diego Maradona, and more.
PES 2020: ON-PITCH IMPROVEMENTS
As always, Konami are making incremental yet significant improvements to the on-pitch gameplay as well- that’s the one are where PES is always at the top of its game, and it doesn’t look like that much is going to change with PES 2020. These include better ball physics, better tripping physics, better first touch, new skills and abilities, new defending techniques (such as intentional fouls), context-sensitive accuracy from free kicks, and more.
PES 2020: OVERHAULED UI
The user interface in PES games has been a point of criticism for the last few years, with critics saying that it looks cluttered, dull, and most of all, just outdated- all of which is true enough. However, with PES 2020, Konami are finally listening to all that feedback. This year’s instalment will have a completely new and redesigned UI- here’s hoping it’s one that’s miles better than the one we’ve had for a while.