As a football gaming fanatic who has passionately followed the PES franchise for over a decade, I could not wait for the new eFootball rebrand to revolutionize my virtual pitch. But nearly 18 months into the eFootball project, the current state of the game is alarmingly poor and riddled with issues draining away fun and playability.
In this hard-hitting deep dive, I will dissect the laundry list of problems sabotaging eFootball 2023 and hammer Konami for betraying loyal fans. Until serious changes arrive, eFootball will continue hemorrhaging players to alternative football titles. Harsh butnecessary critique now might provide the wake-up call to spur Konami into redeeming this disastrous experiment gone awry.
Broken Promises And Non-Existent Communication
When Konami first unveiled the eFootball rebrand in 2021, lofty ambitions of revolutionizing football gaming sparked eager anticipation across the PES community. We were promised uncompromising realism, dynamic gameplay powered by Unreal Engine, cross-platform matchmaking, and a free-to-play platform enabling regular content updates. Early previews foreshadowed that eFootball could dethrone FIFA‘s football gaming supremacy.
Yet in the 18 months since launch, eFootball 2023 has unequivocally failed to deliver on nearly all fronts. Key advertised features remain totally non-functional or severely lacking. On top of unmet expectations, one of the most frustrating aspects for the eFootball community centers around Konami‘s near total lack of communication regarding updates, changes, and future plans.
I cannot recall a single instance of Konami publicly addressing fan criticism, acknowledging current issues plaguing enjoyment, or reaffirming long-term commitment to improving eFootball. This vacuum of dialogue and transparency strangles community trust and intensifies resentment towards changes.
For example, the recent unexplained removal of the beloved co-op mode provoked severe backlash. Without any sort of developer explanation for this surprise extraction or timelinecommunicating if/when co-op may return, fans felt bewildered and betrayed. I personally lost dozens of gameplay hours from that decision alone.
According to popular eFootball YouTube critic PESER, "Konami stays dangerously silent while anger towards eFootball festers among once passionate supporters". This estranged relationship cannot persist if the company expects to coax players back.
Recycled Content And Monotonous Grinding
I can honestly say that through 8+ months actively playing eFootball 2023, not once have I felt that spark of football magic so intrinsic to PES enjoyment of the past. Matches themselves range from moderately entertaining when lag permits to utterly unplayable abominations.
But setting aside on-pitch shortcomings, the greater frameworks surrounding eFootball 2023 gather dust as a barren wasteland devoid of compelling content and variety. Events feel like monotonous chores rather than fun side attractions, with repetitive objectives centering around grinding matches for meager rewards.
And perhaps nothing epitomizes eFootball‘s faltering more than the Show Time card packs — an encapsulation of laziness through duplicate content paraded as updates. Here is a snapshot of Show Time packs since launch along with their tilted focus:
| Show Time Pack | Potential Players |
|---|---|
| Launch | Messi, Neymar, Mbappe |
| Holiday Cheer | Mbappe, Lewandowski, Salah |
| Winter | Mbappe, Benzema, Neuer |
| Lunar New Year | Son, Mbappe, Iniesta |
| Valentine‘s Day | Mbappe, Pogba, Inzaghi |
Need I elaborate further? SEVEN Mbappe cards before most icons like Zidane or legends like Beckham received even one (dismal) rendition. And half of the other recycled names barely differ from their standard player items.
I cannot fathom a reality where players genuinely feel eager about pulling duplicate Show Time Mbappes from monotonous login bonus packs. Most fans prefer strategically spending hard-earned eFootball Coins on well-rounded legend boxes. But Konami‘s reliance on this copy-paste pipeline will only alienate its audience faster.
Squandering Creative Potential
Generations of PES built tremendous goodwill through rewarding masterful gameplay with sublime atmospherics, slick ball control, and tactical nuance. Thus, eFootball‘s middling on-pitch product feels even more offensive given the gulf separating its marginal improvements from what was advertised.
Certain design choices indicate a franchise dangerously adrift with priorities misaligned from fan interests. Does anyone truly benefit from overpriced cosmetics like preset goal celebrations? Would players not massively prefer fresher player packs or faster matchmaking?
And how is a dominant icon like Zidane so thoroughly butchered, stripped of his signature elegant touch and passing vision? Or Marquinhos handed a head-scratching spotlight card despite his mediocre defensive prowess?
Meanwhile, nearly no communication surrounds other huge areas of untapped potential. Creating leagues/tournaments with friends still seems years away. Master League existence is uncertain. Significant delays continue plaguing arrival of content marketed in original roadmaps, like the full cross-platform party matchmaking.
Without a steady stream of new, creative features focused on football simulation, fans are left wandering barren wastelands chasing meager login rewards. Konami must nourish the creative branches that made PES blossom, not hack them off.
Hemorrhaging Players And Gaming Relevance
Ultimately, no statistic speaks louder than actual player retention and game revenue. While insufficient data exists to perfectly analyze eFootball‘s decline against previous PES editions, leading indicators starkly showcase diminishing gamer interest.
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According to metrics site Active Player, PES 2022 on Steam peaked at nearly 44k concurrent players soon after launch. EFootball barely eclipsed 7k at its height.
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Popular YouTuber PESER shared statistics of his channel viewership noting that at PES 2021 peak, his videos exceeded 330k views per month. Now with eFootball, he averages under 50k views highlighting mass exodus.
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By collating download data from eFootball‘s launch until now, this table exhibits the worrying trend of gaming irrelevance setting in:
| Platform | Downloads at Launch | Current Downloads | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android | 1 million+ | 5 million+ | +400% |
| iOS | 500k+ | 1.5 million+ | +200% |
| Steam | N/A | 504k | N/A |
| Consoles | 2 million+ | 2.3 million+ | +15% |
While mobile platform downloads increased substantially, this largely shows migration of former console PES players rather than truly new fans entering. And with cross-platform multiplayer still not realized after months of promises, many mobile adopters feel dissatisfied at facing only other mobile users.
Perhaps most worrying is the minuscule 15% bump in console downloads from launch until today. At a time when next-generation power should revolutionize virtual football, hollow gameplay and missing features are strangling eFootball‘s relevance. Gamers have spoken loudly with their departure to alternative titles.
The Road to Redemption?
I cannot sit by watching this once legendary football giant stumble down an aimless path towards irrelevance. Make no mistake — Konami faces severe work resuscitating eFootball‘s funeral pyre back into a glorious football simulation. But several high-priority initiatives could stabilise matters and buy goodwill from disgruntled fans:
Overhaul Communications: Monthly YouTube videos acknowledging issues, previewing updates, and responding to player feedback would demonstrate commitment to improvement.
Add Novel Game Modes: New systems bringing fresh experiences beyond basic matches are sorely lacking. Imagine creating custom leagues/tournaments with friends!
Fix Core Gameplay: Smooth out glaring on-pitch problems around lag, speed disparities, glitches. Refocus on football realism, expansive tactics, balanced strategy over arcade randomness.
Release Content Roadmap: A tentative long-term roadmap guiding fans on planned updates and milestone targets would provide hope during current gloom.
Ramp Up Legendaries: Veteran players yearn to play as icon legends at their peak prowess. Figures like Zidane require far more care bringing their elegance into eFootball than currently shown.
Let Fans Vote Content: Simple periodic polls guiding content decisions around desired players, leagues, modes etc would make additions feel tailored to what the community actually cares about.
The road ahead remains arduous, but Konami arrives at a defining crossroads moment. Will eFootball 2023 go down as one of football gaming‘s most disastrous rebranding failures? Or can Konami course-correct towards restored glory? The coming months will determine which path unfolds.
Over to you, Konami. This legacy still hangs delicately in the balance.