A big problem with PES/WE when compared to the ever-failing Fifa series, is ATMOSPHERE.
Factors contributing to the lack of atmosphere in WE/PES: (not that Fifa has all that, but they compensate with commentary and license)
1) Bad commentary (I play now without commentary and it's MUCH better)
2) Bad crowd noise/attendance
3) Robotic player animations
4) Terrible add-on onscreen graphics (The TV-logo, the result board, the bar that shows up showing the players name, announcing the result after a goal...etc) They are ALL far from what you see on real tv.
So away of complicated gameplay changes, maybe for a change, Konami could pay considerable attention to the 'small things'... like what I mentioned before.... coz when you improve many 'small things'.. u get an overall big improvement.
Suggestions for fixes:
ROBOTIC PLAYER ANIMATIONS
Any real player runs differently according to many different factors, for example:
1) Emotional factors:
Is he winning, and not in a hurry? Or is he losing, desperate for a goal?
2) On field factors:
-Where in the field is he running? A defender, away from all the action, runs differently than a striker in the last 1/3 of the field.
-Is anyone running with him? A player alone on field runs less cautiously than a striker surrounded by or accompanied by a defender.
-How long has he been playing? A player who spent 60 straight mins on field tends to save his energy by taking some 'walking pauses' during the play. Another fresh substitute will be all enthusiastic and energetic in his moves. Is is SO UNNATURAL to see all the players on the screen running at the same time.
What is he doing? When you're running to tackle a player, you tend to put all ur momentum/weight into your run. When you're running to catch a player, all you care about is speed. When you are approaching a player, you run then pause a bit as you approach to see what the player in possession is planning to do with the ball.
These are all different factors that change the way a player runs according to the different situations.
So maybe instead of Konami only capturing players' default running movements, they should capture them in different situations... to produce a far more realistic player animation model.
Player reactions:
Players should be constantly waving to each other, blaming each other, clapping to each other, looking towards the bench, looking to other players, making gestures...etc. And more importantly: This should all happen constantly during the duration of the match in real gameplay i.e. without needing to pull cutscenes.
All of that removes the robotic feeling.
BAD COMMENTARY
It's not just the lame-a$$ comments and phrases. It's the atmosphere. You're almost 200% sure from the tone of their voices that they are sitting in a Konami studio reading out these stupid comments. You don't get the feeling that they are sitting in a 80,000 packed stadium with loud noises cheering a game everyone's been anticipating. Just listen to the commentators voices in Fifa.... its as if they are trying to get their voices heard despite the noise of the screaming crowds... that is GOOD.
Now besides changing the voices and preferably the commentators themselves, A LOT has to change regarding its CONTENTS:
1) Descriptive commentary
They should be describing:
-The area a player is running to/from.
-Praising a successful skill move performed.
-The quality of the pass, praising a good one (they shud say its type). Its Quality as regards:
Spontaneous/Unexpected 1st touch pass.
A productive pass that puts a player face to face with the goal.
A difficult pass; pinpoint to a player between many players.
A skillfull pass e.g. with a serve in it
2) Related Add-on commentary
-Relating to a player's previous injuries.
-Relating to a player's previous goal in other matches.
-Praising a player who played a good game till then i.e. has a good score
-Relating to previous tournaments won by the team.
-Mentioning results of RELEVANT ongoing matches, and its effect on the team's ranking if that match's result remained the same.
3) Changes in the tone of voice
-Higher pitch when play is deep into either half of the field...
-Higher pitch at the very beginning of the game...
-Higher pitch of voice towards the end of the game...
*The purpose of all these changes and addition of variables to the 'Commentary System' is to have a system that cannot produce to identical commentaries in 2 different games. Just like the gameplay. This adds a totally new level of depth and interactive atmoshpere to the game.
BAD CROWD NOISE/ATTENDANCE
It's cool that KONAMI made the attendance varrying from one match to another. But its NOT cool that the Stands are now 40%...50%...60% full in very important matches.... such a turn off.
Now the crowd noise...
Terrible... just listen to the Fifa crowd noises... or tell you what, don't play Fifa. Watch a real match. However DULL and boring a match is, there is always a minimum SCREAMING AND CHEERING going on during the match. This is what makes atmosphere.
I mean, Konami, in their quest towards realism, have OVERDONE many -ve realtistic aspects of the game.
Like Sometimes the stands are empty-----> so Konami makes them TOO empty.
Sometimes the crowds are quiet-----> so Konami makes them TOO quiet for too long....
Other -ve aspects are overdone, like player fatigue, player ball control... etc
The crowds have to be more responsive than that.... like CHEER to a successfully executed skill move, a beautiful pass...etc
They should call out names of players who've done well...etc.
Many has to change about the crowds.
TERRIBLE ADD-ON ONSCREEN GRAPHICS (The TV-logo, the result board, the bar that shows up showing the players name, announcing the result after a goal...etc)
These are just SIMPLE GRAPHICS that are on screen all thru the game... just watch a real game and change them!
And Finally, I guess if Konami could take care of all that, we'll have an EXCEPTIONALLY AMAZING game on-hands.