Konami has gained a small victory over FIFA in this years football game war, scalping exclusive rights to Juventus.
This is different from previous years where Konami has managed to bag rights to certain teams which has seen them then appear in both PES and FIFA, as this exclusive deal means that the Italian champions will only appear in PES 2020. In FIFA’s case, they will have to use a generic team name, as well as a non-official kit, crest, and stadium. EA has already confirmed that Juventus will now be known as Piemonte Calcio in FIFA 20 (not exactly Man Red, is it? What’s wrong with calling them Turin Black & White?), and will have a custom made badge and kit.
Player names and likenesses aren’t part of the deal, however, as those rights are always negotiated separately, so you can still technically play as Juventus, they just won’t have the official team name. This is no big deal really in FIFA’s case, as they will still tower over PES on the licensing front, but it’s definitely a bigger deal for Konami who have finally got one over on EA when it comes to bagging the rights to teams. It’s good to see Konami trying to fight back, but they still have a long way to go if they want to truly compete with FIFA, which is something I could have never imagined myself saying fifteen years ago.
Expect to see plenty of Juventus-based promotion from Konami as we approach PES 2020’s release on Tuesday 10th September. In the meantime, this has got me in the mood for the new season – only three and a half weeks to go! Eek!
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