Battle of the Sports Games-Winning Eleven vs FIFA

For today's blog, I decided to write about my favorite video game of all time, the Winning Eleven series, just so people who aren't aware of this brilliant game can check it out for themselves. I realized that most of the entries in this blog are about action, puzzle, RPG, simulation games, and I wanted to add sports to that mix so that people can see what they are missing. Winning Eleven is currently one of the most popular football (soccer) games in the market, with its only competition being EA Sports' FIFA series. The game is called Winning Eleven in Japan and the Americas, and Pro Evolution Soccer in the rest of the world, which may cause some confusion for beginners. Currently, the latest of the series is Winning Eleven 2008, which can be played on the PS2, PS3, and X-Box. The man behind this masterpiece is Shingo "Seabass" Takatsuka, and the game has been updated every year since the original J-League Winning Eleven in 1995.
The reason I bring up this game is because in the United States, soccer is considered a less popular sport, even though it is one of the most popular sports in the rest of the world. Games like Madden, NBA Live, and MLB have all been exposed to a lot of publicity, but I was always frustrated at the lack of attention given to the Winning Eleven series. However, I realized that after the World Cup in 2002 where Team USA made it to the quarter-finals, the sport has finally started to heat up in America. The reasons why I believe Winning Eleven is a superior game to the EA Sports' FIFA are countless. One, the gameplay in Winning Eleven is much more realistic in most aspects. For example, in FIFA, you can just blast a shot from pretty much anywhere on the pitch and score a goal. In Winning Eleven, however, you must control your shot in order to get it on goal. The same goes for dribbling and passing, as the gameplay feels much more realistic in Winning than in FIFA. In my opinion, EA Sports generally create games that are more arcade-worthy, (easy, simple gameplay, spectacular and somewhat unrealistic moves, etc) while the true soccer fan would realized straight away that Winning Eleven requires tactics and a real "soccer mind" to play at a high level. The only aspects where FIFA trumps Winning Eleven is the licensing of European club teams and superior graphics. However, as a passionate soccer fan, I really want to let anyone who might be interested in purchasing a soccer game that Winning Eleven is the obvious choice.