Demo for Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 launches on July 25

Konami Digital Entertainment has announced that the demo of the latest version of their popular football game, Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 will be launched on July 25 in Europe. The free demo will be available for the PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network, the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live, and the PC via the official website for the game.

The latest entry in the franchise, Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 marks a huge advance for the series. The new game offers PES FullControl, using which players are given total control over every pass, shot, and even first touches to the ball. The Pro-Active AI ensures that players move as they should, both on and off the ball, creating the authentic big match experience. The Player ID system then enhances  the game further by having the players look, move, and play just like their real life counterparts.

The demo will allow gamers to check out these new features first hand. The demo features eight licensed teams: Germany, England, Portugal, and Italy in European football, and Santos FC, SC International, Fluminense and Flamengo are available in the Copa Libertadores mode.

The demo for PES 2013 allows the game to be played on any difficulty setting, and has localized language options.

PES 2012: The next game in the PES series

The series, known as "World Soccer: Winning Eleven" in Japan has always had difficulty getting licenses for football teams, at least partially due to EA Sports’ habit of buying the exclusive licenses from teams for their FIFA series of games.

The series has sold more than 75 million copies all over the world, making it one of the best selling game franchises ever.

Currently, Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo is the face of the franchise, appearing on the front cover of every game being released in the series, and in promotional campaigns and advertisements in the media. Cristiano Ronaldo replaced Lionel Messi as the face of the series in the previous version of the game, Pro Evolution Soccer 2012.

Every year, the game is released around late September or early October with two different titles: "World Soccer: Winning Eleven" in Japan and "Pro Evolution Soccer" in other countries. The Japanese version is a localized one that features local leagues. In 2007, the franchise began to use the name "Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer" for the American market, which was later changed to "Pro Evolution Soccer" in 2008, dropping the "Winning Eleven" moniker entirely for that region.

The Pro Evolution Soccer series traces its roots to the game Goal Storm released in 1996. Goal Storm was developed by Konami. The first game in the PES series proper was Pro Evolution Soccer, which was released in 2001 for both the PlayStation and PlayStation 2.