The competition from EA is closing the gap each season and Winning Eleven is in danger of losing the crown of best-soccer game if the graphics and sound don't show more improvement. As this current generation winds down, we hope to see some serious improvement from Winning Eleven. It's almost as if Konami is resting on the laurels of WE8 instead of using current technology to brush up the sights and sounds of WE9. Online play is the key new addition this year, but aside from a few new licensed teams and some reordered menus, WE9 looks, feels and plays just like WE8. Still, that doesn't mean that WE9 can't be better. That same - and I mean, exact same - outstanding gameplay returns in Winning Eleven 9, and Konami scores again with the best playing soccer title on the market.
No touchdown in Madden, no dunk in NBA 2K6, no one-timer in a hockey game will cause you to jump out of your seat and scream like a crafty goal in Konami's outstanding soccer franchise. For soccer fans, there is still no play in videogames more satisfying than a goal in Winning Eleven.