Interview: Talking tactics with Pro Evolution mobile's training ground supremo Axel de Rouge

To date, we've considered the position of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 as the vanguard product of Konami Europe's entry into the mobile games market, as well as the first batch of screenshots, so now it's time to get some behind-the-scenes information from the man heading up the game's development, Axel de Rougé.

As well as being the game's producer, de Rougé also runs Konami's Paris studio, which has developed the company's first three titles, and will no doubt spearhear future releases. But for the past year Pro Evolution Soccer has been his main focus. It's a task he seems eminently qualified for thanks to his previous involvement with Gameloft's Real Football: a series that's built a reputation for providing some of the best mobile footie, despite lacking the official licences assumed to be required for successful sports titles.

"I want to kill my baby," jokes de Rougé, explaining his new alignment. Certainly it will be fascinating to see how the Pro Evolution brand competes on mobile alongside EA Mobile's FIFA and Real Football.

"It was a challenge," he explains, concerning the process behind Pro Evolution's long awaited mobile appearance. "Market leadership is an ambition as well as an order. That's why we waited two years and spent a year making it."

But it seems to have been time well spent. From working with focus groups consisting of players of the console versions of Pro Evolution, Konami realised there were three areas the mobile game had to address: the artificial intelligence of the players and the game physics; the control system; and matching the Pro Evo style, which includes everything from the look and feel to the user interface.

"The mobile game has to meet the mark in terms of gameplay identity of the Pro Evo brand," de Rougé states. "This includes classic moves such as the through ball and the feint-and-shoot. We want to make fans of the series as comfortable as possible with this new version."

In turn, this means Pro Evolution mobile will follow the series' simulation ethos, eschewing the more arcadey route often taken by mobile developers.

Accessibility remains a key concern though, with two control methods being offered. The first takes what de Rougé labels the one-button approach, only using the phone's nub or directional pad. This system relies on a high level of game artificial intelligence to reduce the number of inputs the player needs to make, with issues such as which player is selected as active, or the positions and players passes are made to, being automatically handled. The other method uses the full keypad and is designed to enable experienced players to make the most of a game that promises deep options and has been designed to offer hardcore Pro Evo fans value for money with hours of on-the-go gameplay.

Indeed, as he rattles off various statistics about the game - there are 21 different pre-set formations including some unlockable historical oddities (2-3-5 anyone?), over 130 official teams, six modes including Instant, Match, Cup, League and Training, as well as five skill attributes for each player - you begin to wonder how the entire experience has been squeezed into the 312K Java file size limit that was required to get the game working on as many handsets as possible.

Of course, the final proof of just how well de Rougé and his development team have done will only become obvious once the game's actually in the hands of some of the seven million European gamers who annually buy Pro Evolution. With cross-product marketing and a simultaneous release date with the console versions planned, you'd imagine Konami's goal of one million mobile sales should be easily achievable though.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 for mobile is due to be released in October. Hit the 'Track It!' button to get email alerts concerning future news about the game, as well as notification of when our forthcoming review is live.