Pro Evolution Soccer 6

Pro Evolution Soccer 6 for Nintendo DS brought Konami’s football series to the dual-screen handheld for the first time in late 2006 and early 2007. Developed and published by Konami, this portable entry is known as Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 in North America and World Soccer Winning Eleven DS in Japan. It adapts the contemporary PES 6 release for a machine with very different hardware, concentrating on quick 11-a-side matches, responsive button controls and a selection of club and international sides rather than duplicating every feature of the PlayStation 2 game.

On the pitch, the Nintendo DS version uses the D-pad and face buttons for the essentials of passing, through balls, long deliveries and shooting. Defensive inputs cover pressure, a second defender, sliding challenges and clearances, while the shoulder button provides a burst of speed. The same compact control scheme supports more advanced moves such as one-twos, step-overs, feints and lofted passes once their timing is learned. Matches are shown from an angled, scrolling viewpoint, and the tactical emphasis remains on moving the ball, creating space and choosing the right final pass before taking a chance on goal.

The lower touchscreen gives the adaptation its most distinctive interface ideas. A stylus can be used to alter the team’s attacking and defensive shape during play, call up either a stamina display or a pitch radar, and handle its separate penalty-kick routine. These features sit alongside the conventional match controls rather than replacing them, so the game remains playable as a button-led football simulation. Konami offered Easy, Medium and Hard difficulty settings, allowing newcomers to establish the basics before taking on tougher computer opposition.

Its solo content includes Exhibition, Training and Konami Cup play, with World Tour providing the longer-term challenge. In World Tour, the player travels between locations and faces progressively stronger teams. Victories earn coins, which can be spent through a random prize dispenser to acquire players for the squad; improving that pool helps when the opposition becomes more demanding. The DS release also includes an edit mode and a roster of 57 national teams, alongside clubs. Arsenal, Manchester United and Juventus were among the specifically licensed clubs, while the broader selection reflects the partial licensing typical of the series at the time.

Pro Evolution Soccer 6 Nintendo DS also supported head-to-head play in two ways: local wireless matches for two players, including single-card play, and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection matches. Those network services belonged to Nintendo’s discontinued Wi-Fi infrastructure, but local multiplayer and the single-player modes remain part of the original cartridge design. The portable edition should be treated as its own version of PES 6, not as the PlayStation 2 release in miniature: it does not share every console mode or technical feature. Its Japanese title, North American name and European Pro Evolution Soccer 6 branding nevertheless place it firmly within Konami’s long-running Winning Eleven and Pro Evolution Soccer lineage.