At this point, there's only one question left to answer: is PES 2015 a better game than FIFA 15? In terms of replicating the balance of real football, the answer is an emphatic yes.
The latter's constant need for the spectacular is overpowered by a formula which rewards the subtle tweaks and tactical variation which fuels the real-life sport. PES 2015 actually benefits from arriving two months later than its adversary, which has displayed its weaknesses over extended play since release.
It's perhaps ironic that, in the year PES introduces micro-transaction monetisation, the developer has reminded everyone that football - virtual or not - is meant to honour those who conglomerate the basics into a winning formula. Whether or not the desire to farm gamers' cash stumps the series' growth remains to be seen in the long-term, but PES Productions is currently sitting on a durable and resilient blueprint of how football should be played.
FIFA and PES seem to have swapped shirts, with neither catering to the original audience they once set out to attract. Based on this year's offerings, though, it's PES that has the clearer direction of where it's headed. Perhaps most tellingly of all, PES 2015 is more satisfying in defeat than FIFA 15 is in victory.
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