I don’t play a lot of video games anymore, but I still find the medium endlessly fascinating. I follow the industry fairly closely, but over time, I’ve developed a particular love for older games; especially football titles. Recently I wrote a tribute to FIFA Street 3, but just the other day, a friend came over and we dove into another golden oldie from the genre.

Rediscovering PES 6 on a Whim

Over the past few months, I’ve been selling off my physical video game collection on Vinted—mainly because they take up too much space in my small apartment. As it happened, the Xbox 360 version of Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (PES 6) was sitting right on top of the pile. When one of my best friends, the guy I’ve always shared my gaming moments with, stopped by, I suggested we give it another go. We both share a deep nostalgia for the early PES games, so we didn’t need much convincing.

Straight Back into the Magic

We popped the disc into the Xbox 360, and sure enough it still worked perfectly. Instantly, we were swept away by the intro video, the menu soundtrack, and the no-nonsense interface. This is what football games used to feel like: focused, direct, and all about the sport itself.
We were both avid players back in the day but drifted away as modern football games became more commercialized. PES 6, however, still feels like pure football; even after almost two decades.

Why PES 6 Still Shines

Before we knew it, hours had flown by. We spent the whole evening playing a game that’s nearly 20 years old—and loving every second of it. Playing with the legends of the past felt surprisingly fresh. PES 6 treats football more like a strategic chess match, rather than the flashy one-man-show many newer games embrace.
Sure, the graphics aren’t impressive by today’s standards, it’s basically a polished PS2 title in HD, but the gameplay oozes love for the beautiful game. And that’s what makes it timeless.

Back to Simpler Times

I highly recommend revisiting an old football game from your past, especially one you played to death back in the day. Fire up that dusty old console, and you might be surprised how much joy it still brings. No online updates, no microtransactions, no artificial hype, just good old-fashioned fun.
Not everything was better back in the day, but football games? They probably were.