To understand the reverence for Winning Eleven 98 , one must understand the landscape of 1998. The world was gearing up for the FIFA World Cup in France. Football culture was exploding globally, and the gaming industry was in a fierce war. EA Sports had released FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 , a game that dazzled with licenses, flashy menus, and the blur of an accelerating sprint button.
While the "World Soccer" edition focused on international teams, Konami also released a Japan-exclusive version dedicated to the domestic J.League. World Soccer Jikkyou Winning Eleven 3: World Cup France '98
It is unmissable. Winning Eleven 98 is the "Nirvana Nevermind" of football games. It killed the old arcade style and ushered in the era of the simulation. Every modern football game—from eFootball to FIFA —owes a debt to the weighty, tactical, beautiful chaos of Konami’s 1998 classic.