Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is a simulation of the soccer sport. The player can choose between numerous (partly licensed) teams and use the usual playing modes, e.g. training, cup championships or the Master League with a few additional managerial components. The main differences to Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 are a new adaptive AI for the Master League and a new animation system.
This version of the game has numerous differences to the NextGen version: It lacks the ability to perform dives and to change the player wall during free kicks. In return there are a few additional features: more stadiums (33 instead of 12), matches with random players, a more extensive training mode, the World Tour mode (about 100 challenges where the player has to solve certain goals in pre-defined situations, e.g. scoring a goal in a limited time) and unique community features, e.g. a friends list or private tournaments. The latter – along with all savegames – are compatible to both the PSP and PS2 version.