GamePro's Jason Wilson explains why Augusta and the Masters is the best thing to happen to Tiger Woods since the wreck of his image in 2010.
Amen Corner. Ike's Tree. Rae's Creek. These are some of the most iconic locations in golf, and they all can be found at one place: Augusta National Golf Club, the home of the Masters, the crown jewel of the PGA Tour's four majors. It's also one of the most exclusive courses in the world, and until the announcement that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 would include the majestic course, it's rarely found its way into video games.
I say this is one of the best things that could happen to the Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchise.
Even the non-golfing world knows 2010 was a rough year for Tiger. Besides his infidelity scandal costing him a marriage and creating a tabloid frenzy, he lost a number of big-figure endorsement deals. He played in just 12 PGA Tour events, finishing 42nd in the final standings. And not only did he fail to win a major, he didn't win a tournament in 2010.
It wasn't a good year for his video game, either. The PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 versions score below 80 on Metacritic (the Wii version, which supports MotionPlus and earned accolades from reviewers for its swing system, got an 84). All of this likely contributed to the lower sales of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2011 (though some of this could be players opting for the free-to-play Tiger Woods Online.
"Commercially, the numbers speak for themselves," EA Sports chief Peter Moore told Eurogamer this past September. "It's not where we'd want to be on a year on year basis. It's been disappointing, in particular on the Wii. There's no hiding, because the results are there. The Wii has been a disappointment."
With lower scores, a struggling star, and not exactly fresh gameplay, EA Sports had make a big move for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12.
This is in the inclusion of Augusta National and the Masters important to Tiger Woods. The importance lies in Moore's quote: sales. I can't think of a better way to improve sales than by adding one of the most cherished courses and tournaments in golf to your game. The Masters may be the first major of the year, but many golf fans consider it to be the biggest of the sports' events. It's golf Super Bowl, World Series, or Daytona 500.
The most important aspect of adding the Masters shows the true savvy of EA Sports' decision: By taking the focus off of Tiger after the worst year of his professional (and video game) life, the publisher has given gamers a new reason to care about the franchise. Golf fans haven't had a chance to play in the Masters (sure, we could play No. 12, part of the iconic Amen Corner, in 1990's Jack Nicklaus' Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf, but not the entire Masters), and I'm sure this will entice a number of gamers who have either tired of the Tiger Woods series or have grown annoyed with buying yearly installments -- or were turned off by Tiger's 2010 exploits -- to consider, if not purchase, the 2011 version.
I have a feeling I'll be one of them. I can call Pebble Beach, make a tee time, and if I feel comfortable parting with $495 in greens fees (plus $35 for a cart for nonresidents), I can play at this renowned course. I can play at St. Andrews, which is also a public course. I can even hack my way around Bethpage Black in New York, another host of the U.S. Open. But I (and millions of golf fans) can't walk onto the extremely exclusive Augusta National (which only a has few hundred members, all with either deep pockets or good corporate or political connections). And this is why I'll likely buy Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters -- so I can play Augusta.
Before joining the enthusiast press in 2006, Jason Wilson spent eight years as a sports journalist, and golf was one of his beats.
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Source: Daily News from GamePro.com
Wednesday, January 5, 2011