EA + PGA, Exclusive for Another Six
Tiger and pals are staying right with the house that Madden built.
Published: August 2, 2006
Ho ho, silly person! You thought EA was done with all this exclusive business didn't you? You thought there were no more sports to get the sole right to, didn't you, well you forgot one very important sport: golf. Yeah, yeah, we know, we laughed for a good 20 minutes about that one too, but think about it: not only does EA Sports have Tiger Woods lock stock and key, but they've made sure they have the PGA Tour under thumb as well. That means for the next six years, if you want official Tour courses and familiar faces, you're going to have knock on Poppa EA's door.
You're gonna have to get you some Tiger Woods PGA Tour.
Six years isn't just an arbitrary number. When 2012 rolls around and we're all flying in our hovercars and eating magically rehydrated pizzas that start out the size of a poker chip, EA will have gone through a whole hardware cycle, and will have been the only place to duplicate the PGA experience. What we now call next-gen will be old hat as games will likely look so good it would blow your mind out the back of your head.
“The PGA Tour is excited to continue our relationship with EA,” gushed Ed Moorhouse, PGA Tour Executive Vice President and Co-Chief Operating Officer. “Our video game provides a great entry into golf for kids and allows our brand to reach multiple generations throughout the world. EA has been a fantastic partner and has built the best video game franchise in golf.”
“We look forward to continuing our longstanding and very successful relationship with the PGA Tour,” said Frank Gibeau, EA’s EVP and GM of North American Publishing. “The PGA Tour has been a great partner and we look forward to creating new and innovative products with them that continue to raise the standards for the sports video game genre.”
Given that this is EA, you're going to see plenty of the Tour (we refuse to print it in all-caps as it was originally shown; it just makes that 20 minute laughing fit that much harder to stop when you imagine someone screaming the word TOUR in your face). In fact, you're going to see it on all three Sony platforms come October (and November for the PlayStation 3 version, of course). Though EA makes no mention of it in the press release, it seems a little odd to think the facial motion capture data they make a huge deal about at E3 this year wouldn't be used in the game, but we shall see.
The series will incorporate a new FedEx Cup points race, highlighting the new approach to in-game tourneys with a points system in place rather than the traditional system. You'll still get your licensed courses (16 of them this year, including The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island and The K Club -- both Ryder Cup sites -- plus four more new comers), and 21 familiar faces (among them the inclusion of LPGA World Golf Hall of Fame alum Annika Sorenstam, 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell and repeat PLAYERS Championship/1995 PGA Championship winner Steve Elkington).
Those of you under 40 can now wake up. Class is over. Make sure you copy your notes off the guys reading on with rapt attention. You'll be there soon enough, and you'll wonder how you ever got on without the brilliance of the Scottish sport.
You're gonna have to get you some Tiger Woods PGA Tour.
Six years isn't just an arbitrary number. When 2012 rolls around and we're all flying in our hovercars and eating magically rehydrated pizzas that start out the size of a poker chip, EA will have gone through a whole hardware cycle, and will have been the only place to duplicate the PGA experience. What we now call next-gen will be old hat as games will likely look so good it would blow your mind out the back of your head.
“The PGA Tour is excited to continue our relationship with EA,” gushed Ed Moorhouse, PGA Tour Executive Vice President and Co-Chief Operating Officer. “Our video game provides a great entry into golf for kids and allows our brand to reach multiple generations throughout the world. EA has been a fantastic partner and has built the best video game franchise in golf.”
“We look forward to continuing our longstanding and very successful relationship with the PGA Tour,” said Frank Gibeau, EA’s EVP and GM of North American Publishing. “The PGA Tour has been a great partner and we look forward to creating new and innovative products with them that continue to raise the standards for the sports video game genre.”
Given that this is EA, you're going to see plenty of the Tour (we refuse to print it in all-caps as it was originally shown; it just makes that 20 minute laughing fit that much harder to stop when you imagine someone screaming the word TOUR in your face). In fact, you're going to see it on all three Sony platforms come October (and November for the PlayStation 3 version, of course). Though EA makes no mention of it in the press release, it seems a little odd to think the facial motion capture data they make a huge deal about at E3 this year wouldn't be used in the game, but we shall see.
The series will incorporate a new FedEx Cup points race, highlighting the new approach to in-game tourneys with a points system in place rather than the traditional system. You'll still get your licensed courses (16 of them this year, including The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island and The K Club -- both Ryder Cup sites -- plus four more new comers), and 21 familiar faces (among them the inclusion of LPGA World Golf Hall of Fame alum Annika Sorenstam, 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell and repeat PLAYERS Championship/1995 PGA Championship winner Steve Elkington).
Those of you under 40 can now wake up. Class is over. Make sure you copy your notes off the guys reading on with rapt attention. You'll be there soon enough, and you'll wonder how you ever got on without the brilliance of the Scottish sport.
