Despite “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” being a best-selling video game for Electronic Arts for many years, they have removed the disgraced golfer’s image for the first time.
We saw this coming last year when EA made Woods share the cover of his best-selling video game with another golfer (Northern Irish rookie Rory McIlroy) in the wake of his sex scandal. A greater attraction than all other golfers combined, mind you — Tiger had never had to share the stage with anyone.
How a year changes things. The public’s repulsion with the lurid tales of Tiger’s outlandish bedroom acrobatics greatly impacted EA’s bottom line. EA Sports has worked with Woods since 1999 on what once was a perennial best-selling title. But in 2010, sales of the game dropped dramatically in the U.S. and around the globe. Tiger’s image has now been replaced with a shot of the iconic yellow flag at Augusta National Golf Club.
This year, following the controversy away from the green and lackluster play on it, Woods has been dropped altogether from the cover of the March 29 release of “Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters” on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii.
According to video game analyst David Cole of DFC Intelligence, sales of “Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11” were down 50 to 60 percent on a worldwide basis from 2009. While EA stood by their cover athlete, they did not work with him to promote the game last year. Traditionally, Woods does media interviews and appearances to launch each new game. –terry shropshire
