Shocker: no one is buying Tiger Woods' video game
Over the last eight months or so, there have been so many sordid details reported about Tiger Woods that can’t be confirmed.
He bedded porn stars and Perkins waitresses. He made a sex tape worth $5 million. He paid wife Elin $750 million for her silence in a divorce settlement.
And as much as these juicy nuggets sell magazines and ad space, they are often rumour and innuendo aimed to bring Tiger down from his top spot. Irresponsible? Maybe. But how about, on a Monday after the weekend, some fact and truth aimed to bring Tiger down from his top spot instead?
Yes, the Tiger Woods story may have died down a little, and the focus has surely turned from “Well, I guess it’s possible he had a threesome with Siegfried and Roy” to “When will he get his game back?” – an angle that grows with every disappointing stop he makes on the PGA Tour, like last weekend’s 23rd place finish at the British Open.
But to the contrary, the business tailspin of the world’s most polarizing golfer will not stop. News today broke that sales of Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’11, one of the most successful video game franchises on the market, have plummeted compared to a year earlier after one month in stores.
According to market researchers NPD Group, June’s debut month for the 2011 version of the golf sim sold only 32 per cent of what Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’10 did last year.
“What a difference a year makes,” writes gaming site VentureBeat.com, noting that “reputation matters” in even the video game business.
Indeed, while Tiger’s personal transgressions have been discussed ad nauseam, the business story here is EA Sports – the maker of Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchise – who decided to stay true to Woods last year when his sponsors were dumping him left, right and centre.
For its loyalty, EA Sports parent company Electronic Arts hasn’t quite been rewarded, its stock price having dipped since Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’11 was released last month.
Whether the Canadian-based developer will see a rebound in sales isn’t immediately known, but one thing is:
The Tiger Woods Stink, even after two-thirds of a year, has not yet washed off.
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: Whatthe? | Jul 20, 2021 11:05:20 AM
What the what? ACTUALLY, the reason his game is tanking is because they blindsided the community with a huge subscription fee and jacked the price not to mention this years game is substandard at best. Even the research firms don't do research anymore.
Posted by: shrek#4 | Jul 20, 2021 11:21:40 AM
why is everyone so surprised that no one is buying his game. After what has happened in his personal life and the negative way the media haunted him day and night, like there were not more important things going on in the world and their own country, I might add, to write about. Of course sales are down, anyway he will survive this, and life goes on. I'm sure he is eating and has a place to live, so his game not prospering, does not bother him a bit. But it is news for the media, so let's get it out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The media is more interested in tiger than they are in their own lives, what a way to make a living.
Posted by: wrongreason | Jul 20, 2021 4:24:43 PM
I would guess that sales are down because the popularity of golf is down, which is because Tiger hasn't been pulling in the television audiences. Tiger not being on tour hurts everything golf, including video games.
Posted by: Axel | Jul 20, 2021 5:46:06 PM
Tiger, like every one else, is human indeed, and subject to the same follies and imperfections- I think it all boiled down to how he HANDLED it once caught. The continued arrogance, the lying and side-stepping of the accountability.... that in my opinion is where he fell dramatically short. If he would have been an honest guy, stepped up and spoke up, I would admire him today... but alas, I cannot stomach weaklings.
And niether can the world.
As you can see-
Posted by: Sid Chandler | Jul 20, 2021 7:05:43 PM
Game sales tanked in a month because there are so few changes from the 2010 version. If sales were so awesome from the previous year as the writer suggests, why would one spend $50+ on a game they already own!! Readers would expect a respectable journalist to write about interesting topics, yet Jason Buckland and others continue to ride the coat tails of a subject long drawn out, only to satisfy the idle curiosity of their readers
Posted by: Myles | Jul 20, 2021 8:12:17 PM
Found out you had to pay for a Access Code and qucikly decided EA is not for me anymore,,,
Posted by: June | Jul 20, 2021 8:53:13 PM
sucks
Posted by: raymond jones | Jul 20, 2021 9:10:50 PM
We all want that perfect image , that shiny , squeaky clean , person we can cling to or look up to. I guess thats a good thing initially but when the God falls off his pedestal so do his followers . He took the wrong road , but many say who is to say it was the wrong road.............well his marriage is on the rocks , and his children will be asking questions , ...............maybe some kids have already poked fun at them and and caused much pain. He feels lots of shame but most of all he feels sorry for himself , as u can tell by the way he answers questons . I bet he feels like he is at the bottom of the sea and the weight of all that water is just crushing him. I think a final bomb shell is about to come out about his acitons . He has paid a lot of money to keep mouths shut but many women are feeling like........................heh where is my money ? He did all this shit to me and i dont get any money . So he either gets bitter or better. He has got to dig down and suck it up and just play golf and win big.
Posted by: wayne | Jul 20, 2021 10:10:14 PM
Tiger is one of the greatest golfers the world has ever seen. He has broken so many records.
Lets not forget he is human.
and why shouldnt he lie about his infedelities, when really it is a family affair.Its no ones elses business.
Did he hurt us personally from his mistakes. No.
How many other golfers, pro atheletes,have made bad decisions,while away from home.Wasnt there a famous football player shot and killed in an apartment rented by pro football players, so they had a place for their indescretions. If this world is so Moral, look at the television shows that are produced
that our children feed off of?????Come on people Tiger is human, and to me what he did was his business,none of mine. He still is my icon as far as golf. Maybe if everyone got off his case, he could continue on to break many more records.
As far as tiger woods golf, well tiger woods 2010 is so great, that I did not even need the 2011 version.
Posted by: Lisa | Jul 21, 2021 7:46:46 AM
I'm with Wayne here. Tiger is a fantastic golfer. Actually, even if he's not at "par" yet...no pun intended...he's done really well considering what he's had to endure in the media...and we must not forget he's human. So, keep up the good work Tiger! As for any game...whether it sells or not has almost nothing to do with the person's name to which the game is attached.
Posted by: dr. robert | Jul 21, 2021 9:20:54 AM
"as for any game...whether it sells or not has almost nothing to do with the person's name to which the game is attached"
i got a hunch there's an overwhelming amount of people in the publicity world that would disagree with that statement. if celebrity endorsement meant nothing, then it would not exist to the degree that it does. and corporations would not invest to the degree that they do.
Posted by: Lisa | Jul 21, 2021 2:25:18 PM
Dr. Robert: I agree with you...to a degree. That is why my statement had the word "almost" in it.
I realize there are people who hang on to every word of the media.
However, do I believe that Tiger's career is anywhere near over because the media has "blacklisted" him. No. There are many people like myself who don't give a rats a** about his personal life or what the media says about him. We will watch the genius behind the golfer no matter what.
Posted by: Major Anatomy | Jul 21, 2021 5:05:03 PM
The Wii version of TWG11 is pretty awesome. EA has refined the swing so that you get as close to a 1:1 correlation of controller movement to club movement as you are going to find in a golf video game. It doesn't look all that hot, but the play value is tremendous. You can even duff or shank the ball, or miss your swing altogether. If you click fast enough, you can bypass most parts of the game that actually feature Tiger, if that is your desire. There isn't a lot of him in the game unless you chose to play with him. And there's no EA add-on fee, either. Server access is included with the price of the game (for as long as EA keeps the server going, I guess).
Still, my wife is totally creeped out by Tiger, and she won't touch the game because of the guy. More Wii for me!
Posted by: satnam singh | Jul 22, 2021 1:29:56 AM
HI FRIENDS HE IS ALSO HUMAN LIKE US IF HE DID SOMETHING WORNG THATS HIS PERSONAL LIFE WE ALL ARE DIRTY SO WE DONT HAVE RIGHT TO INTERFARE IN ANY BUDDY PERSONAL LIKE IF WE ALL ARE CLEAN AND NEVER DID ANY THING WORNG IN OUR LIFE THEN WE CAN THROW STONE ON HIM OTHER CLEAN YOUR SELF FRIST AND THEN CLEAN OUTSIDE THANKS
Posted by: Rick S | Jul 22, 2021 2:11:45 AM
He hasn't done anything bad to me and I consider his personal life as his and his wifes business.
He is paying for his own mistakes and I don't see any reason to add to his punishment.
I agree with Satnam Singh.
Posted by: Dave | Jul 22, 2021 5:08:57 AM
ok well i think like alot here that his personal business is none of our business.the only reason hes being murdered by the media is cause hes a celeberty.if he was just like us they'd be like meh who cares.i have bought many of the Tiger Woods Games and loved them though i havent tried 2011 though im gonna have to.anywhos Tiger is a master on the coarse and given time the old Tiger will return :)
Posted by: Not-So-Common Sense | Jul 22, 2021 11:02:27 AM
The great sales of Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’10 had more to do with the Wii version being bundled with the Wii Motion Plus controller and this years iteration of the game hasn't brought anything as substantial to it feature set. Seeing as the Wii version pretty much was seen as the flagship version of the game...it makes sense that it had quite an impact on sales. But anything to sell a story right? *sarcasm*
Posted by: no | Jul 22, 2021 11:19:05 AM
people still buy sports games? seriously? how boring.
Seriously tho, I don't really get the point in buying your favorite sports game every year. Its the exact same game with a few micro changes. And they charge you 50-60$ for it. Meanwhile 2-3 months after release, the game will be about $20.
Even if i liked sports and sports games, I still wouldnt buy a sports game when it was 50-60$. and anyone who does is a fool.
Besides, EA sucks, I thought that gaming consumers had figured that out. They suck in every way possible. Everywhere I look I see people bashing EA games, yet for some reason idiots still buy their games...
Posted by: ferdinand | Jul 23, 2021 5:12:42 AM
all i can say is all of u who gave a bad comment to tiger woods shame on you!!!who are u to treat a person in such bad way!!! talking about his personal life in public give the guy a break even a priest make a mistake/even a president of a country make a mistake/we are all born to make a mistake we are just a human being no bodys perfect and everybodys shit smells stinks!!stop bothering the guys private life!!
Posted by: mclovin | Jul 26, 2021 2:23:52 PM
So Maybe his time for video games is up. They are great games, cod mow waw is now the shit