Visual Experience Trumps the Tiger Woods Brand in EA Sports Split
Woods’ Popularity Could Have Been the Eventual Downfall for the Franchise
COMMENTARY | If November 29, 2009, was the date that doomed Tiger Woods' marriage, then January 4, 2011, was the one that doomed his longtime partnership with Electronic Arts (EA Sports).
EA and Woods announced their split on Oct. 29, ending a 15-year partnership between the golfer and the purveyor of the most successful golf video-game franchise of all time. The split was amicable; not a severed deal, rather a choice to not extend an expired contract.
"We've always been big fans of Tiger and we wish him continued success in all his future endeavors," Daryl Holt, the vice president and general manager of golf at EA sports, said in a statement on its website.
So, why the split now, in late 2013 coming off a season in which Woods won five times, was named the Player of the Year and ascended back to No. 1 in the world golf rankings?
EA stuck with Woods through his scandal in 2009 when other big-time sponsors Gatorade, Gillette, Accenture, AT&T and Tag Heuer distanced themselves from the then-disgraced golfer. Now, four years later, Woods' image has rebounded and his game is back among the best in the world. With new consoles slated to come out in the coming months, why wouldn't EA want him to be the face of its franchise heading into the next generation of video gaming?
The answer is simple, even if the means to the end were anything but -- the visual experience in the game has surpassed the influence of the face on the cover.
While Woods was a mainstay on the cover of the game and the default character that gamers would use in quick play, the attraction of the game was always the golf courses.
As the age-old golfing adage goes: You don't play against your opponents, you play against the course. And in the Tiger Woods PGA Tour games, the courses available were spectacular. From the comfort of your couch, you can tee off on the world's best courses: St. Andrews, Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass, Kiawah Island, Royal Birkdale, Spyglass Hill … the list goes on and on.
And while those courses were playable in real life, January 4, 2011, marked a date that would change the course of virtual golf forever.
"EA Sports, Tiger Woods and the PGA Tour have developed an extremely successful franchise that responds to one of the popular entertainment choices of kids today," Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said, announcing the inclusion of the über-private club in 2012 version of the game. "We hope our inclusion will foster an appreciation for the history and traditions of the Masters and inspire the next generation of golfers."
Call it a stroke of luck or a long con, but EA Sports had secured its golden goose by capitalizing on the popularity and success of Woods and, in doing so, practically negated its need for the world's best golfer in one fell swoop.
The influence of Woods in the game had been diminished yearly as diehards were more interested in the new courses, the changes to gameplay or the challenges more so than playing a round of golf as Tiger Woods.
With Augusta National on board, Woods was proven to not be bigger than the game or its most prestigious courses. The virtual experience of playing the most exclusive course in the world surpassed the thrill of using the best player in the world to shoot 56 on the "Amateur" setting at Pebble Beach.
Now, with the next-gen pictures coming out, Woods is irrelevant.
The game franchise may have needed Tiger Woods more than the Woods needed a video game when they struck a deal in 1999, but with the advancement in the visual experience coupled with the securing of Augusta National, EA Sports has proved that no golfer is bigger than the sport.
Not even Tiger Woods.
Chris Chaney is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based sportswriter. He has written for multiple outlets including WrongFairway.com, Hoopville.com, The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer and The Clermont (OH) Sun.
Follow him on Twitter @Wrong_Fairway.
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