Out of the Woods?

[Dave]

Tiger Woods has hit the headlines for all of the wrong reasons in the last few weeks, but it seems his place as EA Games' poster boy has yet to be tarnished.

An article in The Independent today reveals that EA Games paid $20m of the $122.7 million that Tiger Woods earned off the course in 2007. Amounting to 16.3% of Wood's total earnings, the figure is the joint largest contributor alongside payments from Gatorade and Nike, but doesn't take into account the extras from royalties that EA also pays.

Although PepsiCo recently announced plans to ditch its Tiger Woods branded drink, EA Games has insisted that it will stick by the fallen golfer who has starred in EA's title for the past decade. Besides Wood's promiscuity probably gives the developers extra scope: perhaps a bonus mini-game trying to avoid kiss-and-tell mistresses, paparazzi and a driver-wielding vengeful partner in between holes.

This cannot be true, can it?

Now, I am a huge fan of the game series. I have bought and still own every single one since 2004 and I have loved every single one. However, I just cannot justify the figure that EA are paying to Tiger Woods to use his name in the title of their flagship golfing game. $20 million is a huge figure and given all of the turmoil that Tiger Woods has found himself in in the last few days, how is it justified to pay the man that amount of money? Can EA be making so much money from the game series that they can afford to pay Tiger Woods the huge sum that he is getting paid for lending his name to the game? Of course they can, otherwise they would not bother. However, with all of the press that surrounds him now, is this a good thing or a bad thing. Also, in terms of the games series and long-term future, do you think the recent scandals surrounding him will be help or damage the game series?

Personally, I think that any publicity is good publicity. This is especially true of Tiger Woods. The man is a mega-star and EA cannot afford to drop him as the name of their golfing series, no pun intended. With the media circus that is Tiger Woods, EA might not be looking fabulous at the moment but after this is all said and done, Tiger will come out of it with more publicity than ever and more prominence will come of the items that he markets. EA might just be holding on to see if it works out but what if they do drop him? Could they get another golfer to take his place or would that be then end of the series? If EA are affording to pay Tiger that amount of money, they must be making a fortune from the series and it would not make sense to drop the game but how are EA going to look after all of this is said and done?

 

[Blade]

Firstly, EA are the most profitable non-console making games company in the world. Certainly, EA have that kind of money to throw around. They make huge profits from all their games, so they could easily pay Woods that much. Whether it's true or not, I have no idea. It certainly wouldn't surprise. EA level of profits are huge.
But is it worth it? I'm not totally sure. There's been about 10 games in the Woods PGA Tour franchise but from what I can gather, the combined sales for the games isn't even 5 million. Considering how much they pay Woods and how much they push the shit out of the game, there must be seriously wrong if those sales figure are correct.

Of course any publicity. At least, when it comes to the video games industry. Do you really think GTA would be this huge if it hadn't got all the media publicity? Manhunt? Even Modern Warfare 2? Of course not. While the media surrounding Woods might not help the game sales that much, as the controversy surrounding him hasn't got anything to do with his game, it could still boost sales.

 

[Dave]

Firstly, EA are the most profitable non-console making games company in the world. Certainly, EA have that kind of money to throw around. They make huge profits from all their games, so they could easily pay Woods that much. Whether it's true or not, I have no idea. It certainly wouldn't surprise. EA level of profits are huge.
But is it worth it? I'm not totally sure. There's been about 10 games in the Woods PGA Tour franchise but from what I can gather, the combined sales for the games isn't even 5 million. Considering how much they pay Woods and how much they push the shit out of the game, there must be seriously wrong if those sales figure are correct.

Of course any publicity. At least, when it comes to the video games industry. Do you really think GTA would be this huge if it hadn't got all the media publicity? Manhunt? Even Modern Warfare 2? Of course not. While the media surrounding Woods might not help the game sales that much, as the controversy surrounding him hasn't got anything to do with his game, it could still boost sales.

If the reported sum that they are paying him is to be believed, then it is definitely not worth it. Not by a long stretch of the imagination. If you are struglling to break 5 million copies under the EA umbrella in a sport that does have a good following amongst the video game playing youth, then you are doing something wrong. It might be because of poor marketing or it may be because the game is a bad series. However, with 10 attempts at trying to make a good game, you really should be pushing by now. I am legitimately shocked by the actual number of sales, to be very frank with you. 10 attempts and not even 5 million copies sold!? An average of 500,000 copies every year is not a flattering sum. It may be because of the lack of development that this series has had but that is very curious. If it is indeed true, it is not worth it.

However, I do believe that this has huge repercussions for EA. Today, it was announced that Tiger Woods will be stepping away from golf indefinitely. Now, how are EA going to approach this situation? They cannot use him to market the game any more because that would mean him being involved with Golf again. They might lose a lot of money from him not wanting to be associated with golf any more and he wont be relevant to the game any more. This is definitely going to be the make or break time for the series. Developments to follow, I would assume.