Your Thoughts on Tiger-less EA Sports Games

[Spyder]

So, as we are all aware, Tiger and EA split in the Fall of 2013 and this meant that there would no longer be any "Tiger Woods PGA Tour" games. The last time Tiger graced the cover, if I'm not mistaken, was on Tiger Woods PGA Tour '14.

Here's a brief sneak peak from E3 2014 of the new EA Sports PGA Tour 15:

Ian Poulter and battleships? That could be quite interesting. Or, could they be erring too far on the side of fantasy? I've always been a fan of the fantasy courses as they broke up some of the monotony that sets in when playing through the game and repeatedly seeing the same courses day in and day out (on top of of the fact that the courses are damn mirror images of the real-life courses as far as a video game is concerned, so avid golf fans already have many holes and layouts memorized as it is).

I think the biggest question here is the obvious one. How the hell is EA going to sell without Tiger? How many of you are even interested in these games now that you can't challenge Tiger on Sunday when you're bored at home and it's raining outside at 8 AM and you're Golf Channeled out?

I am by no means a "gamer" anymore, though I played my fair share as a kid as I'm sure many of us did. I bought 3 PS3 games over the course of owning my PS3. The last game that I bought and played was Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters. I strictly picked this game up for those rainy days when I couldn't get out on the course and the PGA Tour was not going to be on TV for several more hours. Of course, I did not have any children then so time was more expendable obviously.

So, are you going to continue buying into the EA Sports "PGA Tour" franchise post-Tiger era? Are you going to pass on it since a Tiger-less PGA game is just not "normal"? Or, would you rather read a month's old copy of Golf Digest?

[krupa]

I don't care but it's not because I grew up, I just got tired of video games (they're all the same as I played 10 years ago but with better graphics).

The battleship thing is strange though.  Some strange attempt to put explosions in a golf game, I guess.

[mailman]

The bigger issue for EA Golf is the limitations if the underlying engine. Unless this has been changed to allow for proper play offs, simultaneous play, crowd interaction, spinning and shaping the ball that doesn't rely on how fast you can hit the X and O buttons etc then this game will be just as dead as the previous versions. Regards Mailman

[yrew]

As a PC gamer I won't buy into any golf game by EA. The last game I bought on the PC was nothing but total crap.

[boogielicious]

I first saw Pong when I was a teenager.  Enough said.

[Fourputt]

I haven't seen a single version of the Tiger Woods franchise that I thought was worth the money.  I still play Links 2003 (now well modded by the user community) when I need a golf fix (If time allows, I may play a round or two at Pinehurst with the big guys this week).  With more than 1000 courses available, and with a better playing simulation of golf, it's always been my preferred game.  As EA went farther and farther afield from the actual game of golf, I was less and less interested.  Now it appears they have truly gone off the deep end.

[Spyder]

I haven't seen a single version of the Tiger Woods franchise that I thought was worth the money.  I still play Links 2003 (now well modded by the user community) when I need a golf fix (If time allows, I may play a round or two at Pinehurst with the big guys this week).  With more than 1000 courses available, and with a better playing simulation of golf, it's always been my preferred game.  As EA went farther and farther afield from the actual game of golf, I was less and less interested.  Now it appears they have truly gone off the deep end.

I think you would actually be pleasantly surprised with the mechanics, environment and physics of the game. The marketing puts a bad taste in traditional golf lovers' mouths because they show this garbage with fantasy courses and battleships and crap. But, if you sit down and play a traditional round of golf with the stupid power ups turned off and all of that, it's actually really enjoyable and about as realistic as you can expect from a golf game.

I'm like you though... the last game of any kind that I bought was Tiger Woods PGA Tour '12: The Masters. I'll usually wipe the dust off of it and throw it in to play a round on the course where a major is being held and of course Augusta. Aside from that, I really have no interest in games any more.

I may have to check out Links though since I have never played it.

[yrew]

On steam there is a new game called "the golf club" not PGA certified and it is still under development but it looks nice. They have active developers and are taking in feedback from the community

[jamo]

Maybe I should have been more careful when I said i wanted the next game to be more fun. :-O Oh well, we'll see. The graphics sure look great.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

I haven't seen a single version of the Tiger Woods franchise that I thought was worth the money.  I still play Links 2003 (now well modded by the user community) when I need a golf fix (If time allows, I may play a round or two at Pinehurst with the big guys this week).  With more than 1000 courses available, and with a better playing simulation of golf, it's always been my preferred game.  As EA went farther and farther afield from the actual game of golf, I was less and less interested.  Now it appears they have truly gone off the deep end.

I think you would actually be pleasantly surprised with the mechanics, environment and physics of the game. The marketing puts a bad taste in traditional golf lovers' mouths because they show this garbage with fantasy courses and battleships and crap. But, if you sit down and play a traditional round of golf with the stupid power ups turned off and all of that, it's actually really enjoyable and about as realistic as you can expect from a golf game.

I'm like you though... the last game of any kind that I bought was Tiger Woods PGA Tour '12: The Masters. I'll usually wipe the dust off of it and throw it in to play a round on the course where a major is being held and of course Augusta. Aside from that, I really have no interest in games any more.

I may have to check out Links though since I have never played it.

I played the TW 12 version and it was no better than any other.  I just don't like whole arcade concept that EA uses for the game.  I don't need waving grass and leaves to make the game work for me.  What I want is a game that plays like golf when I can't actually play golf.  Sure, it requires a mouse instead of a golf club, but I stroke the club with the mouse, not by clicking, so it's as close as it can be given that limitation.

Links has so many more game play options.  The Modes of Play (called Mops in the game) allow the user to customize his play.  You can play straight stroke, match play (1 on 1, 2 on 2), many varieties of skins, Stableford, Nassau (either stroke or match), Wolf, plus a bunch more - almost anything you can imagine, set any money value or point value you want, play with limited clubs.  There are a dozen different green speed and firmness settings from lightning quick to molasses slow.  You can customize the pin placements from up to 18 different locations on each green.  You can customize the tee settings and mix and match different color tees to make each round on a course play differently.

There is so much that TW never included because it made no attempt to be a golf simulation, it was just intended to be a golf game , and as such it was very limited in what it allowed the user to do.

[Shindig]

I still haven't finished playing TW12, and that will be quite some time. There are lots of things I'd like in the game -- hybrids, 4-wood, and so on -- but I'm fine enough with it for what it is. It was the main reason I bought a 360, though -- TW12, that is. I do, however, tend to stay away from products after Tiger stops endorsing them, unless the decision was truly mutual. I haven't bought Gatorade since they stopped making Gatorade Tiger, for example. So I probably won't buy a future iteration of an EA golf game.

[anthony]

I've bought a ton of these over the years, and still play TW12. I bought TW13, but they changed it so much that I couldn't even play it anymore. The putting, which was perfect before, is complete shit in TW13. Tiger being on it means nothing to me personally, and wouldn't be a factor. I would need to demo it before purchasing though.

[Spitfisher]

If purchasing ea sport golf game, I would buy it on the game it self, rather than who was on the cover- I think it has to have an identity of a player, much like NHL etc.

I think the split was two fold, one Tiger lost some of his sizzle in marketability, although he rebounded a bit, he wasn't winning with the frequency that we saw before, I also believe the contract from either side may have contained language,length and $$$ that were demanding for both parties to fulfill or consider viable. The second reason is I believe it might be more of the state of affairs with golf in general,  particularly the target buyer that plays video games and purchases games- are now more interested in war related, future-istic shoot-em up games. I doubt many of the 12-18 are interested in golf-sad but true according to statistics

[isukgolf]

I like playing some of the courses that I watch on TV ... looking forward to this being on the nextgen consoles ... could careless with Pro they use on the cover.

But it is interesting to virtually play some of the courses, then watch them on TV ...

I also enjoy playing virtual with some of my golfing friends, as the banter is about the same as on the golf course.  :)

I just hate so many micro-transactions to buy additional courses etc ... they nickle and dime you to death ...

[Strandly]

So, are you going to continue buying into the EA Sports "PGA Tour" franchise post-Tiger era? Are you going to pass on it since a Tiger-less PGA game is just not "normal"? Or, would you rather read a month's old copy of Golf Digest?

I don't buy anything from EA anymore since they refuse to play nice with Steam.  They generally do make fun games though so it's unfortunate-- the last games I have/played from them are Dead Space 1 & 2, Mass Effect 1 & 2, and Dragon Age Origins.

[RonTheSavage]

I'll pass on this, and not because of Tiger or anything but becasue of EA. YOu spend $60 on the game but you still need to spend more $ in game to download "certain" courses? My $60 isnt enough?

[Reval14]

Does someone know why Links 2003 was discontinued? It was a great Golf game.

[Strandly]

I'll pass on this, and not because of Tiger or anything but becasue of EA. YOu spend $60 on the game but you still need to spend more $ in game to download "certain" courses? My $60 isnt enough?

Yeah the DLC bandwagon is out of control.  In fact EA is a really bad one when it comes to it, they got burned on Mass Effect 3 because people found DLC content on the base game disc, proving they withheld content that was ready at the time of release in order to sell it separately and gouge their customers.