• EA SPORTS Pushes Back PGA Tour

    While EA SPORTS never gave a release date for EA SPORTS PGA TOUR except for a vague 'Spring 2015,' which was expected to come before March 31. However, today EA announced that the golf title has been pushed to the first quarter of fiscal 2016, which means the game should launch between April and June 2015. (Tiger 14 launched in March 2013, so this will leave a gap of over two years between golf titles from EA SPORTS.)

    EA SPORTS cancelled Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 15, which was expected to be outsourced and developed by HB Studios. The Canadian developer then shifted their focus and resources into developing The Golf Club.

    PGA TOUR will utilize the Frostbite 3 Engine (from the Battlefield franchise) and based on the early teaser video is expected to feature dynamically changing courses. There has been no indication on possible features in the game, but the longer development time following the cancellation of TW15 and now this delay has raised some hopes for new, exciting features in the franchise.

    Aside from impressive visuals, what do you hope to see in terms of features in EA SPORTS PGA TOUR?

    This article was originally published in forum thread: EA Pushes Back PGA Tour started by CLW View original post
    Comments 10 Comments
    1. SCClassof93's Avatar
      SCClassof93 -
      What a shame
    1. JBHuskers's Avatar
      JBHuskers -
      I have a feel I know why, and if I'm right, it will be worth the wait. If I'm wrong, then I'm puzzled.
    1. gigemaggs99's Avatar
      gigemaggs99 -
      Quote Originally Posted by JBHuskers View Post
      I have a feel I know why, and if I'm right, it will be worth the wait. If I'm wrong, then I'm puzzled.
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      pastapadre recently wrote an article about the PGA TOUR delay and challenges it faces:

      After a Year Off EA Sports PGA Tour Faces Identify Crisis and Tougher Launch Climate

      The Golf Club, from independent developer HB Studios, has proven that a focus on simulation and customization can resonate with fans of the sport. Those are who need to be captured well before trying to hook in casuals who tend to be followers instead when a quality game is recognized by those who are passionate about it first.

      There’s now one viable alternative on consoles with the highly-regarded The Golf Club and two when considering PC which includes the early access Perfect Golf. EA won’t be entering a market where everyone interested in golf will only have their game to consider purchasing. With the strong post-release support from The Golf Club it’s still going to feel like a fresh product even later this year.

      The edge PGA Tour will have is in licensing. Real courses, golfers, and brands attached. It’s starting to feel like that might not be enough. EA will need reveal something innovative they have up their sleeves to make a real splash and that can’t be the fantasy courses.



      Personally speaking, I'm interested in seeing how they handle the balance between sim and fantasy with this new game as well as social interaction in terms of playing & competing with friends. That seems to be an area of weakness for a lot of sports games. Fair or not, the long development time has expectations high so hopefully they can deliver.
    1. SCClassof93's Avatar
      SCClassof93 -
      As someone no longer interested in EA products at launch I will be watching the forums to see how the product is supported after launch. At this point it would take a ground breaking effort and top notch support to regain me as a customer.
    1. bdoughty's Avatar
      bdoughty -
      When in doubt, add...

    1. gigemaggs99's Avatar
      gigemaggs99 -
      I've been playing quite a few rounds of The Golf Club, have my handicap index down to +3.6.

      For fun I turned Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 on, on the PS3 and it's really amazing how much better The Golf Club is. The graphics blow EAs game out of the water. I would say The Golf Club is the winner hands down, for a better simulation golf game.

      It would be nice to hear something from EA though on a release date. However it does seem out there to speed time and development on graphics for things like exploding battleships, I'd say keep that fantasy stuff out of the game and make a good quality golf game.
    1. gigemaggs99's Avatar
      gigemaggs99 -
      Was at Gamestop today, they had on their upcoming release board PGA Tour is set to come out Tuesday June 30, 2015.
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      Quote Originally Posted by gigemaggs99 View Post
      Was at Gamestop today, they had on their upcoming release board PGA Tour is set to come out Tuesday June 30, 2015.
      Thanks for that info! It could be a placeholder (last Tuesday of June), but that date seems believable and I assume they wouldn't list it if they didn't know something. Nice looking out.

      I'll keep an eye on retail sites to see if the date starts to leak out there as well.
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      Quote Originally Posted by gigemaggs99 View Post
      Was at Gamestop today, they had on their upcoming release board PGA Tour is set to come out Tuesday June 30, 2015.
      I would say this is correct.

      Amazon has the Xbox One version listed with a June 30 release date. (PS4 still with 12/31/15 placeholder.)