Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® Experiences Largest First Week Sales in Franchise History

[cdj]

This press release was issued earlier this afternoon. It seems like adding Augusta was big for the franchise after a down year in sales for TW11.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that Tiger Woods PGA TOUR generated its largest first week at retail in the franchise’s 14-year history (March 29 – April 5), primarily driven by Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12: The Masters. Based on internal estimates, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12: The Masters sold through approximately 225,000 units and outperformed previous week-one record sales (Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 08 in 2007) by 17 percent in North America. Furthermore, year over year, week one console digital revenue for the franchise is estimated to have increased over 200 percent. Additionally, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12 on iPhone® and iPad™ was the #1 top grossing sports game application on iTunes® the day it launched and throughout week one*.

“We expected fans to be excited about the Masters and for sales to be up significantly. We’re pleased that they are,” said Peter Moore, President of EA SPORTS. “Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters has earned rave reviews, and fans have played nearly two million rounds at Augusta National Golf Club during the first two weeks.”

Critics and fans have applauded the level of authenticity and realism of Augusta National Golf Club in the game, thanks to a new laser scanning technology that replicated the historic course to within six millimeters. SI.com said “each hole is rendered perfectly down to the last azalea and the course plays as tough as it looks on TV” and rated it 9.5 out of 10, while Golfweek stated, “the attention to detail and the new features make it tough to imagine it can get much better than here” and rated the game 9 out of 10.

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12: The Masters has reached a series of gameplay milestones since its launch on March 29, including:

- More than 7 million games played on all courses.

- On consoles, fans played the equivalent of 2,515 PGA TOUR seasons in online tournaments.

- Over 184 million golf shots taken, 1.5 million achievements and trophies unlocked and 12 million course mastery objectives completed.

[psusnoop]

Pretty cool stuff for sure.

[cdj]

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 12: The Masters has reached a series of gameplay milestones since its launch on March 29, including:

- More than 7 million games played on all courses.
- On consoles, fans played the equivalent of 2,515 PGA TOUR seasons in online tournaments.
- Over 184 million golf shots taken, 1.5 million achievements and trophies unlocked and 12 million course mastery objectives completed.[/I]

They didn't note that half of those were unlocked by JBHuskers.

[JBHuskers]

They didn't note that half of those were unlocked by JBHuskers.

:nod:

Now wait a minute. Didn't Pasta report that the sales were sluggish, barely improved? :smh: :D

[cdj]

:nod:

Now wait a minute. Didn't Pasta report that the sales were sluggish, barely improved? :smh: :D

He exact line was "sales were up, but only marginally (http://www.pastapadre.com/2011/04/11/the-masters-not-having-big-impact-on-reviews-and-sales-of-tiger-12)." I'm not sure where he got his info as IIRC NPD doesn't release numbers publicly anymore. Maybe I am not remembering that correctly though. Perhaps some people still have access.

I thought the interesting part was how week one revenue was up 200%. I'm interpreting that to mean PDLC (premium DLC) sales have been through the roof.

[psuexv]

I think this is in direct correlation to TGT and the TGA that they put together bringing so many people to buy the game this year.

[CLW]

I haven't purchased the game in years. The Masters combined with the TGT made the sale for me. I am LOVING the game so far and I can really see myself playing the game throughout the year and longer.

The problem EA may run into is that there will be very little reason for casual golf fans like myself to consistently purchase TW.

[SmoothPancakes]

I haven't purchased the game in years. The Masters combined with the TGT made the sale for me. I am LOVING the game so far and I can really see myself playing the game throughout the year and longer.

The problem EA may run into is that there will be very little reason for casual golf fans like myself to consistently purchase TW.

That's my thought. They are going to have to hit another grand slam next year to convince me to buy TW13. Otherwise, I could stick with 12 for years and be happy.

[CLW]

That's my thought. They are going to have to hit another grand slam next year to convince me to buy TW13. Otherwise, I could stick with 12 for years and be happy.

I suppose the argument would be that EA turns off online play at somepoint so if you want to play TW with your buddies here at TGT you must get the yearly update.