For the last 10 years, Nintendo console owners have come to expect a new entry in the Tiger Woods PGA series every year.
But that won’t happen in 2012, as EA Sports has confirmed it will not bring the next Tiger Woods title to the Wii.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 will instead only be released on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
“There is no Wii version planned for Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 or Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13: The Masters Collector’s Edition. We decided to focus on the HD platforms and take advantage of the robust online communities of Xbox and Sony PS3 given the new online and social features in this year’s game. There have been significant strides in motion gaming through the release of Kinect and PlayStation Move and we believe fans will enjoy the true-to-life golf swing created by these peripherals,” EA explained in a statement.
It’s an ironic twist because the Wii was heralded as the future of the Tiger Woods franchise back in the day, due to its motion controls that added a more lifelike experience to the game.
But now, Playstation Move and Xbox Kinect are much more sophisticated, and the Wii’s competitors have much stronger online connectivity options.
This is a huge blow to Nintendo, not because Tiger Woods was an essential part of the Wii’s success, but because this is a symbolic sign of how out-of-date the Wii has become.
The Wii U hopes to bring Nintendo back to the forefront; it will apparently have a more powerful processor than the Xbox 360 or PS3. But for now, this is not a good sign for Nintendo.
