It turns out that people aren’t too keen on the idea of buying a video game that plasters the image of a washed up sports icon dubbed as a womanizer and a liar.
Actually, that sounds like it could be a really great idea…but not when it’s Tiger Woods.
EA Sports was one of the biggest names that did not decide to sever ties with Woods after the story of his sex scandal broke last year. At the time, studio head Peter Moore said, “Regardless of what’s happening in his personal life, and regardless of his decision to take a personal leave from the sport, Tiger Woods is still one of the greatest athletes in history.”
That may be true, but he’s not stirring up sales the way he used to. According to GamesIndustry.biz, sales of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 are down 68% from last year’s version of the annual game. Sales of the Wii version of the game, which were further exacerbated by decreasing Wii numbers across the board, were down a whopping 86%.
Cowan & Company analyst Doug Creutz said that the Tiger Woods scandal “may have permanently damaged the sales potential of what we believe to be Electronic Art’s third most important sports franchise, behind Madden and FIFA.”
Perhaps all is not lost. Tiger could go on to start a new video game series…though it might not be exactly family-friendly.
