The Masters

Below are links to two blogs from Peter Moore (President of EA Sports) regarding EA Sports on the PC and TW 09 for PC....

http://itsinthegame.ea.com/archive/2008/06/14/sports-on-the-pc.aspx

http://itsinthegame.ea.com/archive/2008/06/18/best-wishes-to-tiger.aspx

Please feel free to voice your feelings, but keep it clean.

well I have to say I almost did not buy TW09 this year (glad I did because the small incremental changes and widescreen format were worth while, plus the ability to actually hit the ball in the rough without it being called OB which is what happens in the Xbox360 version). So if many were/are like me and find the lack of innovation on the part of EA in regards to the PC versions of their games off putting this really shouldn't come as a surpise. Personally I hope they don't abandon the PC market but rather go back to the drawing board and redefine how they will service it. I think if they had simply focused on releasing course updates, improving the online experience catering toward a more sophisticated social experience more kin to actual golfing and clubs they could have turned this in to an online service and made a killing. But EA's burning need to release a new version every year simply killed their ability to do the PC market justice especially when they started to cut out every feature that made the PC versions worthwhile such as course editors, custom season creators etc.

If EA doesn't ever come back to the PC I really hope a company like Customplay manages to leverage the opportunity to fill the gap and more importantly eclipes it.

PS: Sorry about grammar and spelling just to tired to fix it all up.

PPS: will EA be ending online play for TW08 when all of the TW09 platforms are released or will they graciously allow their customers playing TW08 to continue to play online?
Message was edited by: MMichaelSee (EA.com)

270 have read this with only two replies,what we post here means nothing to EA so why post anything?

TW09 PC Gamers:

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

This discussion should be lit up like a Christmas tree, but instead all we've got here is 'no paying customers' for the brass. Why would they consider a PC version with this turnout?

Voice your opinion, but not with vulgar "%$% EA Sports" comments, because those get no respect from decision makers. Nor with ultra-polite "Okay, maybe someday" comments, because those get no respect either. Things get done when you open your mouth and state your dislike in HUGE numbers. It doesn't matter if 'it's been said already'. Say it again.

I don't do the Playstation/Xbox thing. I chill out, relax, and get my mind off things in my comfortable chair, in front of my average PC, with a round of golf. Having no support from EA Sports/Tiger Woods for PC gamers is totally disappointing.

A.

I have "bought" this game every year since even before Tiger Woods name was on the box. I "don't" play online and have been accused of being a pirate. I AM NOT. I still have store bought copy's going back to TW 2003 to me the rest were not worth keeping.
In a way I am glad they are stopping the PC series because every year its the same thing. Rush the product out to sell it we buy it, install it and wait for a patch. And 9 times out of 10 you are told the problem is your machine. Even though you can run other high end 3d games. And unless you play allot (to get that feel) you can't move off the lowest level for all the mishits and miss putts. They have made it to hard for the guy that just wants to play once in a while or that's all he can play because they have a real life and it's just not possible.
To sum it up:

1 Almost no technical support.
2 If you do get a patch it takes like a month.
3 If this forum was not here I would have given up when 2002 came out.

I'm out

It saddens me when I see names like Carnoustie responding like this and it shows just how badly EA has treated loyal supporters of their products. I agree with you 100% Carn... The fact hundreds have read but only 5 have replied shows the fact that EA has already lost their target audience.

BUT I really hope someone who either still has a little bit of ability to get information from EA or EA themselves can answer what will happen to online play for TW08 when EA roles out TW09 for the consoles. Will EA simply turn off all online play for PC users, or will they at least maintain this service as a courtesy to the people who have bought their products. I'm not so worried about myself I rarely have time to play online anymore anyway but do worry about the community of players who do.

i thinl its stupid

"It saddens me when I see names like Carnoustie responding like this and it shows just how badly EA has treated loyal supporters of their products."

I'm not trying to excuse or explain EA's behavior, but I think that what they are doing is based purely on economic factors. If they're not making the target profit on a product, they're going to drop it... no matter how loyal their supporters are. If they're not enough supporters (as in paying customers), EA has no choice since they're not a charitable organization.

"The fact hundreds have read but only 5 have replied shows the fact that EA has already lost their target audience."

I agree with this, but I would add that I don't think it only applies to the PC version's actual and prospective client base... I also see this declining trend of community involvement being reflected in the console version's forums, here and elsewhere on the internet. It's either:

A.) EA is reaching an audience with the consoles who aren't as passionate about online play, or discussing the game in forums over the last three years

B.) the over-the-top arcade direction they're going with the game is leaving simulation minded gamers feeling disenfranchised.

I think it's more of the latter. This is the first year that I have not had a sense of anticipation for the XBox 360 version of Tiger Woods. I just don't see enough information to suggest to me that it's going to take the steps I think are necessary to reignite the simulation minded gamers.

As for the PC version, I don't think it's guilty of losing nearly as much in simulation quality. I think it's suffering the same fate as many PC games... gamers are turning away from sports gaming on the PC, or just turning away from PC gaming altogether.

I'm probably a case in point for the latter. I used to be an avid PC gamer, but over time, I grew away from it. There are a number of reasons, but it's mostly because I got lazy and didn't want to spend the time needed to install games, keep drivers up to date, deal with hardware conflicts, etc. Also, the two places where my desktops are installed are not conducive to gaming, especially with any degree of comfort.

I still play a Tiger Woods 06 on my PC, or rare occasions. I purchased rFactor for the PC after seeing how my new graphics card game me enough power to run it (it's a quality online racing game to boot). I thought this was going to be the start of a new era of PC gaming for me, but the honeymoon ended after two weeks. I don't like sitting in an office chair at a 19" LCD monitor on a desk. I also don't like the hassles I have to go through to set up and then stow away my steering wheel and pedals after each session. I've been spoiled by gaming from a recliner in front of a 56" 1080p widescreen.

If I had a 24" widescreen LCD monitor and a very comfortable, hiback office chair at a desk that I could leave everyting setup, I might stick with it. That's just my case, but I've heard others express the same sentiments who've migrated to consoles.

" Will EA simply turn off all online play for PC users, or will they at least maintain this service as a courtesy to the people who have bought their products."

I bet they'll keep the 2008 servers going for at least two more years. They've been pretty good about this based on my experience. I'm pretty sure that I played 06 online at some point last year.

Abandoning the PC is the 2nd worst marketing decision ever made by EA Sports. I personally will never spend another dime on their products. It works both ways EA. You abandon me, I abandon you!!

If the trend follows with EA giving the console versions as much support as they did the PC version, I believe they will soon lose that target base also. EA has a track record of putting out the same old stuff year after year with the same old problems as the year before with no real effort to actually improve or revamp their product. Hopefully someone else will fill the void of PC golf simulation. My sympathy goes out to those who play the console versions. You will soon realize the frustrations that PC gamers have felt for the last 10 years.

Thats absolutely funny..

According to Newegg.com , There WILL be a PC version of the game.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832130092

Couldnt be fake now could it?

According to EA, there won't be one.

What's funny is an EA rep believing a retailer over the developer.

While you're providing links, provide one to preorder TW09-PC from the EA store.

Actually , if you took the time to read my entire thread, no where does it mention that I believe or not believe the information I have posted above - I was merely making an observation online that I have observed.

In todays world of online forgery and programs like Adobe Photo Shop and Paint Shop pro its easy for retailers to dupe you just to cash in on pre-order reserves.

What's really sad IMHO is that EAS began deviating away from what REALLY matters, attention to realism, somewhere after 2004. For example, 2004 marked the end of animations that looked LESS like Toy Story, and more like real players. Compare Jim Furyk 2004 with anything beyond 2004. Just looks more cartoonish. Animations aside, here's what would sell PC version of TW:

Here's the basic philosophy:

1: Make the game a platform with a 3 year service life, with an SDK (course architect, and 3d object tool), so that 3rd party developers can make courses, players, 3d objects, etc. The best example of this philosophy is Flight Simulator series. A whole cadre of 3rd party developers exist because they don't try to put out a new one every year. Instead, they put out a product that can hardly run (at it's most detailed settings) with top end hardware on day 1, but scales to much lesser hardware, thereby extending its service life for years.

2. Build this platform so that it adheres to real life golf: photoreal textures and mesh detail (like Links 2003(!) for example; simulate what the RL golfer actually does: have a view angle that simulates accurately what a player looks at when he plays (as an game option), looking down at the ball, seeing his hands and the club waggling, then swinging, then looking up to follow the ball, etc

3. Continue improving the audio commentary environment where perhaps you start to use AI to have the commentary follow a match as you might here on TV: "That putt may be pivotal in this event. Tiger is now 2 shots back with 2 left to play and . . . yada yada"

4. Add more Tour players, again, with attention to photoreal detail.

A high end PC today, could run some seriously improved graphics: build for today's BEST video/CPU hardware (ala CRYSIS, or FSX, for example), but scale it with controls so lesser hardware could run it.

Anyway, I believe that a golf sim that IS SO REALISTIC, so like real golf, so like TV covered real golf, with a robust 3rd party SDK, you could have a product that would KEEP BRINGING IN DOLLARS for EAS for many years. This model would work, and if a different software company decided to do this, I'd be there in spades.

Noel

I would seriously hope that EA Sports wakes up and releases a TW 09 for PC. I am not about to go out and spend several hundred dollars on a system and fork over 35-50 bucks for the game itself. There are no other companies putting out any golf sims that I am aware of. Microsoft shot themselves in the foot about 6 years ago when they walked away from the golf sim. I would also like to see another big name software company enter the market and show EA that they made a big mistake should they decide to put a PC version out.