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In the week that Tiger Woods makes his return to professional golf at The Masters, EA Sports president Peter Moore has appeared on CNBC’s Power Lunch to explain why the publisher chose to stick with the world’s No.1 sportsman.
“We are a very different company, in regards to our relationship with Tiger, than other sponsors that have cut bait,” said Moore. “He’s in the game. He’s not an arm’s length endorser.”
Moore added that the just launched Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online has been in development for around 18 months – mostly before Tiger’s personal life became public knowledge.
“We’ve been very clear in our support of Tiger Woods the golfer,” Moore explained. “We have a very strong relationship. He’s a gamer himself, and instrumental himself in helping us develop this game over the past 15 years.”
Although not questioned directly whether EA Sports had deliberately timed the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online to coincide with Tiger’s return to golf, Moore did acknowledge the potentially helpful crossover.
“Certainly we think a strong showing [at The Masters] will help [sales], but it’s not a determining factor,” Moore said. “Tiger has had some of the personal issues in his life over the past month and we’ve seen no dropoff.”
Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online is available now, with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 to be released on July 2 for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii.
Via Kotaku
