Despite Tiger Woods' scandal last year, EA has stuck with the golfer as its frontman for the PGA Tour golf games. Unfortunately for Woods, he has yet to win a tournament since the scandal and his ranking as the world’s number one pro golfer has been taken. EA’s John Riccitiello told Reuters (via NBC) that the company was only willing to pursue the partnership as long as Woods remains the best golfer still playing.
"This is no threat against Tiger," said Riccitiello. "We have no plans to move away from him, but it's a business relationship on the basis of we make the best golf game and he's the best golfer. Both of those things need to be true in the long run for the partnership to make sense."
Sales for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 were down 68% compared to the previous year. Is this due to the scandal or the current slump in the market? EA still intends to work with Tiger for the 2012 version of the game, but it has also branched out into a Facebook golf game without Tiger’s name attached.
"We're broadening the appeal of our golf business," he said. "He sort of stuck with us for a very long time and we made great business together and we're willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for a period of time."
[Thanks 1UP]
