Full disclosure: I suck at golf. I’m not even really a fan. But damn I love me some golf video games. Wii Golf is great fun. EA (Electronic Arts) golf is even better. So when I read there was a beta for an online version of Tiger Woods golf that was almost as good as the console version, I was skeptical to say the least. But I’m here to tell you, it’s true, it’s glorious and it points to incredible possibilities for the future of online gaming and even marketing.
About Tigers game (golf that is, I’ll leave his peccadilloes for others), it’s pretty good, even in its current beta form. Playing on my MacBook Pro, the game takes forever to load and is a bit chunky when playing. I’m guessing this is due to the fact that the graphics are amazing (it looks like you’re playing on an Xbox putting a heavy load on my laptop’s processor). The game play is as sophisticated as any EA golf game. There are about 10 courses, a leaderboard, and you can play with other people online. If your boss walks in on you mid swing you can simply shut your browser window and pick up exactly where you left off later. Pretty amazing stuff.
For the world of gaming, this is huge. EA plans to make the game free to play. Micropayments will be used to improve your game through gear and your looks through golf attire (how vain do you have to be to buy designer clothes for your online golf avatar?) But imagine Street Fighter Online, playing with some kid in Costa Rica. Or, opening your browser during lunch to steal some cars and sell drugs on Grand Theft Auto Online. How do companies make money off online games? A taste can lead to buying the full game later, micropayments, a subscription to EA Online gives you access to Tiger, Madden, FIFA, NBA, etc. The money tree will blossom.
Where does marketing come in? I’ve done several online games for clients. We’re always limited by load times, file size, graphics capabilities, and most maddeningly, the sophistication, or lack there of, of the game play. With those barriers crumbling we’ll have more flexibility to create richer experiences and maybe even generate a little microrevenue ourselves. The US Army has a game called America’s Army that’s a pretty good first person shooter. But, you have to download the app and it’s a biggie. Not something most people can do on their work machines. But if you can just pop open a browser and run a mission here and there, you’re engaging with the brand on your terms, when you have time and still getting the full gaming experience.
I sit here drooling for a project that let’s me try this out.
