No, we're not talking about Tiger's bad knee that's going to make the PGA tour as popular as pro bowling over the next few months, but rather a new online golf game called World Golf Tour that will try to dethrone the king of golf games: EA's Tiger Woods golf. WGT was founded by a couple of dudes who had sold their previous game company for $90 million a few years back and wondered why there weren't any good online golf games. With proceeds from their sale (amazing what you can do with a few tens of millions laying around) and some venture backing, they set out to great a "2 1/2 D", Flash-based online golf game that strives for true realism. Golfers will be able to create their own avatars, determine where to place the ball, select which club to use, and even manage the spin of the ball.
Since EA has a lock on the PGA license, WGT is getting around this road block by working directly with top golf courses. Their team of designers and engineers meticulously replicate each course using aerial photography and GPS technology. What we're most intrigued by is their revenue model which seeks to provide free game play through product placements, advertisements, and partnerships with television and tournaments. We think (and hope) that more gaming companies will embrace this distribution model. In addition, WGT will embrace social networking which they hope will lead to the stickiness of their game by enabling players to create online profiles, post tips, and share videos of their best shots.
The complete version of World Golf Tour is expected to launch in late summer but you can try out their demo now at worldgolftour.com. We found the graphics fairly on par with the latest gen games and the swing mechanism is fairly easy to use. Only time will tell if WGT will pull a Rocco on Tiger or simply be relegated to the driving range.
(via portfolio.com)
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