Video game developer and publisher Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is set to release Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13: The Masters Collector’s Edition, the latest titles of its popular golf franchise on March 27 in North America. The games will hit the worldwide market on March 30, 2012.
Developed by EA Tiburon, both the games will be available on Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.’s (SNE) PlayStation 3. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 is priced at $59.99 while Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13: The Masters Collector’s Edition will be available for $69.99.
The latest editions consist of attractive features, such as the revamped swing mechanics, which help the players to better control the swing tempo, ball position and stance. However, the best attraction of the new series is the integration with Kinect.
For the first time in the franchise’s history, the new titles will allow Xbox 360 gamers to complete a round of golf with Kinect. Further details about the Kinect integration will be revealed later in January.
Gamers can choose to play as or against more than 22 professional golfers, such as Rory McIlroy (2011 US open champion), Rickie Fowler (2010 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year) and Bubba Watson (Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 US cover art finalist). Further details about the new golfers will be revealed next week.
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13: The Masters Collector’s Edition allows access to the Augusta National Golf Club and offers new enhanced and innovative features. The club’s 3 par course and 21 other courses are also included in the new game. EA expects to disclose further exclusive details of The Masters Collector’s Edition during March.
EA has earned a name for developing and publishing quality games over the last few years. The Tiger Woods PGA TOUR franchise is of the same genre and will gain significant customer response going forward, in our view. We note that this is the 22nd season of the franchise and its popularity reflects significant fan following, which will drive growth going forward.
Recently, EA released its most ambitious massively multiplayer online (MMO) game Star Wars: The Old Republic, which has received tremendous customer response. We believe that EA has a strong product pipeline for 2012 and its significant exposure to digital gaming will boost its top-line growth going forward.
However, the gloomy macroeconomic environment, increasing competition and weak video game sales results over the last 12 months, compel us to remain on the sidelines. We also note that digital contributes only a small portion of EA’s revenue growth (21.0% in the second quarter of 2012). On the other hand, EA’s major market (packaged good) is more saturated due to overcrowding and this will hurt growth going forward.
We have a Neutral recommendation on EA over the long term (3-6 months). Currently, EA has a Zacks #3 Rank, which implies a Hold rating over the short term.
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
