Video game developer and publisher, Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) released its Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters in North America.
The game is available in stores for a retail price of $59.99 on Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.’s (SNE) PlayStation 3. The game is also available for $49.99 on Nintendo’s Wii.
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12 Collector’s Edition, exclusive for PlayStation 3, is priced at $69.99.
Besides Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii, the game can also be played on PlayStation Move and Wii MotionPlus motion controllers.
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters is scheduled for an overseas launch on April 1, 2011.
Developed by EA Tiburon, the game allows players to compete in the Augusta National Golf Club and offers new enhanced and innovative features. The club’s 3 par course and 19 other courses are included in the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12 Collector’s Edition, while a total of 25 courses are featured on the Wii.
The game also features 14 of the other best courses in the world, including Royal Melbourne Golf Club (Australia), St. Andrews Links and Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Players can choose to play as or against more than 20 professional golfers, such as Zach Johnson (2007 Masters champion), Rickie Fowler (2010 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year) and Bubba Watson (2011 Farmers Insurance Open champion).
Gamers can begin their career as amateurs and gradually play Q School, followed by the Nationwide Tour and ultimately the PGA TOUR.
Electronic Arts has undertaken a number of initiatives to promote the game, including EA SPORTS Golf Preview Show, which was first aired on March 19 and will continue till April 19.
Electronic Arts also aired a 30-minute television commercial on March 21, featuring former Masters Champions such as Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, as a part of its advertising campaign.
EA SPORTS also launched Courseview, a tour of all the holes at Augusta National Golf Club on Facebook.
Electronic Arts has earned a name for developing and publishing quality games in the last few years. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters is of the same genre and will gain significant customer response going forward.
In December, 2010, Electronic Arts released Mass Effect 2 for PlayStation 3, which earned a rating of 95. In January 2011, Electronic Arts released Dead Space 2 with a 91 rating and sold approximately 2 million units.
In the calendar year 2010, Electronic Arts launched five games – FIFA 11, Medal of Honor, Madden NFL 11, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – each of which sold more than five million units.
In the third quarter of 2011, Electronic Arts posted revenue of $1.41 billion, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.05 billion and was within management’s guidance range of $1.375 billion to $1.5 billion.
Electronic Arts expects to release 37 titles (previous guidance 35) for fiscal year 2011, with 10 titles scheduled for the final quarter.
Recommendation
Electronic Arts remains focused on delivering quality titles, which we believe will drive significant top-line growth going forward. The company’s impressive product pipeline guarantees market share gains over the long term.
However, weakness in the overall packaged-goods sector, compounded by intense competition from Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), will hurt profitability in the long term.
We remain Neutral on Electronic Arts on a long-term basis (6-12 months).
Currently, Electronic Arts has a Zacks #3 Rank, which implies a Hold rating over the short term.
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