His name is still on the cover, but you’ll be hard pressed to notice it…or even Tiger Woods himself. As you can see in the image to the right, the box art for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, the latest entry in the series, prominently has the Masters Tournament logo front and center, with the actual title in smaller font at the bottom and Woods (at least we think that’s Woods…) in the background, his face not even visible.
There’s good reason to give the Masters a lot of focus, though, as PGA Tour 12 will be the first entry in the franchise to feature the prestigious tournament. “For more than a decade, the Masters Tournament has been the most requested and coveted feature for the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR franchise among our fans,” said EA Sports president Peter Moore. “Pairing the number one golf video game franchise with the most prestigious golf tournament in the world is a perfect marriage and we’re thrilled to bring our fans this exciting opportunity to experience Augusta National Golf Club like never before.”
Still, the diminished presence of Woods on the box art seems striking in the wake of his personal scandal and recent professional slump. Speaking to Eurogamer, though, Moore insisted there shouldn’t be too much read into it. “If the insinuation is it’s a reflection of EA Sports backing away from its relationship that goes back literally 13 years with Tiger, that’s not the case whatsoever,” he said. “This is obviously a very important day in our history and an important day in the world of golf videogames, and focusing on the Masters is the right thing to do.”