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EA accused of 'misleading' people with Tiger Woods ad photo

The Advertising Standards Authority has been an annoying thorn in the side of the videogame industry for a while, having posters and commercials pulled, often for silly reasons. The ASA might be right this time, however, pulling a TV commercial for Electronic Arts' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, which can no longer be shown in its current form.

The basis of the complaint is the fact that, despite sporting a Wii logo at the end of the advert, EA has (naturally) chosen to use footage from the Xbox 360 version of the game. The commercial states that the game is available on all formats, but carries a Wii logo. One busybody has complained to the ASA, stating that the footage is "misleading" to Wii owners.

The fact that Tiger Woods is shown swinging a Wiimote to match gestures on the Xbox 360 version isn't misleading at all, of course. 

Everybody knows that no sane publisher would post Wii footage if they have superior footage from another system, since most Wii games look like rubbish. EA put it even more bluntly, defending itself by saying that the Wii version was simply not of "broadcast quality." Ouch. 

Of course, if you own a Wii, you should already be prepared for a game that looks ugly as sin, comparitively speaking. However, the fact that EA showed a Wiimote but not any Wii footage at all is totally false advertising. A lot of stupid people could be suckered in by that and while, technically, it would be their fault for suddenly expecting HD graphics on their white waggle box, the ASA seems to have made a sensible decision. For once.








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Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize. Likes PS2, iPod Touch, Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid, Dynasty Warriors 3 Meet the rest of the team



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13 comments | showing # 1 to 13
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mix's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 08:52
mix
Sounds like common sense to me really. They can't make a shitty movie and show some scenes from a different movie to make it seem better so this shouldn't be any different.
Diverse's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 08:53
Diverse
HAHA YEAH! FUCK THE WII
bobyoko's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 09:02
bobyoko
i hope ea gets cancer and dies a long slow death. i haven't bought a game from them since early last gen.
gamadaya's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 09:26
gamadaya
I laughed so hard when I read that. "Not broadcast quality." What does that even mean? It's not like the commercial airs exclusively in HD, and even if it did, it doesn't really matter.
glandseck's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 09:32
glandseck
I haven't agreed with the ASA in a long time.
Sorry EA, you were caught with your pants down on that one.
Logo's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 10:05
Logo
I wonder if this sets a precedence for 'bullshots' ( http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/09/12/ ) as they tend to be just as misleading.
wardrox's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 10:23
wardrox
haha, oh EA. Why don't they just show footage from a better game?
nicojay's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 11:58
nicojay
False advertising Grrrr. Personally I've always been angered at TV ads for games that only showed FMV as opposed to in-game graphics, or for the magazines and internet "in-game" screen shots that are beautifully doctored.
Timstuff's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 12:10
Timstuff
I wish we had the ASA in America. I was so sick of those idiots at Ubisoft showing pre-rendered footage of games like Ghost Recon AW 2 and presenting it as gameplay. If your game is too ugly to sell, you shouldn't bother having commercials for it. Making fake commercials though does more harm than good to the industry, because it makes people less trusting of the products that get put out, and therefor less likely to buy them.
LilJimmyNordin's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 12:12
LilJimmyNordin
This is the DEFINITION of false advertising- The commercial shows a game that gamers with actual taste might really want to buy and play, which we know doesn't exist on the Wii. TRICKERY!
parrothead's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 12:25
parrothead
I knew that was too good looking to be true.
PEICanada7's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 15:08
PEICanada7
"HAHA YEAH! FUCK THE WII"

Why would you say fuck the Wii. It has nothing to do with the system itself for EA to mislead people. That's like saying Fuck Sony for putting PS3 graphics up, and showing PS2, PSP, and PS3 as the platforms. Then not distingash that its different graphical levels for each system.

We all know it is, but the average Joe on the street doesn't. Tiger Woods sold the best on the Wii over all other platforms, so yeah fuck the Wii for having the best gameplay to make people actually go out, and buy tiger woods for it.
TrailerParkJesus's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/17/2008 19:24
TrailerParkJesus
lol busted
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