Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR News Post

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour Not a Yearly Title, Will Feature Free Content Updates

05:23 PM - July 1, 2015 by RaychelSnr

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour designer Justin Patel confirmed yesterday on the OS Forums that Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is not going to be a yearly release. This is not entirely unexpected news, but it is confirmation of that fact.

Also Patel does indicate the game will get free content updates after release as well. What that means is vague, but one would seem to think it would almost certainly mean courses and golfers being possible add-ons after the fact. Given the relatively slim amount of content available on the disk, and the pushback from fans following that reveal, this is a good bit of news.

There's also not a confirmation of what schedule, if any, any future Rory games will be released on. There has been some speculation, although currently unfounded, that Rory could eventually morph into a more subscription-based format where official golfers and courses are added and subtracted all of the time.

If you recall, EA Sports UFC released with a limited number of licensed fighters, but quickly ramped that number up with updates. It's likely that PGA Tour could be following a similar model of content releases. It's also possible that Rory will be an every other year release -- but we haven't heard official confirmation of that yet.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is set to release for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on July 14. EA Access subscribers can play the trial version on July 9 for up to 10 hours. Check out some gameplay footage here.

Game: Rory McIlroy PGA TOURReader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
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Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR Videos

Member Comments

# 1 GrandMaster B @ 07/01/15 06:04 PM

Good news.

# 2 sarlndr @ 07/01/15 06:19 PM

I haven't played a golf game in almost 10 years. It may be time to end the drought and pick this title up. Great news if they update the game like UFC. Not so great if they just add clubs, tee's and balls

# 3 jbd345 @ 07/01/15 06:41 PM

I had a feeling this would be the case with this title. Golf is a different sport than the rest. They can get away with not putting out a yearly release. Sure Rory won't have a course creator but if they add courses every few months than that's awesome. I'm sure the power of frostbite hindered their ability to add courses on disk after seeing that video. But maybe someone could answer this. Is dlc added to the consoles hard drive rather than game data? I'm just wondering because maybe they just couldn't fit more than 8 courses on the disk itself.

# 4 jayhawk2121 @ 07/01/15 06:56 PM

The game is only around 26gb on the XB1, so I doubt that's the case...

# 5 Dazraz @ 07/01/15 08:20 PM

I think a 2 year cycle would suffice. The problem with longer term concepts that rely more heavily on DLC is that many elements of the game will remain untouched. More Courses & more Pros is fine but in the longer term these updates won't suffice unless presentation elements & gameplay improvements can be added effectively via DLC.

# 6 brandon27 @ 07/01/15 10:03 PM

Good news. I like the idea. It makes sense. You dont have to release a golf game yearly. Rules dont change. The game doesnt change. The players don't really change. There's no teams, etc.

I dont like the idea of "subtracting" players and courses however.

# 7 MHammer113 @ 07/01/15 10:10 PM

The golf club has already been successful with this strategy. This is a great move by EA

# 8 OnlookerDelay @ 07/01/15 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MHammer113


	The golf club has already been successful with this strategy. This is a great move by EA

Indeed HBS has been successful with this strategy and I think it's what has kept The Golf Club viable. I'm sure I would have lost interest with it early on had it not been upgraded and enhanced over it's year of existence. I don't doubt that EA Sports noticed this also and it had a bearing on their decision to go with it. They're not being copycats, just following the lead of a demonstrated winning formula. I'm almost as excited over this news as I am the "Pro" camera presentation option.... that we still haven't seen in action yet

# 9 MHammer113 @ 07/01/15 10:28 PM

It's unbelievable how well TGC has communicated with the public and kept the game fresh. They have done a masterful job and EA should follow their lead. Now if EA somehow created a golf course designer with Frostbite I would dish out much more than $60. It is definitely wishful thinking, but Frostbite seems extremely powerful

# 10 cdawg44 @ 07/02/15 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnlookerDelay


	Indeed HBS has been successful with this strategy and I think it's what has kept The Golf Club viable. I'm sure I would have lost interest with it early on had it not been upgraded and enhanced over it's year of existence. I don't doubt that EA Sports noticed this also and it had a bearing on their decision to go with it. They're not being copycats, just following the lead of a demonstrated winning formula. I'm almost as excited over this news as I am the "Pro" camera presentation option.... that we still haven't seen in action yet

Yeah as long as EA communicates with us better, I'm more than good with this arrangement. We aren't a large community, but EA golf fans are a loyal bunch for the most part. I've been a yearly buyer since only getting 3 courses on Tiger Woods 2001 on PS2 and saw this series go so up and down. Giving the fans info about what's coming, getting feedback about what courses to pursue (gotta get Torrey Pines, Pebble, Oakmont and East Lake ASAP) and just being up front would go a longer way to settle our anxieties about this series. Before this week, it was no chance I'd buy this before it dropped to around 30, now it moved to being a day one purchase after watching the Arnold Palmer video. If we have US open, Open Championship and PGA championship branding, I'm all set and happier than a clam. Thank God we have DivotMaker and OnlookerDelay beating the drum for this series and trying to hold Tiburon's feet to the fire about not communicating and being up front with the fans.

# 11 N51_rob @ 07/02/15 02:33 AM

This is fairly surprising and welcome news. I have been hard on this game for shipping with only 8 courses. This news has piqued my interest in what they have planned. Will be awaiting more news about the specifics.

# 12 jwilphl @ 07/02/15 07:31 AM

Now if only they would do this with every sports title (that is: not make them yearly releases). The longer development cycle would (or at least should) do wonders to actually improve the game from release to release. That said I never expect it because EA would be sacrificing 50% of their revenues, and shareholders wouldn't be too pleased.

# 13 cdawg44 @ 07/02/15 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_Quiet_Pro


	Not necessarily. If they release continuous premium DLC to keep the game fresh and not FORCE the buyer to get a 60 dollar game every year, but sporadic DLC year round, they could keep revenues up maybe even beat them. (AND it allow's the consumer to choose what DLC they want so they're not pressured into buying something that they NEED, only WANT... so psychologically they feel more inclined to it.

EA has made it clear that the 60 dollar game is designed to just get you in the door. Where they make their best money is DLC with things like Ultimate Team and other preminum content. If anything, Hardcore players will spend much more money in niche games like this for continuos updates if it is done correctly by pursuing content we want. This would never happen with Fifa or Madden or 2K because they are such high sellers, but for niche sports games such as Boxing, Golf, Tennis and others it's a great way to maximize revenue in a lower volume seller. Instead of spending 60 every year and losing money to retailers who want their cut and printing costs for discs, EA makes more money directly from the consumer. It's a win win for all sides. We don't have to buy a new disc every single year and can use our DLC for 2 years or longer and EA gets to do transaction directly with consumer and doesn't have to share with retailers.

# 14 DivotMaker @ 07/02/15 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwilphl


	Now if only they would do this with every sports title (that is: not make them yearly releases). The longer development cycle would (or at least should) do wonders to actually improve the game from release to release. That said I never expect it because EA would be sacrificing 50% of their revenues, and shareholders wouldn't be too pleased.

Actually, I respectfully disagree. I think EA is also competing with mobile gaming and they realize that quite possibly annual game releases of certain sports may not be the answer. I think UFC and now RM are guinea pigs to see how a non-annual release schedule might work. It fits Golf to a "T", but it would be a different animal for the Maddens, NHL's, NBA Live's, FIFA's of their world.....if you listened to their E3 presser, they are killing it in the mobile and DLC marketplace.

# 15 ricky24 @ 07/02/15 11:06 AM

So this probably means it's never hitting the Ea access vault huh? Or not anytime soon anyways.

# 16 jb12780 @ 07/02/15 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricky24


	So this probably means it's never hitting the Ea access vault huh? Or not anytime soon anyways.

EA UFC is a biannual title and it's in the vault.

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

# 17 ricky24 @ 07/02/15 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jb12780


	EA UFC is a biannual title and it's in the vault. Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

Yeah I thought about that after my post. Good point.

# 18 Golfsprince @ 07/02/15 07:21 PM

I think EA and HBS knew of this idea a long time ago together when they were supposed to work on TW 15 but since EA decided to take a year off, HBS decided to go their own route and use the ideas they had originally planned together with EA so I wouldn't necessarily say EA followed in HBS' path because this was planned way ahead of time, HBS just took advantage first and has done a great job with it

A course creator in RM PGA would be cool but I think if they can somehow get 80+ true remodels of real courses as well as some more fantasy courses, I think that would be more than satisfying.

# 19 MHammer113 @ 07/03/15 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cohle


	And if TGC wasn't an ugly game with crap presentation, and was fun to play, I wouldn't need a new golf game. Is this really the conversation you want to have in this thread?

I disagree with the game being ugly, but do agree with the poor presentation. There's no doubt RM will be better looking and play better, but there is absolutely no denying the lasting appeal that TGC has because of TGC tours and the course creator. If RM comes up with either or both than it will surpass every golf game every made.

# 20 MHammer113 @ 07/03/15 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cohle


	And if TGC wasn't an ugly game with crap presentation, and was fun to play, I wouldn't need a new golf game. Is this really the conversation you want to have in this thread?

Oh and BTW i will go that way with this thread because unlike EA, HBS has been very very clear about updates and communicating with the public. EA has said there will be free content, but nothing specific. Should someone have to really dish out 60 bucks without knowing? Especially when TGC is half the price.

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