Electronic Arts made a new move in the video game industry with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 when they made the decision to charge for downloadable cheat codes. This opens the door for gamers to ask many questions about the future of on-line gaming, and more questions about the monetary impacts to the industry itself.
For a certain number of Microsoft Points via the Xbox Live Marketplace gamers can download cheat codes for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, unlocking various items within the game. Here is what is available on the Marketplace:
- Own Everything in the Pro Shop - 300 points.
- Sunday Tiger - Marketplace Exclusive - 240 points.
- Unlock Courses - 200 points.
- Unlock Golfers - 200 points.
- Maxed Out Player - 200 points.
So there you have it, pay an additional 1,140 Microsoft Points (in addition to the cost of the game) and you virtually have everything unlocked and a super stats player (with all stats set to 110). The problem with this is that cheat codes for games, for years, have been free. You just need to know where to go to find them. Various web sites, magazines, and other publications have been offering cheat codes for free for years.
But where exactly does the problem stem from, if you feel it is a problem to begin with? Is it the developers trying to capitalize on a game as much as they can? Is it the demand for cheats? For downloadable content? Honestly, gamers have been contributing to the problem since the onset of Xbox 360 by paying for downloadable content that really isn't worth the price. If there is one small lesson in life that can be learned by this, it is that people will pay for anything.
The game has not been out long enough to see if the other versions of the game have cheat codes, if they do, and if they are free then you have to wonder why there would be codes for a game on one platform, and only 'pay-for-codes' on another. Of course, you can still unlock everything they are asking you to pay for the traditional way, by playing through the game. But some people like to take the easy way out, or simply don't have enough time to play the game fully, so cheats are a viable option.
Is it really the developers fault for offering something that (at least some) people are willing to buy? Perhaps, but lets remember, the developers are in the industry to make money, just like you and I are when we go to work. Does that make it right? Who knows, you'll have to make that decision by either downloading the content, or letting it sit there.
And after all of this, I still wonder, what happened to the real golf game? Links!
Achievements for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 on the Xbox 360 are listed on the next page...