PC gamers can compete in 1st Virtual U.S. Open
PC gamers can experience the thrill of competing in the U.S. Open from the comfort of their own homes with a new Flash-based browser videogame called World Golf Tour.
World Golf Tour (or WGT) offers several courses for gamers to compete in, from the U.S. Open’s Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., to the famous Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort. As well as Pinehurst’s Course 2, and Wolf Creek. There is planned to be a total of 8 playable courses by the end of this year.
Presented in high definition detail with stunningly photo-realistic graphics, WTG teamed up with the United States Golf Association to integrate the real U.S. Open tournament (which takes place June 18-21st) into the game. And in addition to getting the chance to tee off with your favorite stars like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, you will also be able to win prizes such as an all-expense paid trip to the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in California.
In creating the game, the developers took a large crew to the various courses mentioned above and had a team of photographers and programmers spend a week at each course. Recording and capturing every single aspect, every nook and cranny, of each hole from “every possible angle”. This included the use of overhead helicopter shots. The data was then translated into a 2 1/2-D “golf experience that replicates the challenges of the actual course”.
“It’s a tremendous experience for the average golfer,” said rising star Ryuji Imada. “You get to visually experience what we face on Tour each week. Since World Golf Tour goes out and takes actual images of the course, you see the exact same thing we do when we are on the course. The game also does a great job of portraying the difficulty and challenges that these courses present to us. When the casual fan is watching on TV they can’t see just how uphill some holes are, or how large the undulations are on some of the greens. This game gives you all of that and it’s never been done this way before. And the best part about it is that fans gain access to these premier courses for free.”
The goal of the virtual online game is to eventually have it be completely integrated into actual golf broadcasts, “further blurring the line between sport and videogame”. And according to the developers, over 2 million players have already logged onto the game, which has now been expanded to include social networking features that allow golfers and gamers alike to discuss their love of the links.
Fans can experience the game through WGT.com, ESPN.com, NBC.com and USOPEN.com, and can try the game out at the U.S. Open itself, where it will be displayed via 11 game kiosks spread out through the Trophy Room, media center and USGA hospitality tent.
Via Big Download
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