Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online (Open Beta) available now; AVG users beware? PGA Tour 11 (June.2010)

Update: It seems to be AVG’s fault. I’ve had no problems whatsoever with Unity3D games previously. I have actually played some Unity3D-based games on my PC and have also downloaded and installed its Unity 2.6.1 game engine. It seemed weird to me this was happening. I hope AVG fixes this as soon as possible. I’ll go back to play Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online again. Here’s a response from Reza Malekzadeh at Unity:

Actualización: Parece que es culpa de AVG. Anteriormente no he tenido ningún problema con los juegos de Unity3D. En realidad he jugado algunos juegos basados en Unity3D en mi computadora y también he descargado e instalado su motor de juegos Unity 2.6.1. Me pareció extraño que sucediese esto. Volveré a jugar Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online de nuevo. Espero que AVG arregle esto lo más pronto posible. He aquí una respuesta de Reza Malekzadeh de Unity:

<<
Hello Alberto,

My name is Reza and I work for Unity Technologies. I wanted to react to your blog post. Our engineering team took a look at your post and researched the issue. As far as we can tell, AVG is wrongfully flagging Unity. There is no risk at all and we will (be) contacting AVG to ask them to better look at our product.

I hope you can update your post to reflect our view because we really don’t want folks to get the wrong impression 🙂

My direct email is reza@unity3d.com – I was not able to find your email so I am using Facebook to contact you.

Thanks
reza
>>

====

This new online game from EA Tiburon does bring the feeling of playing the game on a console, except that you do it from the comfort of your own desktop or laptop PC. The 3D graphics looks great and the mouse control is very effective. No complaint there. But there is something AVG users may not expect when they are installing a version of Unity Web Player in order to play this game: a message from AVG – “Malware detected.” After I received this message, I went back to the game site to look for help. Luckily, there was live chat support. Un-luckily, I didn’t get a thorough response. Hopefully I’ll get one soon.

Esta nuevo juego en línea de EA Tiburon trae la sensación de jugar el juego en una consola, salvo que lo haces desde la comodidad de tu propio PC de escritorio o portátil. Los gráficos e3D se ve muy bien y el control del ratón es muy eficaz. No hay queja. Pero hay algo que los usuarios de AVG quizás no esperen cuando estén instalando una versión de Unity Web Player para jugar a este juego: un mensaje de AVG – “Malware detectado”. Después de recibir este mensaje, volví de nuevo al sitio del juego para buscar ayuda. Afortunadamente, había chat de ayuda en vivo. Desafortunadamente, no conseguí una respuesta exhaustiva. Espero conseguir una pronto.

Hi, my name is Andy. How may I help you? [06:43:09 AM PST]
: Hi Andy. I have just found out about this open beta version of the game, but I got a problem. The game works, but I got this message from AVG: Malware detected – File name: wrap_oal.dll; threat name: alcra; category: network worm. What do I do? [06:45:17 AM]
: severity level: 4/5 [06:45:39 AM]
Andy: Please give me few moments. [06:43:10 AM]
: ok [06:46:19 AM]
Andy: Please go to task bar and stop running AVG [06:44:17 AM]
: I got two options: it says to either quarantine it or to allow it [06:47:55 AM]
Andy: Please contact your system admin. [06:46:18 AM]
Andy: Please respond if we are connected to this session. [06:50:41 AM]
: Will EA eventually contact AVG about this? I’ve been playing some Unity games and haven’t had a problem with this… until now. I was just about to post the press release I got an hour ago from EA Sports to my blog about this online game [06:54:03 AM]
Andy: I need to escalate your issue to higher level and they will get back to you via email. [06:51:50 AM]
: Ok then, because I wouldn’t want other AVG users to get a bad impression about this game if they (gamers) haven’t thoroughly play it [06:56:37 AM]
Andy: Is there anything else I may help you with? [06:54:30 AM]
: No, I guess I’ll just quarantine that file; the game sees to be working properly though [06:59:09 AM]
: Thanks for your help [06:59:16 AM]
Andy: Bye and take care. [06:56:48 AM]
” disconnected (‘Concluded by Agent’). [06:59:33 AM]

From/De: EA

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online Open Beta Highlights Strong EA Sports Golf Portfolio for 2010

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today the upcoming product lineup for the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® franchise, which includes the launch of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® Online open beta and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 11 on multiple consoles this June.

“During beta testing we’ve already seen tremendous participation and enthusiasm from golf fans around the world for Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online”

Golf enthusiasts globally can now get a free* preview of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online and invite others via Facebook® to join the open beta. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online, developed by EA Tiburon, is the most accessible, authentic and feature-rich golf video game experience available through a web browser, with no game installation, no disc, and no additional peripherals required. In addition, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11 will be available on the Wii™, Xbox 360®, PlayStation®3 and iPhone™ platforms.

“During beta testing we’ve already seen tremendous participation and enthusiasm from golf fans around the world for Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online,” said Executive Producer Mike Taramykin. “We’re looking forward to offering all players the opportunity to preview the game for free* in the coming weeks. Also, during open beta gamers can invite others to play via Facebook and we continue to encourage the community to help to drive the game’s evolution and development.”

Since May, EA SPORTS has invited players to participate in four closed beta tests and consumers have showed overwhelming interest and support for the offering. During this time, more than 500,000 rounds of golf have been played.

During the free preview open beta starting today, players will also be able to enjoy the following new features:

• Facebook Connect – Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online connects to Facebook, allowing players to invite their friends to become fans, thus earning additional in-game experience. Players are also able to publish their accomplishments to Facebook.
• Golfer Progression – Players will begin their career as a beginner and by earning experience points, will climb the ranks toward becoming a golf legend.
• The Cut Line – As an extra challenge, each day a target score will appear that becomes the goal for each golfer. If the user meets, or scores under the target, additional in-game experience is rewarded.
• Fans, Favorites & Sponsorships – Each player will be able to acquire fans within Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online. The more fans a player has, the more experience points are rewarded. Sponsor your friends and earn in-game money if they make the Cut Line.
• Realistic Wind – Experience dynamic wind that calculates the direction and speed throughout the round, making the game more realistic and challenging.
• Pro Shop – Purchase upgraded equipment with in-game earnings to help improve your customized golfer and impress friends.

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online will be offered through a multi-tiered subscription in early 2010. Since 1986, EA has produced immersive golf experiences that give casual and hardcore gamers the ability to hit the links via an authentic gameplay experience. Since the launch of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 99 the franchise has sold more than 25 million units worldwide**. The critically acclaimed Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 on the Wii currently ranks as the 12^th highest rated Wii game of all-time on Metacritic. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11 will launch this June on the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and iPhone platforms.

For more information about Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online, go to www.tigerwoodsonline.com and for Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online assets, go to www.info.ea.com.

EA SPORTS™ is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, global videogame competitions and breakthrough digital experiences. EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football and NCAA Basketball, Fight Nightboxing and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, while EA SPORTS Active Personal Trainer for the Wii is the most critically acclaimed product available for interactive fitness.

For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums, fantasy leagues and game communities, please visit www.easports.com to connect, share and compete.

* Internet connection, registration and acceptance of an open Beta Agreement required. Must be over 18 to participate.

** Based on totals from NPD data and EU-based retail tracking services, including internal EA sales data.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS^TM, EA^TM, EA Mobile™ and POGO^TM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. John Madden, NFL, NBA, FIFA, NHL, NCAA, NASCAR, Tiger Woods and PGA TOUR are trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo. Xbox and the Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

About PGA TOUR

The PGA TOUR is the world’s premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, co-sanctioning more than 100 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour.

The PGA TOUR’s mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in communities in which it plays, and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players.

In 2010, the three Tours collectively have tournaments in 34 states and in 12 countries outside of the U.S. PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to nearly 600 million households in 231 countries and 30 languages.

Virtually all tournaments are organized as nonprofit organizations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2009, tournaments on the three Tours generated nearly $109 million for local charitable organizations, bringing the TOUR’s all-time total of charitable contributions to nearly $1.5 billion.

The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the company is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.