WGTMedia, a
social-mobile game publisher which started life as World Golf Tour and
makes realistic social sports simulations, has made a successful jump to
mobile. The company told GamesBeat exclusively that its free-to-play
WGT Golf Mobile title has hit 3 million downloads over the past year on
iOS.
San Francisco-based WGT creates high-definition virtual sports
simulations, with realistic imagery based on actual photographs that
makes you feel like you’re really stuck in a sand trap at the St Andrews
golf course in Scotland. WGT got its start on the Web and on Facebook,
where it found a lot of golf fans who wanted to socialize with each
other. They didn’t mind that the 3D graphics weren’t fast-action like
realistic video games such as Electronic Arts’ packaged PGA golf games.
Over time, WGT added a ton of courses and official licenses, and it
retained a small, but loyal and rich, audience.
The studio expanded to baseball in 2012. And now, between WGT Golf
and WGT Baseball, the company has had more than 20 million downloads. It
made the shift to mobile a year ago with the launch of WGT Golf Mobile
on iOS, and the Android version is available in a few countries now. The
Android edition will be more widely available in the U.S. and the rest
of the world in February. With the results so far, WGT Media expects
that the golf game will become the most-downloaded mobile golf title in
2015.
“We enable fans to play their favorite sports games wherever they
are,” said YuChiang Cheng, WGT Media founder and CEO, in an email. “As a
company we take a methodical, thorough and long term strategy to do
things the right way. It took us awhile to learn the mobile way, build a
mobile tech platform and also hire top talent, but the investment is
paying off.”
He added, “Mobile is very different than web or console and we had to
adjust the golf title while building a true trans-media title. The
existing web players can seamlessly login to mobile with no friction and
the mobile players can play multiplayer game against WGT players on any
platform. The main focus of the mobile title is quick 5 min head to
head sync multiplier games.”
WGT Golf Mobile has high-definition imagery with actual course
photographs, terrain mapping, and physics that try to deliver the most
realistic golf simulation. On any given day, more than 100,000 WGT Golf
players compete in single and multiplayer games and tournaments on
championship courses like Bandon Dunes, Pebble Beach, and St Andrews.
Players can purchase virtual goods that perform like real-world golf
equipment. WGT recently launched new virtual in-game equipment from top
golf manufacturers, including Callaway Golf, Cleveland, Cobra, Nike
Golf, Ping, Odyssey, and TaylorMade.
Overall, all of the WGT Golf titles reach more than 3 million unique
visitors a month, with average session times on mobile and the Web at 45
minutes. On average, WGT players are mostly males over 30 years old,
and they are also real-world golfers.
WGT offers sponsors in-game and customized branding opportunities.
It has also become a sponsor of the largest virtual-golf competitions in
the world. For instance, it holds The Virtual U.S. Open with the United
States Golf Association (USGA) and sponsor Lexus. That tournament has
been growing for six consecutive years.
And WGT launched the PGA Championship Virtual Challenge with the PGA
of America last year at the virtual Valhalla Golf Club. More than a
million rounds of golf were played, and 25,000 fans experienced the
Samsung PGA Pick the Hole Challenge. The WGT Virtual Tour is covered on
the Golf Channel, and it is livestreamed on gameplay site Twitch.tv.
And SkyTrak just announced their integration with WGT Golf Mobile for
golfers to use their new consumer swing monitor and real golf clubs to
play WGT virtual golf courses. Cheng said the new game is monetizing
well.
WGT Media has more than 50 employees. WGT’s investors include Battery
Ventures, Panorama Capital and JAFCO ventures, along with Mark Shafir,
Ronnie Lott and Harris Barton.