On January 14th, 1999, employees at Electronic Arts (EA) stumbled upon a startling discovery that would lead to a significant recall in the gaming industry. Reports surfaced of a hidden video within the Tiger Woods '99 PlayStation game, a video nobody anticipated: an unauthorized copy of the South Park short, The Spirit of Christmas. This was particularly alarming considering the game's "E for Everyone" rating, contradicting the explicit content of the South Park episode.
Upon identifying the issue, EA made the decision to recall the affected game discs and publicly pledged to find and reprimand the responsible parties. The situation soon grabbed the attention of popular gaming sites, prompting coverage about how players could access the video or exchange their game for a corrected version.
For years, the ins and outs of the incident were shrouded in mystery as no one from within EA spoke about it. However, Time Extension sought to uncover the truth by contacting members of the Tiger Woods '99 development team.
An anonymous individual with a detailed account and Steve Cartwright, a producer on the game, revealed that the video file was found within a dummy data file, "zzdummy.dat," included in most EA PlayStation games of the era. The file helped optimize the console's optical drive performance, and traditionally contained innocuous data invisible to players. But in the case of Tiger Woods '99, it somehow ended up containing "The Spirit of Christmas" video.
There are differing takes on whether the inclusion was intentional or an oversight. Cartwright suggested it was an interim placeholder forgotten over time, while the anonymous source implied a deliberate act by a lone engineer who viewed it as a harmless joke, never expecting it to be uncovered.
Regardless, the secret didn’t remain hidden for long. After release, a user from Florida tinkered with the game disc on their PC, eventually unveiling the hidden AVI file. The discovery sent shockwaves through EA, with immediate internal consultations to assess the situation and implications. Ruth Kennedy, EA's general counsel at the time, inquired about marketing usage of the material and dictated the need for swift and appropriate action.
This led to a high-level meeting with EA's CEO, Larry Probst, and the heads of departments, where the financial impact and corrective measures were discussed. It was decided that quick action was necessary to manage the public relations fallout and to ensure partners that such an incident wouldn't repeat. Measures included a recall, production of a replacement disc without the Easter egg, and an internal investigation to identify the responsible party. Ultimately, an engineer stepped forward, apologizing and claiming no malicious intent.
The fallout could have been significant, but the incident didn't substantially harm EA's reputation or its relationship with Tiger Woods. Sales remained strong, the franchise continued to prosper, and partners like the PGA showed understanding given EA's typically professional conduct. Tiger Woods himself was reportedly amused and unfazed by the mishap.
Despite initial fears, neither EA's bottom line nor the Tiger Woods game series suffered long-term consequences. Internally, embarrassment and reflection led to procedural changes to prevent future occurrences of such unexpected “features.” The story is now a curious footnote in the history of game development, reminding the industry of the care needed in managing game content and the potential unpredictability of software distribution.
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