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SkyBOX: Gaming The Gamers

by Evie Haskell

Talk about a comeback strategy ... You cause a near-riot in London, release a slew of god-like creator tools to consumers and then have the mega No. 1 sports network showcase your technology right at the start of football season.

To say that the folks at Electronic Arts have unfurled a b****-out "We're Baaaack" banner is kind of like saying that Jeff Zucker is moderately pleased with NBC's Olympic results.

Well, maybe the riot in London wasn't such a hot idea. It happened via an EA promotion of its "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames" video game and involved a $35k+ gas-giveaway, a long, long line of cars and a horde of commuters trapped in their driveways. Not pretty.

But the creator tool ... aka EA's long awaited "Spore" ... has a nice buzz going on the internet even if it does refuse, repeatedly, to download on my Mac. (And, btw, their support team only works banker hours ... a term from back when banks were a bit less rapacious ... so I can't even tell you how, or if, it works.)

But the stuff with the network (ESPN which I'm sure you guessed) that has a some real game-changing (sorry) potential. This past weekend the EA/ESPN folks unleashed 3D virtual football players to interact with real-life sports anchors. It happened on ESPN's "NFL Countdown" and, minus the lime green field, was definitely cool, demonstrating moves in a way that can engage even the football impaired (aka me). The action via virtual players opens up all kinds of possibilities including fabulous Monday-morning quarterbacking (what would've happened if that cornerback had moved right instead of left?), you-gotta-see-this play analysis and the like.

It also opens a slew of interesting new live/virtual programming possibilities (maybe a mano-a-mano featuring Merril Hoge and Vince Young?) which makes this yet another convergence trend to keep your eye on.
 
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