Can video games make pro football more interesting?

Earlier this week I was mesmerized by two young adults playing Madden NFL 09 on a big screen at the neighborhood Best Buy. The experience was a lot more fun than watching the Skins-Giants snoozer on NBC last night, even with analysis from Madden hisself.

This Sunday, ESPN merges video game graphics with real-life analysts on its popular “NFL Countdown” pre-games show. Using technology developed by Electronic Arts, the leading game publisher, ESPN analysts will appear in a video-game environment to explain plays and situations.
Using real information from a game, the analysts can simulate a actual sequence to show, say, what would have happened if Jason Campbell threw downfield instead of to a receiver five yards short of the first-down marker. (Answer: the Redskins might score more than seven points a game).

No matter. EA’s and ESPN’s Virtual Playbook shows how various forms of media are converging. A good NYT story describes it this way: “While television content has converged into video games, Virtual Playbook offers an example of convergence moving in the opposite direction. ESPN is bringing the look and feel of a video game to television for the sake of interactivity, flexibility and visual aid.”

The end zone: too much information, not enough football. But if it helps make the Redskins more interesting, then I’m all for it. Even if I have to buy Madden NFL 09.

Dale Peskin

Dale is co-founder emeritus of We Media.

www.wemedia.com