Games become the real thing
BRISTOL, Conn. — The line between real and fantasy sports is about to become a little more blurred.
A partnership with ESPN is allowing video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. to dramatically increase real-time content in sports-themed video games.
Starting with this summer’s release of the Madden NFL game, players with a modem high-speed Internet connection can have real-life action directly affect what happens in their video games.
Some hard-core gamers are cheering the innovations, which they say bring video games and real-life sports closer than ever. But critics caution about the idea of merging real life with the fantasy world of video games.
“For many people, that’s going to be very exciting,” said David Walsh, a psychologist and president of the National Institute on Media and the Family. “For some other people it could become addictive and can have the same harmful effects that other addictions have.”
EA Sports said it doesn’t know if the changes will mean price increases for games now costing about $60 for Sony PlayStation 3 or Microsoft Xbox 360 owners.
ESPN signed a 15-year marketing agreement last year with Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts, which reported 2006 revenues of $2.95 billion. Its most popular sports titles include NBA Live, NCAA Baseball and its Madden game, which features broadcaster and former coach John Madden.
Some PS3 and Xbox gamers already receive some ESPN content in their EA games, including podcasts of ESPN radio shows, video highlights and a real-time sports ticker.
“The idea is that someone playing the game won’t have to turn it off or switch to the television to get sports news,” said Raphael Poplock, EPSN’s interactive gaming manager.
Beginning in August, thanks to a deal with The Weather Channel, a Madden ‘08 NFL game at the Baltimore Ravens’ stadium automatically will be set in the snow if it happens to be snowing that day on Maryland’s Atlantic coast.
Similar innovations soon will allow an option to incorporate current sports news and statistics from ESPN into the game.
“So if a guy in the real world twists his ankle, you can’t use him in the game until he gets back,” said Aaron LaBerge, senior vice president of technology and product development for ESPN.
A baseball star on a hot streak temporarily could become a better hitter in EA Sports’ MLB title, and a Cinderella upset in the NCAA basketball tournament immediately could be reflected in the March Madness video game, he said.
Todd Sitrin, marketing director for Electronic Arts, said the companies hope to turn watching sports into an active, instead of a passive, experience.
“What we’re trying to do is grow that and show to sports fans that there is a way to make this a personal relationship with your sports fandom,” Sitrin said.
Innovations are expected to be phased into games over the next few years, the companies said.
“It’s kind of a moving target,” said EA Sports spokesman David Tinson. “The beauty of this business is that there is a big white board with like a thousand ideas, and every year they try to get in as much as they possibly can.”
The prospect of having statistics, injuries and other information constantly updated has hard-core gamers such as D.J. Mazzola of Belleview, Wash., excited.
“That would be huge, because that affects the team you want to play with,” said Mazzola, who plays in Madden video game tournaments around the nation. “The more realistic they can make it, the better.”