EA Sports and ESPN will debut a new technology on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown incorporating EA Sports’ video-game graphics into ESPN’s sports analysis.
The technology, called EA Sports Virtual Playbook, will be used on Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown and NFL Live and may also be used on other ESPN programming such as SportsCenter.
EA Sports Virtual Playbook allows “television analysts to highlight, critique and dissect on-field action more intimately than ever before,” EA Sports president Peter Moore said.
The technology will provide realistic-looking virtual players side-by-side with the real commentators in the studio to demonstrate aspects of the game, such as defensive schemes or receiver sets.
The system is controlled by multiple real-world cameras in the studio, merging that footage with graphics from in-game virtual cameras to create a single “augmented reality.”
The technology is the latest element of a long-term partnership between ESPN and EA Sports.
“EA Sports Virtual Playbook is born out of our deep football heritage at EA Sports and our drive to expand the impact of our innovative sports technologies beyond gaming,” Moore added.
