Sports Gaming's Next Step, Part 1: Immersion

For some time many have wondered what the next level of Sports Gaming would be. We may have the answer...consider if you will for a moment:


THIS.


So what is the Oculus Rift anyway? In a nutshell its a VR gaming peripheral that could provide the kind of immersion gamers have only fantasized about. Sports Gamers in particular should take note. How long has it been since 2K [and Madden in particular] truly innovated? Imagine for a moment actually experiencing what a RB feels inside the hole on a dive play, the interior of the pocket as pass rushers like Demarcus Ware collapse it, or the pressure of being at the FT line for pressure-filled end-of-game free throws in a deafening arena full of rowdy fans.

While 2K tried First Person Football in 2K5, the tech simply wasn't there at the time. Virtual Reality has essentially been the holy grail of gamers for more than 20 years but has never been truly achieved. Either poor quality or a expensive gear have made it unattainable. Gamers have enjoyed what we often refer to as the "God View" for so long. We stand apart and above the action and watch almost as a spectator would, and while we enjoy certain benefits from this, we never get in on the ground floor and actually experience a drive into the lane that ends with Lebron posterizing some helpless center. Everything potentially changes with the Oculus Rift...

If developers are willing to push the envelope.

Make no mistake, sports gamers want this kind of Immersion. The developer who delves into and takes advantage of this tech will be head and shoulders above the competition. The company that takes this the Rift and truly develops it will offer an experience that will render the competition obsolete. So consider yourself warned, procrastinators and non-innovators.

Next up: Why Sports games must embrace Free-to-play and paid content. Here's a tidbit from our next piece:

"Its time to call sports games on the carpet for their bullshit. FACT: EA and 2K your games simply don't improve enough from year to year for anyone to pay full price for what is essentially a roster update. Yeah I said it. Fans of other genres consider sports gamers a punchline. You're the idiot still paying for long distance while wireless companies give it away for free. Wanna laugh at World of Warcraft fans? DON'T. You pay what is essentially a $60 subscription fee every year. Not so funny anymore is it?"

"Its time to wake up people, 1996 just called, it wants its payment model back."

"Now we're sure certain companies will balk at a F2P Model where gamers only pay for the content they determine has value [yes, EA we're looking at you] because then that means they have to supply value based content on a regular basis or they won't get paid. What it really means is that they've gotten used to pilfering you. They do a marketing campaign full of lies and you learn the truth only after they've got your money. Of course they want the status quo where they're used to giving you as little content as possible for the highest possible cost.