HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
While I have logical imagination that Vpro can lead to products like NFL ST VR, NBA Courtside VR, MLB VR, etc, to get to that "pick your seat" level seems like it would require a LOT of VR cameras being placed all around a stadium. My guess is that someone will package up this kind of service and maybe put a camera in a prime seating location or two for a given venue. For baseball, that is probably a camera on one teams side and a camera on the other teams side... probably at or near front row... or even down on the (edges) of the field for slightly better than front row.
With front row seats to many events going for upwards of many thousands PER GAME (Superbowl cheapest seats are at $9K each right now, and I've seen NBA basketball seats for more than $40K for a SINGLE game), I can imagine lucrative services being offered for a fraction of the "being there" price where volume of (the same) front row seats sold delivers a lot of brand new revenue for the league, teams, etc. In other words, sell a seat for $25K to a game for ONE actual person or sell 2,000 people access to that seat for $50? Do that math to see the potential.
Of course, VR won't fully compete with actually being there, so it will still be several notches better to be at such events in person. However, you are a perfect example, what about all the people who...
...but would like to feel as close to being "there" as possible, this seems like a very desirable service offering... a few notches better than watching on a 2D "window" (AKA television/computer/tablet/phone screen).
This wouldn't have to be limited to sports either. Taylor Swift just made a fortune by selling "not actually there" concert access through theaters. Budget was $10-$20M. Box office was $261M. It's not hard to imagine some of her more passionate fans being that much more gung-ho to VR attend her next show... and many other live events too. Cameras to make a movie like that one and cameras to shoot the same as VR are not significantly different tech.
So many people would like to see Broadway shows but can't easily get to Broadway for them. Big concert events around the world? Olympics? All of the Cirques? Etc.
Imagine some "side by side" experiences involving a few VR "seats" so that a person in one location and a friend in a distant other location can virtually "be there" together and simulate sitting side by side. Look right and your buddy seems to be right there. Buddy looks left and you seem to be right there. Obviously the tech and "personas" need to evolve a lot to make that possible and feeling like you are almost "there" but time works FOR such imagination. Give it time (and financial motivations) and such stuff becomes possible.
It seems like there's a ton of entertainment opportunities available to layer on another tier of experience between watching on a rectangular window and being able to be there in person. Hopefully, many are already working on this.
And NO pessimists, this is NOT about killing the live experience. Live will still be richer than virtual. And NO pessimists, this does NOT replace gathering as a group in one's home to watch on a big screen TV. That experience still makes great sense when the buddies/fam are all able to get together around one screen.
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