After years of testing, partnerships and product releases, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Super Bowl was finally going to be broadcast in virtual reality this year.
Imagine strapping on a headset that brings a screen so close to your eyes that your brain is tricked into believing you’re actually in whatever world the computer is creating. Now imagine putting a camera that can see in all directions on the field at the 50-yard line and broadcasting everything that’s happening around it. Together, those technologies could make me feel like I’m at the Super Bowl matchup between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons this Sunday in Houston, Texas.
Naturally, I thought the NFL’s biggest game would be shown in VR, especially since the league let two companies, NextVR and Voke , show highlight packages of games during the latter part of the regular season.
Unfortunately, all we’re going to get is highlights from the game , broadcast in a computer-generated man cave (or «virtual stadium suite» according to the press release). It won’t even be fully immersive; all the action will be happening on a simulated screen.
The «virtual suite» where you can watch highlights of this year’s Super Bowl for the first time in virtual reality.
So, instead of watching the game live on my TV at home, I can choose to put on a VR headset to watch highlights on a fake TV in almost real time? Sigh…
Miheer Walavalkar, co-founder of San Francisco-based startup LiveLike VR , the company behind the Super Bowl’s virtual reality highlights, told me the goal is for them to enhance — not replace — watching Fox Sports’ televised broadcast.
