The EA Virtual Playbook and 3-D Simulations in Fantasy Sports Coverage

The Segments run about five minuites in length and are featured, for the most part, in ESPN's Football coverage, such as in the NFL Countdown Series and NFL Live. The segments are used as post indicators of what happened in a game being analyzed as well as look at potential matchups, especially analyzing the effectiveness of one team's offensive system versus their opponent's defense.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Virtual Playbook is the simulation aspects the system allows. The segments can show us the progession of a play from various angles and at various speeds. When predicting a matchup, the Virtual Playbook makes assumptions about what to expect.

In this way, the Virtual Playbook is similar to the ways CNN used John King and its touchscreen system during the election. In the election cycle the use of the map makes the best metaphor for understanding regional differences, voting disctricts, and the elctoral college system. This allowed King to look at results and spot trends easily. It also allowed him to make predictions and look at possible scenrios that could develop.

In a similar manner, the ESPN reporters have an easily accessible simulation of the field. The Reporter, who is stading in the field set can point out, using gestures, the various progressions of a play or potential matchup. The Playbook then runs throughs the play, either slowing down or pausing as the reporter adds commentary on the play, such as a special slant play or a defender who created a pocket for the offense, then showing the results of that scenario.

This use has the potential to help increase fans' knowledge of football by being able to quickly show the consequences of various offensive and defensive schema. Part of the effect of this is that the Virtual Playbook could have an effect on fantasy sports and the sorts of way in which fans who participate in fantasy sports choose players.

Of course, the major criticism of the Virtual Playbook is that it is nothing more than product placement for EA and its Madden series. Peter Moore acknowedges this:

"We're beginning to evaluate and compile those numbers, and should have something together in the near future," said Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, which has a long-term programming, licensing and events partnership with ESPN. "But there's no question, having our Madden engine, our watermark, all up there for those kind of stretches in high-demand programming like ['NFL Sunday Countdown'] is a huge, huge plus and is of tremendous value."

The Virtual Playbook effort will not be limited to football. Future applications are already being contemplated with ESPN for other sports including soccer and basketball. The latter is particularly salient for EA Sports as its game license with the NBA, as well as one with the NHL, is not exclusive, and as a result, their titles for those sports have faced stiff critical and sales competition in recent years from 2K Sports.

"Virtual Playbook is going to get better as we all, frankly, figure out how to best use it and get used to it," Moore said. "It's going to be a very important tool. We're committed to quality, and if we don't continue to evolve in every facet of our business and show that to the consumer, they're going to turn away."

While it is clear that EA and ESPN probably have plans for extending the Playbook to other sports, it will be interesting to see what sorts of ways sports journalism will tackle the gaming and journalism issue and if it can, through systems  such as the playbook, find a way to do it that is fundamentally different than whatever ways more serious jouralism can.