Intel CEO Brian Krzanich provided glimpses of the future of watching sports in virtual reality on Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, with press conference attendees getting to watch the Butler-Villanova men’s basketball game live in VOKE VR.
Intel in November announced the acquisition of VOKE VR, which had previously presented the Final Four and Villanova’s championship in virtual reality among other sports content including highlights of NFL games.
At the press conference, the Butler-Villanova game on FS1 was not approved for public streaming, but attendees were able to put on Oculus Rift headsets for the first time to experience VOKE’s 180-degree courtside views of the game. Intel will be among the first technology providers to enable the live sports experience on multiple VR devices, announcing that the option to view VOKE VR content on Oculus Rift will be available to all later this year.
Viewers also could choose between two camera views by looking down to make the selection.
“Viewers get to decide their point of view,” Krzanich said. “Viewers will get to decide what seat they have. That’s the future of what we believe of sports viewing. So you’re going to decide, do you want to be on the 50 yard line? Do you want to be courtside at a basketball game? Do you want to be behind the basket to watch the next slam dunk? Do you want to be in the goalie’s position?
“All of that is possible.”
Get The Latest Virtual Reality Tech News In Your Inbox!
Krzanich also noted how one day the fan will be rewarded for watching games in VR not only with close-up views, but also actual giveaways that one might have previously only received at the arena or stadium.
“We’re already working on the T-shirt cannon that will come through virtual reality and deliver a T-shirt to your house,” he said. “I’m not kidding with that. We’ve thought about having the in-arena experience that realistic. Imagine an Uber driver pulling up at your door and delivering you the T-shirt because your virtual headset caught the T-shirt that was shot out of a cannon toward our camera. That will be coming to your house near you.”
Out at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Butler pulled off the upset of No. 1-ranked Villanova. Even the Bulldogs’ mascot, Butler Blue III, got a look into a virtual reality headset.
Are you guys watching this game right now or what? Looks great in these @vokevr goggles. It’s like I’m really there! Oh wait, I am. #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/tY5KcHVKXd
— Butler Blue III (@ButlerBlue3) January 5, 2017