AT&T Shape: Virtual Reality Has Potential, But the Skepticism Is Well-Earned
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 22: Guests experience the Ericsson: Arcade Games demo at AT&T SHAPE at Warner Bros. Studios on June 22, 2019 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for AT&T)
Also present at AT&T Shape was Wipro, a large Indian conglomerate, which presented a demo for virtual reality sports shows that served as the event’s best example of virtual reality’s consumer potential. To use basketball games as an example, the finished product would allow users to view an NBA game from multiple perspectives, such as courtside seats, under the hoop, and even from the perspective of multiple players, according to a Wipro representative.
There’s no denying that that sounds incredible, and is one of the most obvious examples of how virtual reality could create a cinematic experience genuinely unlike anything else available. But this was also a tightly-controlled tech demo for a product that is a long way off from being completed. Wouldn’t sports organizations and stadiums have to agree to accommodate this kind of technology at every one of their games? Wouldn’t watching the game from a player’s perspective require players to agree to wearing some sort of performance capturing device?
Questions upon questions, but still, the potential is palpable.
See the full story here: https://www.indiewire.com/2019/06/att-shape-virtual-reality-1202152646/