Thread: VR Sports?

I was thinking about this given what the world has gone through this past year and it seems like it can be something that should be looked into more. Now I know we are nowhere near the tech to have something like this but I think it could one day be an interesting thing. To have virtual seats at sporting events, like more so than what they have now, and even have players in VR for certain sports. I know it is not quite the same but for certain things, it could be doable as technology progresses.

I was thinking of Black Mirror the other day and this episode came to mind (it usually does every once in a while as it's one of my favourites):



This is from the second episode of the show called Fifteen Million Merits which was broadcast in 2011. It's about a future where people live in societies formed in underground pods, perhaps a type of fallout shelter. It's interesting because it's also relevant to the coronavirus. The audience (except the judges) in this audition are all virtual avatars. Most game shows or talent shows that came about during the outbreak (and weren't pre-recorded) didn't have live audiences at all. The idea of a virtual audience doesn't seem as farfetched as it did in 2011.

The idea of VR sports being watched by an audience is something else, I guess. Obviously we have e-sports. VR headsets are becoming increasingly popular. In my opinion by 2025 VR headsets will be a common household item. Some analysts believe they'll be as popular as the Nintendo Switch is by that time. So with that in mind I think it's very possible that VR will be popular enough to become a new e-sport.

My prediction is that by that time e-sports contestants will be playing fighting and shooting (and more) games in VR and live audiences will watch it in a similar way to how I sometimes watch movies in virtual cinemas with other people.

2025 really? I still don't know anyone personally who owns one. I feel like we still have a bit of a ways to go before it is a standard thing in most homes. Like computers took a good 15 or 20 years before most homes had one. VR only just started taking off like 5 or 6 years ago. At least from what I have seen. I could be wrong though.

Common household item in the same manner as the Nintendo Switch. I probably should have clarified, my bad. Even with the Switch being so wildly successful, believe it or not (if my numbers are correct... they could be off a bit) only about one in fifteen Americans owns a Nintendo Switch.

I absolutely did not mean that VR will become an essential household item. Very big difference.

I'm joining this conversation a bit late as I see that it's become a tad bit complex. I'll answer the OP topic & say that I think it would be cool to check out a sporting event in VR once the technology is at that point. Do you envision this in the way that there would be a crowd of other VR watchers or would you be in an empty arena able to kind of blink from place to place to watch the game from different angles?
If there were a crowd (multiplayer sports watching, ahahah. It's the Xbox One all over again!) that would be a prime breeding ground for microtransactions. You could pay for your avatar to wear a different jersey or hat, etc. I'd pay extra to get a huge hat that blocks people's view.

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She never elaborated on "even have players in VR for certain sports", so it was hard to tell whether she was more talking about merely being able to see multi-angle live sports with a headset or something else entirely.

The former wouldn't be so difficult to do with current technology. I think multi-cam streaming is already a thing. They'd just need to do that with 360-degree cameras.

I can attest to 360-degree entertainment being especially good in VR.