You've seen the stars of ESPN pre-game shows and other TV spots deliver their entertaining analysis. Now, because of EA Sports, you'll see them in the virtual world with players doing the same thing.

Anybody who has watched any of the ESPN shows that are on before a big football game knows the type of stuff that goes on.  There are plenty of jokes flying around, lots of analysis about who will win the game, and more than enough simulated plays that are run.  But even with the state-of-the-art technology that we have today, the weird thing was that the stars of these shows were often limited to discussing the simulated plays by using each other.  

One co-host would line up on one side of an in-studio mini-field while the other showed what was going to happen with the play.  And that was it!  Even though the mini-field is cool, there was nothing fancy at all the presentation and many have expected more from ESPN with regards to this facet of their pre-game football show.  Well those who have expected more will soon get it thanks to the deal that ESPN has recently made with Electronic Arts.

For over a year now, ESPN has been working with EA Sports to upgrade their pre-game show, especially in the area of simulating plays on NFL Countdown.  During this process, they have come up with an interesting way to put the co-hosts of the show into a virtual play where they will be interacting with video game-looking football players.  Essentially, any of the stars of the show can now play a position on part of a ìrealî virtual football team while dissecting the play.

The cool thing is that this new technology is already being shown on NFL Countdown and plans for more of this virtual tech stuff on ESPN is already in the works.  One such thing that is being cooked up is a Monday Night Football quarterback program that will allow viewers to see certain 'what ifs' about plays that have been run.  For instance, if a quarterback throws an interception, the program can go back and simulate what would've happened had they thrown the ball in a different direction.

As one of ESPN's vice-presidents named John Skipper said, "It's a way for us to remain relevant.  We want to make sure we remain connected to lots and lots of fans, and using the language that gamers understand is one way."  But the connection that ESPN seeks has certainly come with a hefty price tag.

That's because they are currently in an $850 million deal with the developers of Madden Football in EA Sports which includes the publishing of ESPN games as well.  And the 30 year-old Entertainment and Sports Programming Network is definitely hoping that the games EA is making for them as well as the new technology they're developing pays off in a big way.  But we really won't be seeing the results for a while though since the deal will last for another 12 years.