Sometimes advances in sports technology go just a little too far, that was exactly the case when I caught up with Harf to discuss the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs installing Urinal Gaming System.
“These games are sure to make a huge splash,” exclaimed IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes. “Our fans are always looking for the next big thing and these ‘X-Stream games' are another example of our commitment to providing an unparalleled entertainment experience in all aspects of Coca-Cola Park, including our restrooms.”
Here is the product demonstration, (It's OK it is animation only)
Have a listen to our discussion on Harf Time.
Remember don't cross the streams and keep an eye on my tweets (@seancallanan) while I'm travelling on #SportsGeekTrip.
Subscribe to or Sports Geek Podcast in iTunes.
Podcast transcription
Harf: You know you’ve made it when you’ve got the intro. Hello sports geek.
Sean: Good day Harf, how you doing?
Harf: Very well but not as well as you because you’re going on a junket next week!
Sean: It’s not a junket!
Harf: It’s a junket!
Sean: It’s a work investigation and a bit of a trip. Going over to the States, primarily for the social media marketing world in San Diego.
Harf: Is that like Disney Land?
Sean: Not quite, there’s the Twitter ride and the Facebook ride. Not quite, bit of a conference, learn what the latest in social and digital is. Meet up with a few of the gurus, like Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan and the likes. It should be an interesting thing. And being the sports geek I can’t go to the States and not take in a bit of sports. So heading over to San Francisco, I’m catching up with the guys from the Warriors and hopefully see Bogut play next Wednesday and heading over to Portland and catch up with the guy at the Trailblazers and see how they do their operations and all things digital there as well as catch up with some tech companies in the San Francisco area.
Harf: I know you work with a lot of sports teams here in Australia, do you have any overseas in the States and would they hire an Aussie?
Sean: They have previously. I’ve done work with the Minnesota Timberwolves and so we’re going to go over there with a few things in our kit bag to entice them. Do a bit of a workshop, see what they’re doing currently and see if we can help them out a little bit.
Harf: Do you plan on going to any bars or pubs with some special activities?
Sean: That’s the worst intro ever because that could go anywhere.
Harf: [Laughs]
Sean: But as a lead-in I’ll take it. The Iron Pigs, they’re a Philadelphia AAA affiliate minor league baseball…
Harf: What are they called?
Sean: The Iron Pigs. The LeHigh Valley Iron Pigs. They are introducing urine-controlled gaming.
Harf: See this is awesome, now this is not a joke people. I’ve seen the link to this.
Sean: And so if you want to see what we’re talking about, you can go to the sport’s geek Facebook page facebook.com/sportsgeek and what this is, is a pee controlled video game. You can be sitting there, go there at half time and relieve yourself but at the same time play a bit of Temple Run or some skiing game or something, and you’re effectively controlling the controller with your flow.
Harf: The direction of your flow?
Sean: Yes, so if you want to go left, you veer left. If you want to go right you veer right and to quote Ghostbusters, ‘don’t cross the streams’. You never know what might happen!
Harf: [Laughs]
Sean: And yeah you can only imagine that at a packed MCG, quarter time when everyone is completely bursting at the seams, trying to unload what they may have partaken in the first quarter and some guy is trying to complete a level in front of you. And you’re like dude, you’re doing a little dance back and forward and he’s trying to get all the coins or something. But it’s just another way of providing that interactivity. I don’t think it will take off. I wouldn’t want to be the guy that services these machines.
Harf: No, that’s a good point!
Sean: But it is another way for them to put in advertising. It comes out of the UK and they’re saying ‘Sales of Corona has gone up’. Well, you’re in a bar! And people…I don’t know if it’s going to encourage more drinking because you want to go to the toilet more often.
Harf: You hold people up! It’s an in and our activity, get in, get out!
Sean: Maybe it’s tag team, ‘Can you just finish my game?’ ‘No worries!’
Harf: There you go, there’s going to be a pause button somewhere!
Sean: You don’t want someone just sliding across, there’s danger written all over it. Minor league baseball has been known for quirky promotions, the marketing manager from the Iron Pigs did announce it saying he hopes it makes a big splash. You got all the puns there. So they’re known for having weird and wacky promotions.Harf: It’s very sexist because what are the girls going to do? What are they going to play? How are they going to play?
Sean: I don’t think they will be installing it in the female toilets.
Harf: This is very sexist, we can’t have this.
Sean: I have nothing for you there Harf! I don’t know if they’re looking at another type of game but it just shows you that they’re trying to leverage. And it’s a good case for the US stadiums, they do try to leverage every single inch and now it’s moving to the urinal which is a little bit scary. I don’t think we’ll see it any time soon.Harf: I think we will leave the inches at the urinal discussion right there and move along and as Sean said, never cross the streams. Mate, enjoy your trip to the US. We’ll check in with you next weekend.
Sean: No worries.
Harf: Sean Callanan, SportsGeek HQ.
