<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">When a professional athlete wins a championship, the immediate, feel-good question -- albeit it for promotional purposes -- usually is a loaded one, primed for an answer befitting a place with roller coasters and cotton candy. What are you going to do next? I'm going to Disney World! Grizzlies forward Pau Gasol didn't end the NBA playoffs on such a high note. Perhaps his experience Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, was the next best thing. EA Sports, producers of the popular NBA Live video game, immediately contacted Gasol following the Grizzlies' first-round playoff elimination so that the 7-foot Spaniard could visit what is considered the "Disney World" of gaming. Gasol didn't hesitate to roll up and down a studio court and then chew on scripted lines to become the envy of his video game junky peers. He excitedly strolled inside EA's new motion-capture studio and performed on-court moves for NBA Live 2007 (that same video game series the late Don 'Voice of the Griz' Poier provided his pipes to for several years). Last year, EA worked with Miami's Dwyane Wade to record motion and facial expressions in front of high-definition cameras. Gasol received the call this year because he's gracing the cover of the game for a third year in Spain, which happens to be NBA Live's third-highest selling territory, outside of North American and Japan. "You could never imagine as a kid growing up that you'd be in a video game," Gasol said via telephone. "It's hard to dream of. I'm honored to be here. It's just cool." Gasol joined a list of NBA stars, including Wade, Kevin Garnett, Antoine Walker and Corey Maggette, to complete a motion-capture session for NBA Live. Before embarking on nine hours of hard work in a high-tech playground, Gasol arrived with a wide-eyed expression. "He was a bit in awe," said Ben Brinkman, co-producer of NBA Live '07. "Our motion-capture studio is pretty state-of-the-art. But once he got comfortable, he was totally natural. You could see him getting looser." Brinkman said the goal of this NBA Live product is to capture detailed facial images and provide an emotionally rich and authentic experience through the athletes. With that in mind, Gasol wore a spandex/neoprene black bodysuit with light sensors positioned throughout his torso on every joint. He then performed a variety of moves on the court before 55 high-definition color cameras. "I did everything you can think of out there," Gasol said. "We shot. We had different ways to dunk -- left, right, two hands, backwards. I did some dribbling, defending, blocking shots. I did a lot of one-on-one post moves." It took 45 minutes to outfit Gasol, who then spent 90 minutes on the court. "It was just tight," Gasol said of the suit. "It's supposed to be very tight to your body to (simulate) motion without clothes. It was a little uncomfortable. When you're moving and sweating, it's hot." </div> Source
