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Automakers expand video entertainment options in vehicles – The Mercury News



Breana Noble | The Detroit News (TNS)

TROY, Michigan — The automotive industry is flipping on its head a long tradition of car racing video games by bringing the gaming experience into the vehicles.

Collect virtual coins with an augmented-reality car projected onto the live camera feed from the vehicle, play Uno through the infotainment screen or connect a Bluetooth controller and race to victory online.

Major automakers are pursuing the software-defined vehicle. With that comes more powerful computers in the vehicle and better graphic processing units. They’re looking for opportunities for recurring revenue streams in the form of subscriptions. Electric vehicles potentially create new circumstances in which customers are sitting in their vehicles for longer periods of time while charging. And every brand is seeking ways to help differentiate itself in the market and lure buyers.

Some are starting to bet that gaming could be a part of how they address those opportunities. The $183.9 billion global games market in 2023, according to gaming data platform Newzoo, could be a lucrative place to look.

“When you have an electric vehicle, the brand characteristics and brand differentiation you get from the feel and the sound, my understanding is that a lot of that is all vanishing,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at auto information website iSeeCars.com. “The gaming is almost like the new cool. It’s not the exhaust or how fast it goes zero to 60 (mph). It’s how big is the screen and how many cool things can you do with it? Gaming is one of them.”

Seeking relevancy

Since 2019, Tesla Inc. has offered an arcade of thousands of games like Chess and Solitaire through its vehicles’ infotainment screens. Some games like “Beach Buggy Racing 2” employ the vehicle’s steering wheel and brake to play. Newer versions of the Model S and Model X can access Valve Corp.’s Steam, an online store with thousands of games like “The Witcher 3” and “Cyberpunk 2077.”

In-vehicle gaming did come under scrutiny by the National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration in 2021 when it investigated Tesla’s Passenger Play offering that allowed vehicle passengers to play games while the vehicle was in motion. In December 2021, the EV maker agreed to remove the feature, allowing the games only to be played while the vehicle was in park.

More offerings from other brands are becoming available for when vehicles are in park. In November, BMW AG made available the AirConsole platform in its infotainment system. It features 20 games, most recently adding Mattel Inc.’s Uno and “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” Volkswagen AG last month announced a partnership with AirConsole, as well.

“We believe that digital content is a must-have in a premium vehicle out of which gaming is one portion,” said Henning Schlieker, BMW U.S. digital products and operations manager. “More and more, we leverage the fact that we have these capabilities in the vehicle: We have the computing power in the vehicle. We have the connectivity in the vehicle. So, it’s a natural next step for us to say, ‘OK, what do we think could potentially be relevant to our customers globally?’”

Potentially increasing that relevancy, Schlieker said, is EVs: “With the ongoing and growing electrification in the vehicle, we do see scenarios more than in the past where people will be waiting maybe in public charging stations. Yes, given that the ramp-up of public charging — and maybe also the ramp-up of electrification, etc., etc. — is an ongoing process, it might take a while, but we just wanted to make clear that we prepared for this such a scenario.”



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