Games New BMW Partnership Brings Video Games To Its Cars From 2023 Matt Gardner Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. A British writer covering indie and retro gaming, esports, and more. Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.
Got it! Oct 11, 2022, 07:00am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin BMW cars will, from 2023, feature their own video games. BMW Back in the day, the opportunity to play video games in a car was restricted to holding a Game Boy up to the rear window, relying on the pulsing light of passing street lamps to illuminate the likes of Super Mario Land 2 or Link’s Awakening . Fast-forward to today, and one of the biggest auto manufacturers in the world is about to ship its next generation of cars with games built into the dashboard.
Today (October 11), the BMW Group has announced a partnership with AirConsole, which will bring casual gaming to new BMW vehicles from 2023. AirConsole, which offers over 180 games and has a ten million strong playerbase, will offer drivers and their passengers a collection of single and multiplayer games that aims to “make every waiting situation in the vehicle an entertaining experience. ” Chosen as BMW’s newest partner via the carmaker’s Startup Garage program , AirConsole has been adapted to work with BMW’s iDrive Curved Display , which will run titles directly inside the vehicle entertainment system.
Games can then be controlled by players using their smartphones, much like Jackbox Games ’ popular technology. BMW and AirConsole also promise seamless setup when the service officially launches next year; smartphones can be connected by scanning a QR code in the vehicle, allowing for an instant connection. You can play whenever you want, so long as the car isn’t driving.
Daniel Kraus / BMW MORE FOR YOU They Inherited Billions Upon Billions: Meet America’s Richest Heirs Garmin Marq Brings Epix And Quatix Features To Luxury Watch Buyers Egypt Travel Guide: 48 Hours In Cairo Of course, safety comes first–AirConsole will not be playable when a car is in motion, meaning you thankfully won’t be able to play a racing game while doing 80 down the I-95, or try to clear the next level of a puzzle game while edging forward in a traffic jam. AirConsole was created by N-Dream, a young start-up from Zurich, Switzerland, which was founded in 2015 and secured a $3 million Series A investment round just four years later . Given that the BMW Group sold over 2.
5 million passenger vehicles in 2021 alone, next year could offer AirConsole its biggest-ever introduction to new audiences–and its CEO, Anthony Cliquot, couldn’t be more excited, adding that his company was “extremely proud to spearhead gaming inside vehicles. ” Stephan Durach, the senior vice-president of BMW Group’s connected company development, added: “With AirConsole, we will leverage innovative technologies combined with a broad variety of fun and multiplayer games. This will make every waiting situation inside the vehicle an enjoyable moment.
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From: forbes
URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattgardner1/2022/10/11/new-bmw-partnership-brings-video-games-to-its-cars-from-2023/
