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In the last few weeks, two major automakers announced new in-car gaming initiatives:
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- Tesla announced last week that it’s expanding the in-car gaming services available through its cars’ infotainment centers. The automaker initially rolled out Atari’s Missile Command, Asteroids, Lunar Lander, and Centipede games last August. Now, Tesla is adding 2048 and Atari’s Super Breakout games via an over-the-air software update which began rolling out to cars last week.
- Mercedes-Benz announced an in-car gaming challenge which asks participants to create games for cars of the future. The challenge — which is open to students, developers, and startups —emphasizes augmented reality gaming and interaction with motorists in other cars. Finalists will present their games at the University of Stuttgart for a chance at a cash prize.
Here’s what it means: As more cars are built with features that enable them to drive themselves, it’ll free up consumers to do other activities inside the car. Gaming — which has grown immensely popular in recent years — could be one such activity.
- As AVs become more widespread, they’ll free up riders to consume media and content while on the road. We expect US shipments of semi- and fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) — nearly all of which will come with embedded internet connectivity — to rise from a half-million today to about 2.6 million in 2023. In the absence of needing to drive the car, consumers will be free to engage in various activities of their choice, which could include everything from working to streaming media and other entertainment experiences.
- While video and virtual reality (VR) have gained much of the attention in the car entertainment space, the rise in popularity of gaming raises the possibility it could have a home in AVs. Automakers and media companies have already begun to prepare for a driverless future, but thus far much of the public attention has focused on VR experiences and media streaming. Notably, Audi jointly developed an in-car VR with Disney earlier this year. Online gaming is immensely popular — leading online gaming service Fortnite, for example, has over 200 million registered global users, while Apex Legends, reached 50 million users in only its first 28 days of existence. Such popularity suggests consumers could be open to gaming inside AVs as well.
The bigger picture: Gaming will likely become a critical part of how automakers differentiate their in-car entertainment offerings. In a future where companies sell or operate fleets of AVs and all other factors — including price, availability, and self-driving tech capabilities — the in-car experience could be a key competitive differentiator. Gaming is only one of a variety of entertainment options companies are exploring for use in AVs — VR and video streaming will also likely be marquee features — but its popularity suggests that it will be a key focus for auto companies as they seek to develop unique offerings. As such, we expect more AV companies to form partnerships with name-brand gaming companies or reach out to previously untapped sources to develop — and ultimately monetize — new games for their cars, the way Tesla and Mercedes have.
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See Also:
- Autonomous driving tech startup Wayve has completed a test run without pre-mapped roads
- ‘By whatever means necessary’: Tesla leaves some customers in the lurch as it rushes to deliver cars by the end of the quarter
- Volkswagen is introducing a fully electric vehicle in Europe priced at or below $22,500
Source: Business Insider – nshields@businessinsider.com (Nicholas Shields)