Pixels To Pavement
from the from-games-to-reality dept
Automakers trying to sell their cars to young men have discovered a new "must-have" way to advertise their upcoming models: in car-racing video games. Cars like Mazda's RX-8 launched in a video game two years before it actually was launched in real life. Mitsubishi launched a car in the US only after they received emails from gamers demanding a car that was in Gran Tourismo 3 - but was only available in real life in Europe. Now, the roles are reversing - as the automakers are taking the videogame connection to the next level and asking videogame makers to help them design cars. There are even concept cars that replace the steering wheel with a game controller.
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Inappropriate Inspirations
It's a passing fad. Just wait for the next asshole to ram a bunch of pedestrians with his new car because "he saw it on Grand Theft Auto". Then automakers will rush to take their cars off line.
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Re: Inappropriate Inspirations
There's nothing to take off line because there's already a difference between games like Grand Theft Auto and games like Gran Turismo. While Gran Turismo 3 is full of "real" cars with the blessing of the auto manufacturers, GTA3 has all fictional car types, and the same is probably true of other games where vehicles are not used in the most socially acceptable ways. (I know that in Road Rash the game bikes were fictional and in the cut scene videos the real bikes had tape over their logos.)
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