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Car Makers Use Games As Virtual Test Drive
Thanks to the Detroit Free Press for their article discussing car manufacturers garnering publicity, and even increased sales, from their vehicles appearing in racing games. According to brand manager David Milch: "It's a virtual test drive. The games are that sophisticated. People are getting a real feel for how the car will perform." The article goes on to explain: "The average age of a gamer is 29, and... more than half of all households in America play. That makes games a natural way to reach prime auto buyers - and those who are about to make their first purchase." Would you buy a car because you liked how it handled in a game?
WHAT? these mofos must be dumb as hell
Would you buy a car because you liked how it handled in a game?
No, but I'd buy a space ship.
Next time I can plug my PS2 controller into my steering column, I'll tell you if the driving performance compares.
Not only that, but there is so much to buying a car that you can't get from a game, no matter how sophiscated. Some cars feel a lot faster than others. What about the interior design, the comfort of the car, etc.
I might consider test driving a car I liked in a video game, but then again, do i get to drive it at the redline and crash it into other cars on purpose if I want to (we can only hope). Even so, I'm wary of just how real the handling is. Sure, I can design a bridge with a computer, but it's nothing compared to actually building it (okay, weak analogy, but you get the point)
-Ryan
AUWYHSTOT (Acronyms are Useless When You Have to Spell Them Out Too)
While I, personally, wouldn't allow a video game with less-than-realistic game physics affect my automotive purchase decisions, I'm convinced that my ex was none-too-subtly influnced by Beetle Adventure Racing (for the N64) in her desire for the siver-gray bubble she now drives...
On the other hand the new Transformers: Alternators verion of Smokescreen as a Subaru WRX does kinda make me want a pseudo-rally car...but only if it changes into a giant alien robot.
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...there is so much to buying a car that you can't get from a game, no matter how sophiscated
Exactly right. I would never buy a car without driving it, no matter how well it performed in a game. I am a performance enthusiast, so I'm probably exactly the type of person they target. But as any person who really drives (and enjoys driving at the limit) will tell you, the most important aspects of a performance car is the feedback the car provides to the driver, and no game can simulate that. A car with better feedback allows the driver to be better.
This reminds me of something Michael Schumacher once said (If you have to ask who he is, you're probably reading the wrong thread, but here). When asked about driving in wet conditions, he said that normally, the car tells you when you're about to exceed the limit, but in the wet, it whispers. When I can feel everything in the car accurately "whisper" to me in a game, I'll consider buying a car based on the game, but I'll let you know when that happens (don't wait up).
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Would you buy a car because you liked how it handled in a game?
yes.
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I don't know about anyone else but I am sick of having incompetent drivers in high powered turbo sports cars trying to kill me and my family every time we venture on the road.
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Works out as damn cheap advertising for them (i.e. don't ask game developer for licensing payments - thats pretty cheap).
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The Ford Simulator.
This is the caption from the pic in the article:
"Colin McRae Rally 3" contains one of the most realistic reproductions of a Ford Focus, above, in a game. While the first-person view of driving the Focus, below, isnOt identical to the real car, it does give a realistic feel of speed and handling."
If you look at the photo in the article, Umm...that's not a Ford Focus, that's a Ford Puma. I can't even BUY a Puma here (here being the US). Regardless, a lot of people speculate that Subaru brought the WRX/STi to the US two years ago because of Gran Turismo. Likewise for the Evo.
In the end though, many of the vehicles we love to drive in video games (personally, I like the Citroen Xsara from RalliSport Challenge) are cars we can't attain (Jaguar XJ220, Ferrari Enzo, etc...etc) not some Joe Shmoe Chevy Impala (unless its from the 60s) or a Ford Taurus.
3 years ago my roomate told me about a very cool new car called the Subaru WRX. I was interested, but didn't have the money for it at the time so I didn't give it much thought.
I pretty much spent the next few years driving around the WRXs and, when they were available, STis in the various racing games that had them. Over time I gained a fairly healthy appreciation of that type of car and eventually did purchase a WRX STi when they became available in the last few months.
Interestingly, until I went down to sign the papers for my car I had never been in a WRX nor STi and had I actually never seen an STi in person at that point.
So far the car has lived up to my expectations, although some days I do wish I could take it around the rally courses I've been driving for the last few years... ^_^
As for how close the simulations are? Well, some more than others but around my house GT3 is still a fan favorite as it's close enough to give a good feeling about a particular car but still retains a certain arcade-quality that doesn't punish the user too hard when they make a mistake. We can't wait for GT4 of course.
If I'm looking to buy a sports car, which I hopefully will be doing some day, then maybe. I might for instance see a car in a video game that I did not know existed, or that I did not realize had high performance. Depending on the in game performance, and if that bears any relation to the real world performance, I might add the car to the list of cars to test drive.
Of course if I ever have enough money I'll just instantly buy the Ferrari 360 Spyder, and then who needs test driving.
Seriously though, games show off the looks of a car much better than the driving, unless you've got a really expensive simulator, in which case you can probably own multiple cars. There is probably at least a few people out there whou bought a car because it was their favorite in Gran Turismo. And if it means more quality racing games, let the auto manufacturers do whatever they want.
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X-Plane is apparently an eerily accurate-enough flight simulator that plane builders are now using it to model planes to be built, making changes in the simulator before buiilding the real thing. Cool!
Yes I would definetly buy a car if I knew how it handled in various conditions (rain/snow/running from the cops/etc).
:)
A better idea would be a Grand Theft Auto type game with real vehicle physics and consequences, and have them model a real life city (like the MS Flight Simulator series do). I would definetly pay for something like that
Only downsides I see as it could be used to conduct Terrorist attacks.. but so could anything we take for granted.
Does nobody else here remember the various articles about the way the racing games take liberties with the real physics of cars - how frequently the car's center of gravity is placed several meters below the car, the tires have coefficients of friction that are stickier than duct tape, etc.?
Yes, I want to make my multi-tens of thousands of dollars buying decisions based upon that information....
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I didn't know about half the cars before I played Gran Turismo - all of a sudden there were are these cool cars that I didn't even know existed, like the Mitsubishi GTO. I know its not an accurate representation of all aspects of a given car, but it certainly adds a cool factor to looking out for new (and used cars).
Now how about letting the game designers do some car damage!?!
I'd buy a Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak. I've been lusting for one since I unlocked it in Gran Turismo.
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Ford used to send out the "Ford Simulator" on floppy disk back in the 80's. You could "test drive" various models, and get product information.
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Subaru Impreza WRX STi. These cars received more advertising through gamers' word of mouth than they did from any advertising campaign on TV. (I don't watch TV at my house, and I don't watch much in general, but when I have watched TV recently, I've seen only one STi ad and no Lancer Evo ads. During prime time.) Now they are very much in demand to the point where they can sell the Lancer Evo (WRC Victor) for $5k over sticker. Next up: The soon-to-hit-the-US Legacy B4 Blitzen. Will Honda follow with the Accord Euro R? Only time will tell.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
...of a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer OZ-Rally (how I wish I could afford the payments & insurance on an Evolution VIII... :-D~~). While GT3 didn't actually get me to just go out and buy the car, it did pique my interest in Lancers. After reading up on them on Mitsubishi's website and other auto sites, I found that they are pretty nice cars. Went from an American 24-valve 200HP V6 down to a Japanese 16-valve inline-4 and have never looked back. The 36mpg over the 20mpg with the V6 is a nice addition too.
:-D Wouldn't let me drive it, though. :(
"I met my new car on Gran Turismo 3!" (poor excuse at spoofing eharmony.com commercials)
PS - My salesman did let me sit in an Evolution VIII in the showroom.
I played GT2 extensively a couple of years ago. I would generally consider myself very unknowledgeful about cars. I talk to my father-in-law about them from time to time (he is quite an enthusiast) and just barely can discuss it.
However, I'm light-years ahead of where I was two years ago thanks to my experience with the game. Having only played 'arcade style' racing games before that, I was amazed at how I could tell the differences between the cars. It really did raise my awareness of what was out there.
Now, given, they cannot completely simulate the car - and probably won't be able to for some time to come, but it did give me a good picture of what I might be interested in when I finally need to replace my current car. To hear that the manufacturers are giving more thought and effort into these games is not surprising, and is a good thing.
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I'd like to see them add better crash and damage physics to racing games. You can beat the hell out of these things without them ever taking a single dent. Not to mention the fact that you couldn't roll a car in a racing game ever.
I've allways wanted a racing game that allowed me to beat the crap out of my cars then replace busted parts. How about a demolition derby mode?
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