Videogames And Car Marketing Intersect

Thanks to the Detroit News for their article discussing how videogames have become a great selling tool for automobiles. The piece discusses the willingness of car manufacturers to see their models used in games, with a few exceptions: "Sony Computer Entertainment America spokesman Ryan Bowling says Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini demanded exorbitant licensing fees - but that's why they aren't in Gran Turismo." It also mentions the thorny issue of car damage, with Alex St. John of WildTangent, developer of a Chrysler 'advergaming' title, noting: "In the past, advertisers could never imagine a commercial where you dent a car... But half the fun of a game is driving recklessly." A Chrysler spokesperson explains this change of heart for their new game, saying "...corporate attorneys determined that gaming is enough of a 'fantasy' to make it permissible to damage vehicles."

Comments

No more fast cornering

[Singletoned]

I've always found that that the lack of damage and the atrocious AI meant that you could always corner past the pack by slamming into them sideways on. You could almost take a corner at full speed AND take out an opponent in one movement. If that's gone, I'll be a little disappointed.

Porsches

[Ty_Webb]

In some games, when Porsche has not granted permission, the game company will go after Ruf - a small company in Germany that takes normal Porsches and builds Rufs from them. As of now they are the smallest car manufacturer in the world - a product of the low volume and the fact that the cars they fashion get their own VINs.

However, sometimes Porsche grants permission (PGR2) but in the past they made their own game - 2000's Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed (website has since closed, and still one of the most realistic car sims). All in all, an interesting topic.