Companies are chasing every avenue to attract customers in this competitive market.
Well, thatd be gaming.
This is especially the case with EVs and their time-zapping charging.
Sitting in the car gets boring, and carmakers want to entertain us.
One company entering this space isN-Dream, the Swiss startup behind the AirConsole game platform.
The games are downloaded instantly over the air and you could use your smartphone as acontroller.
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Tesla even started sellingmicrophonesearlier this year in China to help you properly belt out those power ballads.
Tesla owners could initially play games in the front passenger seat while the car was in motion.
Its a teachable moment for other vendors.
And lets face it, even backseat gamers can be distracting.
Or, importantly, play a game.
Their commute will be returned to them and this is rife place for gaming.
The car becomes the third place
SociologistRay Oldenbergpioneered the concept of the third place in 1989.
Its a hangout spot or home away from home.
It provides an essential zone outside of home and work.
And we can already see that automakers are investing in making cars your third place through in-vehicle entertainment.
This third place is about to rocket into the mainstream.
As aforementioned, few want cars just to become a remote workplace.
This, it goes without saying, is a valuable opportunity for both gaming platforms and automakers.
Change is in the wind already.
Were working through the general case of making Steam games work on a Tesla vs specific titles.
Former is obviously where we should be long-term.
Itd also open up an incredible library of titles.
Thats the sort of feature thatd entice hundreds of thousands of people towards your vehicle.
And the potential for in-car gaming doesnt stop there.
The company is a spin-off of Audi Electronics Venture GmbH (owned, shockingly, by Audi).
The headsets are wired into the car.
The tech receives input from the real world and transfers it in-game.
This means you see and feel it when the vehicle accelerates, brakes, or turns.
Audi is integrating the gaming experience into their cars later this year but this is only the beginning.
Tech like this is still in its infancy.
We can be certain that creatives and designers will find more ways to incorporate experiences and games into cars.
Imagine titles designed for nighttime gaming or while traveling a winding road.
Maybe therell be a focus on microgames timed to compliment an average charging time.
Or multiplayer works designed specifically to thrive in a car environment.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
