BMW is the latest carmaker to experiment with gaming on vehicle infotainment displays while you’re charging or otherwise waiting in your vehicle. AirConsole, a party gaming service that often plays on platforms like as Android TV or PC, will be added to automobiles equipped with the curved infotainment display at the core of its iDrive 8 system.
AirConsole streams games over the internet, with smartphone controls replacing specialized controllers. The PC version’s catalog of over 180 games isn’t exactly huge hitters, such as GoKart Go Air, Mega Monster Party, and Let’s Cook Together, which seem to be highly influenced by Diddy Kong Racing, Mario Party, and Cooking Mama, respectively. There are no identifiable games, even those that employ cellphones, such as Jackbox games.
Tesla, on the other hand, has had a growing library of pre-installed games on its infotainment system since 2019, beginning with titles such as Cuphead and Beach Buggy Racing 2 and then adding others such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Stardew Valley. Elon Musk said in July that Steam integration will be available “probably next month,” however this has yet to materialize. Musk has also stated that future Model S and Model X cars equipped with a discrete AMD RDNA 2 graphics processor would get high-end PC games like as Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077.
BMW does not have the same level of gaming computing power. According to publicist Bilal Mahmood in an email to The Verge, AirConsole will initially appear in the 2017 BMW 7-series since it is the automaker’s only existing car capable of handling the games. This seems to imply that certain existing cars equipped with the new curved display, like as the iX XDrive 50, will not get the games through over-the-air update – although it does not rule out the possibility of a hardware refit. According to Mahmood, AirConsole will be included in new BMWs that are released next year with the newest technology.
With larger displays appearing in more vehicles, we may anticipate additional manufacturers to follow Tesla’s lead. With handhelds like the Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck easily accessible, smartphone games with high-resolution 3D graphics, and many cloud gaming services to choose from, it’s difficult to see why someone would select a watered-down Smash Bros. clone just because it’s built into their BMW.
