Long ago, video gaming was solely an in-home pastime using joysticks and controllers connected to a TV. In recent years, the gaming culture expanded to mobile devices, so people began playing on the go—restaurants, soccer fields, the workplace, anywhere, and everywhere. Gaming has now migrated to the next frontier—automobiles. The idea is to make the in-car experience more enjoyable and entertaining than ever. And the latest example is BMW’s AirConsole gaming platform, offered in the automaker’s 5 Series lineup.
We first saw parked-car gaming with Tesla vehicles. The electric-vehicle maker brought this concept to market in 2019 with a library of its games boasting around 20 titles. Tesla built these games directly into its vehicles’ infotainment systems and made them accessible through a large-screen interface. The premise was to give occupants something to do when waiting in a parked car, whether at the airport or a charging station.
Since then, other carmakers have been toying with their own video game ideas. As such, BMW Group has introduced a dedicated and unique in-car gaming experience by partnering with AirConsole, the video game platform known for its intuitive and innovative approach to multi-player gaming. This partnership begins with BMW 5 Series models but will expand to others in the automaker’s portfolio.
“With AirConsole, we will leverage innovative technologies combined with a broad variety of fun and multi-player games. This will make every waiting situation inside the vehicle, such as charging, an enjoyable moment,” said Stephan Durach, Senior Vice President of BMW Group Connected Company Development.
First, let’s cover how this system doesn’t work. The BMW AirConsole doesn’t work when the vehicle is in motion. Rather, BMW intended it for use only when the car is parked for obvious safety reasons. It shuts off automatically when the vehicle begins to move.
The players will need their smartphones, which serve as game controllers, to operate the system. Occupants will view and play the games on BMW’s twin curved instrument panel display. Once you open the AirConsole app on the vehicle’s screen, the smartphone and car’s iDrive 8.5 infotainment system will pair by scanning a QR code that appears on the twin curved display. Intuitive prompts allow passengers (players) to initiate a game and start playing.
Since the AirConsole platform allows multiple players, back-seat passengers can also participate in the gaming experience while the vehicle sits stationary. There are around 15 built-in games that are easy to learn and play for both solo challenges and competition mode with two or more players. The initial selection includes racing, sports, quiz, simulation, strategy, jump-and-run, and puzzle games. Specific titles include Go Kart Go, Music Guessed, and Overlooked, among many more.
The available games catalog will continually expand thanks to over-the-air (OTA) updates. OTA allows the delivery of new or updated games directly to the vehicle continuously.
“We are extremely proud to spearhead gaming inside vehicles with BMW and are excited to create new games for in-car entertainment,” said Anthon Cliquot, CEO of N-Dream, parent company to the AirConsole brand. “Our ingenious architecture coupled with the ease of access of our platform will change the way people get entertained in their vehicles.”
To help promote the BMW AirConsole partnership, the automaker has designed a special-edition BMW 5 Series model—the first ever i5—that celebrates video games with a unique body wrap and livery. The visual treatment gives this car the look and feel of a mobile game station. The overall design captures the gaming experience with pixelated graphics that serve as an homage to the nostalgic 8-bit characters of computer games from an earlier digital era. The various games on the AirConsole platform inspire the color scheme of the body wrap artwork.
BMW and AirConsole have brought in-car entertainment to a new level. With a veritable arcade of games ready to be played at any time (when the car isn’t moving), a long wait curbside is no longer a boring proposition.
Jessica Shea Choksey is an experienced writer in the automotive field. In addition to JDPower.com, she was a correspondent for PBS’s MotorWeek. Her work has also appeared in AutoTrader.
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