Racing Games As An Advertising Platform For Cars

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-03 21:17

The racing simulation genre is one of the most popular among computer gamers. The automotive industry is making increasing use of this to advertise its latest models in the games.

By Heiko Haupt

On the shelves for computer and video games, there are more and more racing games that are not just about winning on the screen, but also about steering the latest products from the automotive companies in digital form over the courses. The aim is to arouse the desire for the model and brand in potential customers at an early stage.

Today, game technology has developed so far that brand emblems and the smallest features can be brought onto the monitors in striking details. This leads to the fact that the models from countless manufacturers are included in the game world as leading actors or extras. A BMW Coupé is shown on the packaging of the latest part of the successful “Need for Speed” series, and there are also games such as “SCAR Squadra Corse Alfa Romeo” or the VW-shaped “GTI Racing” that only offer models from one brand.

"In the past, the image of a brand was mainly shaped by advertising on television and in advertisements," says automotive researcher Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from the Gelsenkirchen University of Applied Sciences. "Today, on the other hand, the attention is moving more and more towards the Internet or digital media."

Games in particular are a factor that should not be underestimated. It is true that it is mainly children and young people who use them. But that can have an impact on the parents - for example when it comes to buying a new car. "The games stick in the children's memory," says Nick Margetts from the market watcher Jato Dynamics in Limburg.

Manufacturers use the medium in a variety of ways. Take Fiat, for example: “The Grande Punto was integrated into the“Need for Speed ”game when it was launched,” explains Fiat spokesman Thomas Kern in Frankfurt / Main. BMW also used the method. According to BMW spokesman Markus Sagemann, the developers of the game "Gran Turismo 4" had the 1 Series integrated into the scenario at a later date. According to Sagemann, BMW has ordered and distributed around 90,000 copies of the modified game.

The relationship between game manufacturers and car manufacturers was not always completely unaffected. "One problem in the past was that the car manufacturers didn't want a damage model to exist," recalls Bernd Berheide from the CDV games company in Karlsruhe. The term stands for the fact that the digital replicas on the screen deform in the event of a collision «like in real life».

"We make sure that our models are not very much alienated," explains BMW spokesman Sagemann. After all, players shouldn't just convince their parents to buy a branded car. “The players themselves are an interesting target group. They get older, but often do not develop their preference for games », says Sagemann. At some point they will have the money to buy a car themselves - possibly one whose replica has already proven itself on a digital race track. (dpa)