Talk About Realism: Nissan's Car Gaming System

from the seems-like-an-expensive-gaming-system dept

We've heard of stories of people buying old car seats and setting up other tricks to make driving video games feel "more real," but Nissan is taking things to the next level by building a concept car around an Xbox 360 for the driver. It can only be played in park, and (of course) features a racing game that lets the "driver" use the real steering wheel, brake and gas pedals. Of course, it's just a concept car that will never actually hit the market -- but it should provide some inspiration to the various car modders out there who want to add something a bit more fun to their vehicles.
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  1. identicon
    thatguy, 29 Dec 2005 @ 11:32am

    yeah great...

    Just what we need, people sitting in park driving 200+ MPH in a game, and then starting up the vehicle and driving home. The more real these games look and feel (PG3), the easier it will be to forget we shouldn't drive 100MPH on the way home in the real world.

    I'm not saying people won't realize the difference between the two, I'm just saying that when they're not CONSCIOUSLY thinking about it, they will start driving quite a bit faster than the law allows and possibly get pulled over or hurt in an accident.

    But then again, its not like this option will be available to anyone who can afford it anytime soon. It's just a concept, as the article says.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Dec 2005 @ 12:09pm

    No Subject Given

    pointless advertising for xbox 360 and techdirt plays right into it...

    it's a car used as a video game controler, dumb idea, waste of money, thanks for wasting seconds of my life I will never get back...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    ZOMG CENSORED, 29 Dec 2005 @ 12:23pm

    When the Xbox crashes...

    ...Will the airbags go off?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Dec 2005 @ 1:23pm

    Re: yeah great...

    So people are so clueless that they're going to forget that they're not playing a game anymore while driving home because they're not conscious about it? Yeah, sometimes I forget after playing GTA3, and plow over people on the sidewalk because I'm not conscious about it...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    sc, 29 Dec 2005 @ 1:43pm

    Ketchup and mustard in one bottle

    Yet another lame idea, reminds me of Kramer putting Ketchup and Mustard in one bottle.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Dec 2005 @ 2:33pm

    Re: yeah great...

    Have you seen Project Gothem 3? It looks real.

    Secondly, I just said people are more likely to drive faster if they're zoning out while driving home and not paying attention to their speed. Not that they run over people or are at max speed the entire time.

    Haven't you ever driven all the way somewhere without any problems, but once you arrive you can't really remember the trip? This happens all the time. And this is the time where someone who had just played a realistic racing game while sitting in a car may increase their speed IRL without realizing it.

    Believe it or not, we all do things our subconcious tells us without acknowledging it.

    And stop getting so defensive. It's not like I'm saying we need to BAN ALL VIDEO GAMES because some idiot may kill themselves or someone else on accident while driving after they play a realistic racing game. I'm just saying there are stupid people out there.

    Jesus man, the games we play DO affect us. Usually in positive ways and definately not enough to make us go on shooting sprees or killing police officers, but they still affect us.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    T, 29 Dec 2005 @ 3:00pm

    Re: yeah great...

    Actually, that's not so far off, forgetting how fast to drive. For years I worked as a paramedic, driving at pretty high speeds from call to call. After a long shift, a lot of times I'd get in my car and start driving as though it was the ambulance, almost going though a red light once. A lot of medics, cops, and firefighters experience this reaction which is why a lot of departments institute some sort of "de-stress" after shift like doing paperwork or cleaning the vehicle, to get your head back in order before driving home.

    Also, how many of us drive a little bit faster when a nice upbeat song is playing on the radio?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Larry Mackey, 29 Dec 2005 @ 5:17pm

    Re: yeah great...

    The air force has a rule that fighter pilots are grounded for 48 hours after "flying" a trainer so that their brains don't fly the plane into a maneuver that the pilot's body can't survive.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Dec 2005 @ 7:20pm

    Re: yeah great...

    http://gr.bolt.com/oldsite/articles/violence/violence.htm

    That's 'The Truth About Violent Youth and Video Games'

    Those graphs directly from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Statistics, prove violent video games suppress urges to commit violent acts.

    I would conclude that it doesn't suppress, but it in fact satisfies any urges. If that is the case, playing a racing game going 140 MHP in your car, then driving home, I think would allow people to safely drive the speed limit because they "got it out of their system" so to speak.

    The more real games get, the harder it will be to tell the difference between reality and virtual reality, but so what? The two will blur and we will live in virtual reality... the next step of our evolution as a species =)

    link to this | view in thread ]


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