Gaming in cars is one of those things that manufacturers like to believe will actually be successful, despite the fact that we haven’t seen much evidence to back that up. Mobile games and “casual” games seemed appropriate, but then people had access to those games on their devices. Then there’s Tesla, shove the power of a gaming PC into your car for all those times you want to spend two hours in the parking lot playing Witch III. None of that sounds very appealing, but what the hell — BMW wants to join, and Series 2024 5 will be able to support a light gaming point in partnership with a service called AirConsole.
Air conditioner It’s basically an app that contains multiple games, many of which are multiplayer and indie titles, which you can access by subscribing. That makes it like Apple Arcade, except that unlike Apple Arcade, AirConsole lets you project games onto a dedicated screen while players use their own device as a controller. The idea with the new 5 Series is that players will see the game on their car’s infotainment screen, but use a phone or tablet, paired via a QR code, to control their experience. .
If you’re a parent stuck in a car with your kids — and cars not movingclear — you will be able to pass the time with a series of “so-called casual games”, like BMW mentioned in its press release. One of them happens to be Overdoa staple of the cooperative:
With AirConsole, players can play so-called casual games. These are games that are easy to pick up and play and the controls are intuitive. The selection available for the launch of the new BMW 5 Series sedan includes racing, sports, quiz and music games as well as simulation, strategy, jump and run and puzzle games. . About 15 titles are available to play from the start including “Go Kart Go”, “Golazo”, “Music Guess” and “Over cook”. The list of available games will be continuously expanded.
Blog BMW tried the demo of this feature and found the performance satisfactory. Games are small enough to be downloaded from the cloud, then stored and run on local hardware inside the car.
The thing is, the 5 Series’ screen isn’t much bigger than the iPad’s. And since you or your kids most likely already have the game on their tablet, what exactly is the benefit here? AirConsole offers limited, ad-supported access to a number of free titles, but requires a $24 annual or $8 per month subscription to explore the full library with maximum players. A reviewer on Google Play Store gave the service three stars, with a resounding approval ending all others: “The only thing is, there aren’t many good games.”
Jalopnik has reached out to BMW to inquire about pricing and, more specifically, whether the automaker will offer a separate fee on AirConsole. While the company hasn’t provided full details, a representative said AirConsole “is included with the 5 Series ConnectedDrive Professional for one year and can then be flexibly activated for a fee.” This may seem like one of those go-to luxuries on the road, but they’re not a heavy load on BMW’s in-car hardware and someone can subscribe to them. So they are here.
