With the recent silicon shortage making it hard to get both new cars and video game consoles, BMW has decided to roll the two into one by turning the center section of its BMW Curved Display into a fully fledged in-car gaming platform. To be fair, that thing’s so lavishly wide, it’s about time someone put the other half of it to work.
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We’ve seen video gaming sneak into cars before, including the option of a jury-rigged system via the Honda E’s plug socket and HDMI port, but the genius of the AirConsole system that BMW’s using is its accessibility. You won’t have to fill up your glove box with joypads and a spaghetti of charging cables to kick off a four player game. Instead, each player just scans a QR code with their mobile to turn the phone’s touchscreen into a game controller uniquely tailored to that particular title.
Don’t expect your BMW to play host to recognizable big hitters like Call of Duty, but the AirConsole service already has over 130 bite-sized titles available to download, from knockabout kart racers to quirky, imaginative party games that make the most of the fact that everyone has their own personal screen in their hand.
It goes without saying that this functionality won’t be available while you’re hurtling down the M40 at 100kph, but in those moments where you’re twiddling your thumbs for half an hour while you fill your EV with juice, this is going to be a welcome distraction. Just make sure you’re not hogging the charging spot while you finish one more round of a game that, if anyone asks, is definitely legally distinct from Tetris...
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
