Have vehicle interiors become the new living rooms? The question may seem absurd, but once behind the wheel, a driver can, at least technically, not legally, watch a movie and even play a video game. And in the electric segment, this trend is sharpening.
PlayStation 5 in Honda cars
The idea is to be able to start an activity at home and continue it in the car. As far as information or music is concerned, this continuity is perfectly available today. “It is clear that in the aspect of video games, the promise is not fulfilled today”, indicates Guillaume Crunelle. With the idea in mind that the autonomous car will one day allow the driver to completely abandon the wheel.
That’s why Honda partnered with Sony earlier this year to create electric vehicles. Sony Honda Mobility announced in November that it would integrate PlayStation 5 into its cars. And this, as soon as they occur.
For the Japanese manufacturer, the goal is to rely on Sony’s entertainment content, services and technologies. “We adapt these elements to mobility, and that is our strength against Tesla,” said Izumi Kawanishi, president of Sony Honda Mobility.
If the Japanese actor is specifically targeting the American brand, it is because it was the first to offer this type of entertainment in a vehicle. Although all manufacturers had this desire in mind, Elon Musk’s company was the first to get going.
New mobility before autonomous vehicles
But at the end of last year, the American highway safety agency imposed itself on Tesla to prevent access to the offer of video games during a trip. Three games were accessible to the passenger. Now they are just standing still, as some drivers used the manufacturer’s autonomous driving function to play games and therefore drive away from the road.
However, the video game continues to be interesting entertainment during the -sometimes prolonged- recharging of electric vehicles. But Guillaume Crunelle identifies two other reasons. “On average, people who buy a new car are 57 years old in France. Therefore, there is a generational challenge to rejuvenate this population”, says the expert.
What if video games also became a lever to share the car? “Offering this type of experience can make it more acceptable or attractive not to have your own car and, therefore, to share a ride”, estimates Guillaume Crunelle. And to add: “I think that these devices favor the new mobility more, even if it is within the framework of the autonomous vehicle that we are going to sell them.”
Because the video game for the driver is not for tomorrow. “We can reasonably doubt that we will be able, in the near future, to play while driving,” observes the head of the automotive sector at Deloitte. According to him, the parallelism between entertainment and empowerment of the vehicle does not hold: “These cycles are not aligned,” he cuts.
In addition, Level 3 autonomous driving, which came into effect on September 1, does not allow the driver to play behind the wheel. Although it introduces the concept of “hands-free” driving, its application is still limited to a few affected models and certain sections of road. Steering wheels still have a few years to go before giving way to controllers.
Source: BFM TV
