Always drive your Nissan Z370 with care, kids.
Gaming has increased its profile greatly in the past decade or so, transforming its image from a secondary market for kids into a primary market for everyone. This sort of advertising collaboration simply would not have been possible 10-15 years ago. But in an age where presidential candidates are willing to advertise in video games, why shouldn't a prominent automaker? Having the first reveal of an automobile in a video game is marks another accomplishment for EA and the industry as a whole.

"When you think about the size of automobile launches and the money spent on the car and the years of development and testing, you need to make an impact immediately," commented Munro. "The Nissan 370Z is a nexus of style, speed, and value – it's a great performing car that's also a great value. Just thinking about the pressure of launching a car like that... [This move] is an acknowledgment of gaming as mainstream. If you get your car placed in a movie, you touch upon millions of users; that's well established, and to have a first touch in Need for Speed is a signal of the franchise's power but also a coming of age in gaming, so I think its great for the industry."

"It's exciting for them, and for their franchise," added Brown. "They were getting back to their roots [with Need for Speed: Undercover] and we were proud to make it bigger."

One of the key components of the Need for Speed titles has been the car damage models, and we had to ask what Nissan they thought about the potential of their car getting trashed. "For us, it's about the fantasy of a gaming experience – it doesn't have to do with real life," responded Brown. "We're happy with it being vulnerable in the game fantasy world, because for me as a gamer, I want it to be as realistic as possible. From a health standpoint, there's a safety warning, beforehand and it doesn't change what we'd do with EA."

"For years, we've been showing real damage, and people love it, so that's part of the game," commented Munro. "We wouldn't relinquish that, so I think they understood that from the beginning. Part of the game is the realism of the car's physics and also the way it might be damaged, so this is just normal for the franchise. We're fairly realistic and we take painstaking detail in getting that in the game, but part of that is also the damage model. When we put out the screenshots of the car, we're not going to show a Z all damaged, but as soon as they get their hands on that, they might damage it, and that was just well understood and it was never an issue."

"The brand fits to the personality and we don't think it comes off as, 'Your dad's pristine vehicle.' It's a high performance vehicle and fits in the game environment," he added.

I've always been fond of Corvettes myself.
GameDaily BIZ was curious whether the team at EA Black Box had gotten a chance to try out the new Nissan 370Z. Some did, but things were kept under very close surveillance, which isn't too much of a surprise in the NDA-heavy video gaming industry.

"There was a dialog with the HQs in Japan and America and we were in concert for about a year to get the deal done," disclosed Munro. "A few got to encounter it, but it was in secret. In fact we had to cordon off the people who were making the 370Z for the game away from everyone else, so it added complexity, but that was just part of bringing this to life before it was shown in the metal to the world. So that's why this is a very unique opportunity."

"We've got the 370Z in the opening level, and we've got other Nissan cars in there, like the new GTR and, you'll encounter the Z at other times," he continued. "I won't elaborate, but some of the personalities you encounter further into the product will be attached to the brand as well. I think what I can tell you... is that there'll be more cool stuff in the game. We did reveal a trailer with the 370Z that shows the car off in showroom condition and then driving across a landscape, and there'll be more of those over the next couple of months. Also, stay tuned to the LA Auto Show."

"Another thing is the global nature of Need for Speed," Munro added. "We have all the top carmakers and we have this broad demographic and we'll sell the game in 23 countries. The lead market is U.S. but it's sold elsewhere as well, so it'll be a great way to promote the 370Z [internationally]. ... A lot of users get info for cars from Need for Speed, so it's a touchstone for automotive culture and we love to engage our consumers with unique offerings like this."

"We're excited; this is an example of a true partnership which makes something larger than it would normally be and we're very proud of the relationship. Let's just say one more thing: we have other things in store for the EA/Nissan partnership down the road!" concluded Brown.