Nissan, Microsoft Get Their URGE On

The two companies unveil the URGE concept car, outfitted with a Microsoft Xbox 360 which integrates the car's controls into the game Project Gotham Racing 3.

Nissan and Microsoft today announced they’d teamed to merge automotive design and gaming technology into the URGE concept car to be unveiled at the upcoming North American International Auto Show on Jan. 9. The integration, which involves tying in a Xbox 360 into the car’s controls, is designed to show how “echo boomers” are influencing the next generation of vehicle design.

The URGE car, according to the two companies, is equipped with the Xbox 360 video game system loaded with the Project Gotham Racing 3 title. The car, while parked, allows people to use the car’s steering wheel, gas pedal and brake pedal while viewing the game on a flip-down seven-inch LCD screen. Virtual drivers can roam through the streets of five photo-realistic locations: New York City, London, Las Vegas, Tokyo and the Nurburgring test track in Germany.

The URGE car was created by the designers at Nissan Design America with the guidance of Microsoft engineers. Besides the Xbox 360 integration, other features of this automobile include motorcycle-inspired styling, rear-wheel drive, a quick, high-revving, small-displacement engine, 6-speed manual gearbox, brushed aluminum-alloy wheels, color-infused aluminum body panels and a driver-oriented cockpit.

“Nissan conducted an Internet survey of 2,000 echo boomers, a majority of which said technology and gaming are among the most important attributes in their first car,” said Bruce Campbell, vice president of design at Nissan Design America in La Jolla, Calif. “Xbox 360 offered the latest in technology and was already a favorite among this audience.”