We are honoured to announce the arrival of the The NEXT Western Star® for American Truck Simulator shortly after its real-world release on 9/29.
— SCS Software (@SCSsoftware) September 10, 2020
We are humbled to be able to work closely with the @WstrnStarTrucks team on this project.
Pictures & more at: https://t.co/J0wO0VAFsm pic.twitter.com/VogPchddxF
American Truck Simulator is getting a new vehicle soon, and it's an interesting one. It's the next generation Western Star truck, and as I write, it hasn't actually been revealed yet. When ATS was released in 2016, it only had a handful of trucks from Kenworth and Peterbilt (both manufacturers having the same parent company), and since then, SCS Software have been working on getting trucks from other brands into the game. Volvo, International and Mack are now represented as well, and Western Star is next in line. It's good to know that SCS Software have such a good working relationship with Daimler Trucks North America that they're allowed to look around a prototype of a new unreleased truck to model it for the game.
That got me thinking. Truck games getting brand new vehicles is pretty much unheard of, but there have been a few cases of car manufacturers working with game developers to give players an early-access preview of their new models over the years. I thought I'd take a look through the history books to dig up a some of these cases. Be warned, there are a lot.
Gran Turismo is one of the biggest names on the market. The first game had cars that creator Kazunori Yamauchi wanted to include, but as the games proved more popular, car manufacturers figured out that including their cars in Gran Turismo provided great advertising, and so were more willing to license their cars. Case in point: Nissan, whose large number of Skyline/GT-R variants provided a bit of a running joke in the GT community. For 2007's Gran Turismo 5 Prologue demo, players were able to drive a camouflaged test prototype version of the then-new R35 GT-R (nicknamed the "Black Mask"). When the production GT-R was unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, the finished, non-camouflaged version replaced the Black Mask in the full release of the game. Back to the demo, and the second generation Mazda6, Lexus IS F and Subaru Impreza STI hatchback would also be unlocked in the demo as they were unveiled in reality.
Jumping ahead to 2010 and Gran Turismo 5, and it would be the brand-new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG that would grace the cover of that game. About a year after launch, Toyota also collaborated with Polyphony Digital to give gamers the chance to test drive the new GT86. That wouldn't be the most exciting new car launch of GT5, however. In late 2012, a mysterious camouflaged Corvette started appearing on the game's "screen-saver," and it was soon announced that players would get to drive the next-generation Corvette Test Prototype before the actual car had even been unveiled. In January 2013, the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray made its grand debut, and was almost immediately added to Gran Turismo 5 for players to drive.
That wouldn't be the last time that a new car made its debut in Gran Turismo. 2013 saw the release of Gran Turismo 6, and the BMW M4 was added shortly after release. At that time, the in-game car didn't even have an interior or a full description; both elements were added later when the production car was unveiled. The current game in the series, Gran Turismo Sport, continues the tradition of co-operation with car manufacturers, as Polyphony Digital worked closely with Porsche to include the Taycan Turbo S electric car in GT Sport.
So what about other games? Forza Motorsport has had their fair share of debuts. Back in 2009, Turn 10 and Audi teamed up to make the R8 V10 the hero car of Forza Motorsport 3. In 2012, the 2013 SRT Viper was unveiled at the New York Auto Show, and was also announced to be coming to Forza Motorsport 4 in a free promotional pack (not to mention becoming the cover car for the original Forza Horizon).
Since then, Forza's cover cars have always been the latest and greatest. The McLaren P1 in Forza Motorsport 5. The Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4 in Forza Horizon 2. The Ford GT in Forza Motorsport 6 (and the 2017 F-150 Raptor and Shelby GT350R also in the game). The Lamborghini Centenario LP770-4 in Forza Horizon 4. The Porsche 911 GT2 RS 991.2 in Forza Motorsport 7 (and E3 2017 actually marked the debut of that car!). And the McLaren Senna in Forza Horizon 4. Going back to FM7, there's also the 2019 Hyundai Veloster Turbo and Veloster N, which were made available to players just a day after the debut.
Need For Speed may not be the most realistic game series out there, but it's a big name with its finger on the pulse of the automotive world. In 2008, Electronic Arts teamed up with Nissan to bring the brand new 370Z to Need For Speed: Undercover, along with a web video miniseries to promote the car. That wouldn't be the last time that NFS would get first dibs on a new model, as the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S 991 was made available to players in Need For Speed: The Run, and the 2015 Ford Mustang GT was included in Need For Speed: Rivals. In more recent times, BMW has used NFS to preview its new sports models, with the M2 Coupe making its first appearance in Need For Speed 2015. Two years later, the F90 M5 was unveiled at Gamescom 2017, and included on the cover of Need For Speed: Payback.
This deep-dive into virtual car debuts has been quite long, so I'll wrap things up with a name that should be familiar to sim-racers: Project CARS 2. When developing that game, Slightly Mad Studios worked with McLaren to make their new 720S the star of the game. The 720S was still under development at the time, so SMS had to create the virtual car from manufacturer-supplied CAD data, changing certain aspects as McLaren fine-tuned the design, and had to do it in complete secrecy. The collaboration also saw then-McLaren test drive Chris Goodwin providing feedback on the car's handling for the game developers.
So there you have it. That was a look at the cars that players have been able to experience first in driving games, and it was quite a bit longer than I was expecting. Personally, I love it when car manufacturers and game developers team up. It really puts the spotlight on the latest and greatest cars, and makes them feel a bit more special. I make no secret of my love for the current BMW M5, and its appearance in NFS Payback is a big part of that. I also feel like the chance to become a Chevrolet test driver and drive a camouflaged C7 Corvette prototype was one of the coolest things to happen in Gran Turismo 5. Long may these special collaborations continue!
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