Page 60 - The Book For Men Spring/Summer 2024

IFYOU’RENOTPARTOFTHEGLOBALTRAVELLINGCIRCUSTHATISTHE mychildhoodand,lookingback,itwasprobablyoneofthemostpivotalmoments
international auto show circuit, you may not know that new cars are typically unveiled at drab industry trade shows. It’s not all glitz, like the Goodwood Festival of Speed or Monterey Car Week. But, wherever these launches take place, there’s always one common denominator: the attendees are all “car people.”
However, when Genesis revealed its new jaw-dropping concept late last year in Barcelona, that wasn’t the case at all. For in attendance at this particular launch were mostly hard-core gamers. And that’s because the car was unveiled at the Gran Turismo World Series Finals. It’s the sort of video-game tournament you might have once held in your friend’s base- ment, but on a global scale. The best virtual racers in the world were in the
audience, having travelled to Spain to settle who amongst them was the best player of the racing simulation game.
The game itself, Gran Turismo, first hit Sony’s inaugural PlayStation con- sole in 1997, and has gone on to sell more than 90 million copies around the world. That’s incredibly good going — and a 27-year-long track record few other franchises can claim to match. As far as the entertainment world goes, the game is a cultural juggernaut.
“Gran Turismo means everything to my generation,” says Chris Ha, senior manager of interiors at Genesis Design. “The first Gran Turismo came out during
in cementing my journey to becoming a car designer.”
So it was a full-circle moment for Ha when Genesis arrived at the Gran
Turismo World Series Finals to whip the sheet off the brand’s latest concept, the Genesis X Gran Berlinetta Vision. But here’s the thing: while the crowd of gamers may have whistled and hollered as the physical model was revealed, this car will never be made. In fact, the non-running, full-scale model was created purely for publicity, and the closest you’ll come to driving one will be when you’re sitting on your own couch. Why? Because this latest Genesis was designed explicitly and exclusively for the Gran Turismo game.
Welcome, then, to the bizarre world of brands attempting to sell real cars in the digital world. The Genesis X Gran Berlinetta Vision may be trapped in the virtual realm, but the hope is that it’ll eventually inspire gamers (when they’re old enough to get their driver’s licences) to consider buying a Genesis in real life. It’s a long-term play, one more about building brand loyalty than it is about boosting short-term sales.
If that sounds odd to you, it shouldn’t. In-game marketing of real-world products is big business and it’s not just car manufacturers doing it, either. Consider all the brands and individuals who have collaborated with the phenomenon that is Fortnite: Marvel, Air Jordan, Star Wars, Balenciaga, Nike, Moncler, Lady Gaga, Lewis Hamilton, and both the NFL and NBA. Brands know that these games attract
60 BFM / SS24 AUTO / PUSHING PIXELS