You can do pretty much anything with your games console. Whether you want to fight aliens in outer space, solve mysteries beneath the sea, or just have a round of golf – those magic boxes are designed to simulate the experience as best you can while sitting on the sofa with a controller in your hand.
But beyond the gaming experience, the consoles themselves have become classics of design, quietly asserting their presence in your subconscious so that even years after upgrading, you still get a thrill when you catch a glimpse of your old Atari or early Nintendo.
So what would happen if you could put the two feelings together – the experience of, say, racing a car, with the iconic design of your favorite console? Imagine the chunky plastic of your Atari 2600 expanded up into an off-road SUV, complete with wood-effect front grill. Or if you started gaming a bit later, perhaps you’ll be seduced by a sleek and sporty Sega Genesis – faster than Sonic the Hedgehog, and with an uncompromising black finish.
Of course, there have also been some handheld classics, which present their own design challenges. Imagine the ease of parking a slinky little Game Boy Color-mobile. Its translucent lilac chassis will let other road users know just how you like to game, while its 8-bit dash readout will intoxicate you with nostalgia every time you check the GPS.
For the motor-mad people at Jennings Ford Direct, daydreaming about these possibilities was not enough – they had to know what these console-inspired vehicles would look like. They’ve created this dazzling set of visualizations showing just how your favorite consoles of yesteryear (and a couple of contemporary classics) might look if re-imagined as automobiles. Check it out, and then get back in front of your games monitor – that Gran Turismo won’t race itself!
