The Porsche GT2 RS Reveal At E3 Could Forever Change The Way Performance Cars Are Marketed

Choosing to unveil such an important new flagship car at a gaming event instead of a car show is a bold move that reflects an irrevocable acknowledgement of how important gamers are to performance car makers
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Porsche’s decision to give the new 911 GT2 RS its media debut at a video game show rather than a motor show is a fascinating one for both industries.

That car is a big deal. Any GT2 RS always has been; it’s the most singularly unhinged production 911 and is built to make any car guy or girl break out in sweats just to sit in it. Why choose gaming show E3 to unveil it in the flesh?

Porsche’s cooperation with multiple game franchises still feels like a new thing, and it’s only natural for the makers of Forza Motorsport 7 to want to celebrate having the brand’s cars within its programming for the first time. My point is that they could have used any flagship Porsche. A 918 Spyder would be the obvious choice, or even a 911 GT3 or GT3 RS. I can’t imagine that Turn 10 Studios would have been unhappy with any of those options on their stand and on the cover of their game.

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So that makes us wonder whether it was Porsche’s decision to provide the new 911 standard-bearer for the show rather than waiting for the more traditional surroundings of September’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Then again, given that Porsche America apparently still doesn’t want to admit that the car even exists, pushing it out early at E3 seems like an odd mismatch with the official company line.

It doesn’t really matter, anyway: at least for the purposes of this article. The point is that Porsche chose to let the fastest car it’s made since the 918 Spyder and the first new 911 GT2 RS since 2010 make its bow at somewhere where pixels are just as important as performance.

It demonstrates a seismic shift in the marketing priorities for a brand as large and influential as Porsche. It acknowledges the vast quantities of money tied up in and generated by the gaming industry, appealing directly to gamers in a way that we only hope the latter realise the significance of. This move says “hey gamers, here’s our brand’s cool new toy that we want you to enjoy before anyone else.” It publicly makes gamers important as brand ambassadors and potential future customers on a scale that no other car maker has tried yet.

For the likes of Turn 10 and their rivals, this is a huge, huge boost. If manufacturers of the world’s best cars are willing to work with them as closely as this to promote their brands within the gaming franchises that so many of us already know and love, the upward slope of success is only going to get steeper.

In the meantime, those of us who weren’t at E3 will just have to wait until the Frankfurt show before we get up close with the car. Damn.

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Comments

Anonymous

Meanwhile in EA they have leaked the M5 without BMWs consent…

06/18/2017 - 07:58 |
73 | 0
Georg Blink - RevolutionArts

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

And it looks exactly the same as the last BMW M5 :D

06/18/2017 - 08:22 |
8 | 4
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

BMW were perfectly fine with the M5 being revealed. They even tweeted about the M5 making its video game debut in NFS PB

06/18/2017 - 10:11 |
15 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Yeah what Daniels said is true, the new M5 was set to be revealed along with the reveal of Need for Speed Payback

06/18/2017 - 12:18 |
0 | 0
Erich Mohrmann

Well that’s the closest way most of us can afford it…

06/18/2017 - 07:59 |
3 | 1
Anonymous

Forza 7, what’s the difference between that and 6?
More cars, revamped weather system, new HUD, although the steering wheel still only goes 180 deg-
SCREW THIS!

06/18/2017 - 08:13 |
1 | 5
Caro

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

what did you expect

06/18/2017 - 12:36 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Didnt Ford already do something like this with the Ford GT at the Forza 6 launch?

06/18/2017 - 08:30 |
0 | 2
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

No, the Ford GT was launched at a car show. I believe it was Geneva!

06/18/2017 - 10:46 |
1 | 0
ShadowHuayra (HemiPower)

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

The Ford GT was revealed at a car show (Geneva I believe?) then Forza 6 was confirmed about 30 seconds later

06/18/2017 - 13:09 |
1 | 0
HAYABUSA

What’s sadder is that the gaming industry devolves year after year more into a marketingfest rather than actual gaming fun. I don’t think there’s ever been a time where developers have been more out of touch with their consumers…

06/18/2017 - 09:57 |
9 | 0
Anonymous

I remember as a young child being at a computer show in Earls Court and Lotus having some cars there to go with the game Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge.

Cars and video games have been entertained since, probably, Outrun.

Launching at a video game show is the logical next step. Video games put the brands in front of kids at an age and voracity Coca Cola must be very jealous of.

06/18/2017 - 10:03 |
10 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

*entwined

06/18/2017 - 10:05 |
0 | 0
Itsuki

The Ford GT did that 2 years ago, arguably much more important than the GT2

06/18/2017 - 11:06 |
0 | 6
Anonymous

In reply to by Itsuki

The Ford GT was unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show…

06/18/2017 - 19:55 |
2 | 0
YKap

This actually makes a lot of sense. Given the prices for the games and dlc’s, expansion packs, etc., the game is targeting the same customer base as the GT2 itself.

06/18/2017 - 15:11 |
10 | 1
Chris D.

If there is gonna be 300 different character customization options in FM7, there better be some god damn bodykits.

06/18/2017 - 18:59 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

So cars are going to have dlc? If cars get dlc we’re screwed

06/19/2017 - 05:15 |
0 | 0