Ever thought of integrating a gaming console into your car? Imaging playing Battlefield 3 using your PlayStation 3 inside your car or perhaps Burnout Revenge on your Xbox 360 so you could, I don’t know, drive while you drive I guess? The point is that it would be awesome, especially for game freaks like us to be able to play these kick-ass games in our automobiles!
The big question brooding in our heads now is whether or not this is actually possible and if it is has anyone actually succeeded in doing it? What would be better to install into a car: an Xbox or a PlayStation? There are so many questions with many factors to be considered. Let’s find out whether a gaming console can actually be integrated into an automobile’s system, and if so which console should we patronize.
A little bit of Google searching will lead you easily enough to links of people who have actually installed gaming consoles into their cars. You might even be surprised at how many people are looking to do the same. I stumbled upon what I think were over a dozen unique forums with threads discussing the possibilities of this care-console fusion.
I even came across a few web tutorials on how to get about doing so on YouTube and some other sites. After a few hundred hours (not much of an exaggeration) of researching I have come to the following conclusions:
1. Installing a gaming console into a car is no easy feat
2. There is no “regular” way of doing this
3. You will need a little bit of knowledge on electrical wirings
because you don’t want to mess up your car
4. Your choice between a PlayStation 3 and an Xbox 360 is a crucial factor
Let’s start with number one, installing a gaming console is no easy feat for anyone… even gaming and car professionals. There are many factors to consider such as the airflow of the console and how it’s going to get its power. Both gaming consoles require an adequate amount of space to be able to function properly, otherwise overheating will be a problem.
As for the power source, a car’s battery is not exactly designed to power these sorts of appliances. A transformer or power converter will be needed. Going on to number two, there is really no regular way of integrating a gaming console into an automobile.
Because of this you will have a lot of modifications to do on both your car and the console. Depending on your car, you might want to fix the console inside the glove compartment or in the trunk. Of course you’ll have to modify the case or get rid of it totally.
This leads us to number 3. You can’t just expect everything to work by just shoving a PS3 or 360 into the glove compartment, right? You’ll need to mess a bit with the wirings. Have it connected to the power converter and then to the cars power adaptor. Then you’ll need a monitor where you can project the visuals. Finally if you want t integrate your car audio system, you’ll need to mess with the wirings a little more.
You would probably do best under the supervision of a professional car technician. And if you’re lucky, you’ll have a gaming console up and running inside your auto!
Now we’re down to number four and here comes the real question. Say you really are serious about getting all of this done; you’ll have to decide which console would be the best bargain in terms of entertainment inside your vehicle. What are the pros and cons of each console? I have come up with some questions you might want to ask yourself before setting off to do the dirty work.
Let’s start with the technical aspects of these gaming consoles. So you’ve got them integrated into your vehicle, right? But how well are these devices going to weather an average, bumpy trip? How well can they respond to sudden shocks? What about the controllers? Will you use wired ones or cordless joysticks? Are the PS3’s controllers’ batteries longer lasting, or is its counterpart, the Xbox 360 the better?
Finally ask yourself what games you want to be playing inside your car. This is where it will all come down to at the end of the day.
Both consoles have great arsenals of action, adventure and first person shooting games. It will all come down to your preference. I personally couldn’t be happier having the Mass Effect series playable in my car on a PS3. However, the first game of the mass effect series only came out on an Xbox, so now I have to decide whether to let go of it and get the rest of the series on a PS3 or, ditch to two and enjoy the first one with an Xbox.
What about you? What games would you want to play inside your car and which console do you think is best?
Post a comment