Microtransactions make it to cars – BMW starts offering subscription options to owners of its cars

Microtransactions have long been deeply rooted in video games, but now the much-disliked business model has permeated the automotive industry. High beam assistant, video recording and even fake engine sounds – from now on, all this and much more can be unlocked in cars Bmw at extra charge.

Back in 2006, the German auto giant introduced the ability to connect additional functions in its cars via an SD card, however, this service has evolved significantly recently and now offers a wide range of different options that can be unlocked on the car simply by purchasing them over the Internet.

Recently a car journalist drew attention to this. Jake Groves, noticingthat when you try to activate the high beam assistant on your BMW 530e The on-board computer of the car gave a message typical for many games, which said that this function must be purchased through a digital store. In this case – BMW ConnectedDrive…

Option High Beam Assistantwhich allows the car to automatically switch between low and high beams at night to avoid dazzling other drivers, is sold at British BMW ConnectedDrive for £ 160 for unlimited use (16,773 rubles at the current rate).

Other functions available for purchase from the BMW online store:

• Apple CarPlay support – £ 265;

• BMW Drive Recorder (view the 40-second videos recorded while driving on the dashboard) – £ 15 per month or £ 199 For ever;

• BMW Music (unlimited music via Napster platform) – £ 79 in year;

• BMW Online (News, Weather & Attraction Information) – £ 39 in year;

• Concierge service (access to a call center that will help you find the right places, for example, a restaurant or the nearest ATM) – £ 89 in year;

• IconicSounds Sport (simulates racing engine noise through speakers) – £ 99;

• Map update package (keeps the GPS system up-to-date) – £ 79 in year;

• Street parking information (shows free parking spaces) – £ 29 in year;

• Real-time traffic information (warns of traffic jams and hazards) – £ 49 in year;

• Remote services (blocking, unblocking and searching for a car using a phone) – £ 29 in year.

On the part of those who did not know about the existence of this service, the reaction to Groves’s tweet was mixed. Some believe that the ability to independently add additional options to the car at a later stage of its operation is common sense, while others, on the contrary, saw this as the greed of BMW, which asks for money to unlock functions already preinstalled in the car, especially the High Beam Assistant, which can make driving more secure.

According to car owners, some of the latest models Skoda also have similar microtransactions.

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