petee1997

I disagree. I can hardly wait for an allocation to replace my CLS for this superlative E-Class.

W205C43PFL

You also mean superplastic? https://superplastic.co/pages/mercedes-benz

LMinn

A video from that site:
W....T....F. Is the point to plant Mercedes in the mind of Fortnite players so when they grow up they have Mercedes on their mind? I... It's the only strategy that makes sense to me.

Also it really feels forced as ****, but I don't play Fortnite so maybe this is not as cringe inducing to them.

The G Man

Hate to break this to Mercedes HQ, most video gamers cannot afford to buy a Mercedes, the few that could, will buy electric instead of gas engine cars. This latest Mercedes marketing campaign is almost as bad as the Bud light LGBT marketing campaign. I hope whoever took Mercedes down this road gets fired just like the Bud light woman.

ddcha

Is it just me or does the front remind you of an Angry Bird? 21-23 W213 reminds me of a mako shark.

JTK44

What is Fortnite??

Point is that this all absolute non sense: people who buy a Mercedes do not play video games.

ddeliber

But their kids do - mine does.
I also think that there is a point to demonstrating that the car has an architecture that is open enough for games to integrate with it. There is also supposed to be a browser. That would be pretty easy to create some customized apps that will show up much nicer than on a phone.

JTK44

You have to be kidding!

My wife, same age as me, rides in the passenger seats. She does not play video games.

My grandchildren ride in the back. My son rides in the front. We talk. He does not play video games when we are in the car together.

In Europe the S class is chauffeur driven. The owners ride in the back.

This is a game of "one up men ship": Features for bragging rights that will never be used.

Query: If you had to pay for an upgrade for video games how many people would opt for it? I suspect very, very few!

The G Man

Designing apps to attract gamers is one thing but to design a car around video game characters is another. This last ICE E class design would have been the perfect opportunity for Mercedes to showcase its history, the electric lineup will showcase the future. The W214 should be tank like, has that magic carpet ride, quiet as a library, high quality material, craftsmanship, durable and safe. All the things that made Mercedes what is it today, leave the poke man and imax touch screens to the electric cars.

ddeliber

Not all people talk all the time with their kids while in a car and many kids are a lot younger than your son.
That was my point about tablets in the back on the S-class, and the E-Class being focused in the front (which I removed from my original post as I felt It was off point)

Personally, I wouldn't pay for the option just for games. However, I am guessing that because they can get some simple games in there that it has an OS that can be easily developed for. Maybe I am thinking too much into this but that is what came to my mind when I saw the feature. I can think of some pretty good uses for a big screen in a car if it is reasonable to develop an app, and I am pretty sure that there are a lot of people with better ideas than me.

Dima

It's not about E class customers playing video games, it's about demonstrating the graphic capabilities ( among others) of MBUX 3rd generation. And that this platform is now open for developers via APIs.
In turn, once the 3rd party developers start creating new apps, MBUX would differentiate itself from others. It already has a full fledge dedicated browser, Vivaldi, the first one to have it.

taphil

Nearly every adult and child has a cell phone now. A video gaming console or web terminal built into the dashboard is unnecessary. No one will use it. It'll be old, slow, and out of date by the time the next iPhone is released.

Any child who is not old enough to own a cell phone just plays with the adult's phone.

Also, how is a child going to play video games on the passenger screen while the car is moving? Scoot the seat all the way up so in an accident they can smash into the dashboard or have the airbag explode in their face?

js_cls

The point of video games and TV is likely more so for future EV’s which will use MBUX 3.0. Those features are selling points for when you have to wait at a charging station.

icwhatudidthere

Exactly: the parents might not play but the kids do. My nephews are constantly bugging their mom, "we should buy a Tesla so we can play games like in uncle's car." Then the other one will quip back that they should buy a Mercedes so they can be like in Mario Kart.

So kids might not be buying Mercedes (except maybe the pro-gamers buying G classes) but it's still marketing.

W205C43PFL

Is that why they are collaborating with Angry Birds?

W205C43PFL

That is a good point too but not sure if it enough of a selling point, I mean AR glasses you can wear that projects a 75 inch? or more tv in front of you is already a thing, I wonder if something else that can be used without having issues with the daylight making it not visible will come out before then. Then there are already gigantic phablets phones or tablets out here that can be used as well.

W205C43PFL

That is probably also true, I wonder if Mercedes is still collaborating with Nvidia?

JTK44

Books????

Does anybody read anymore????

JTK44

Absolutely no question about it: When I go for my next car I am going to get my grandchildren's, ages 13, 9, 6, 4 and 9 months, strike the 9 months, opinion as to what car I am going to get.

GIVE ME A BREAK

Let's get back to planet Earth!

ddeliber

Unnecessary? For that matter, neither is a Mercedes.

I am a hockey dad. I played when I was young so I enjoy watching. You would be surprised to see how many people are sitting in their cars in the parking lot waiting. Soccer, baseball, the mall? That is a lot of eyes looking for something to do for an hour, especially when it is cold outside. Add a few adult beverages a couple other dads and a Celtics game and all of a sudden what many consider a chore is no longer so bad.
"Man I gotta get one of these" is probably how they pitched the idea a few years ago.

In fact that is a pretty good idea for a tv commercial:
5 guys that look like they are freezing outside of a hockey rink, huddled around one guy with his phone and a game on with crappy audio, one of them breathing hard into his hands to warm up - slowly pan back as the audio fades out -- then fade in crisp audio of an announcer shouting something exciting and refocus on another group near by sitting comfortably in a new E-class with the fancy seats and the audio of the game blaring through the speakers. End it with the camera focusing in on the star in the nice AMG steering wheel and the ubiquitous voice: "Mercedes, the best or nothing".

Povitica3

There is so much angst against this new model design, and some of these angst are really strong. This always happen at every major design releases... a confluence of legacy/history versus modernization. For me, I am in the latter category, bcos the world moves on regardless and manufacturers know they must evolve or die. As I check out this design on YT and follow the various angles from reviewers, I have grown to really love the "luxury" version far and above the "AMG" line... yikes! I would not have even imagined myself doing a 180deg turn within days of the model release. I sure hope MB brings the luxury line here to the USA, as I can imagine (speculating) it will generate more buying interest than previous models. It is a very elegant design and truly a move-forward for MB designers.

As to all the focus and hype on video conferencing and video games, methinks these are like focusing on trees while ignoring the forest. MB design theme is clear... from the C thru to S-class, the design language is unified and wholesome, and those who pay attention can easily discern this. At least MB has a design theme... has anyone seen BMW's lately?

W205C43PFL

As you mentioned, there are always hate towards new designs, reasons being most people don't like change and don't like to get used to things/learn new things for example part of the reason why people like the iPhone and iOS (story for another time). The other reason why there are hate towards new designs is because we are all unique and we have our own values and preferences and therefore we all like different things. It is what makes us human. Me personally only dislike the taillights of the W214 and hopefully it does grow on me.

Roweraay

As a dad of teenagers, I prefer to talk to them, when they’re in the vehicle with me. We discuss everything under the sun, during the drive, and use that as an opportunity to bond. I am not a big fan of introducing social media apps directly into the car, so that every drive becomes an opportunity for more screen time.

Having said that, IMHO, the Mercedes boardroom looks at the current aging/aged demographic of their main user base, as a horror-show, and want to make the product(s) attractive to the lower age groups and big, flashy screens with all kinds of built-in apps is an avenue to “shock them” to take notice of a product that would otherwise be outside their normal radar.

The S-class and the E-class are their halo products, and the last thing Mercedes wants, is for those to be categorized under the same umbrella as the long-departed “Oldsmobile” or even the other less hip and dying brands like Cadillac or Buick. Essentially, great-grandpa-era brands. That’d be the kiss of death for the overall brand, and thus they are going a bit overboard with the shock-factor of massive “in your face” screens, and built-in Apps that appeal to the younger demographic.

JTK44

I disagree:

See Rolex watches.

There is always a place for a luxury brand: Mercedes will sell because it is the definition of luxury (I exclude RR and Bentley as they are at a different price range).

I doubt the superscreen will add any customers.

petee1997

Get over it! The game app is a novelty item. You will not have to use it. It’s like any standard equipment, it’s optional to use it. Everything I read about this car’s features are superlative. As an added bonus, it is nice looking. Of course that is subjective and some naysayers will complain about that too. This new E-Class is not for everyone and some of you will be much happier with a different make or model. I support that . So please stop the complaining. If this car is not for you, move on. Mercedes will not redesign this car for you. They are locked in.