Star Wars fans headed to Orlando this month for Star Wars Celebration might be surprised to see Nissan there. But the car company is coming with con-porn in tow: Star Wars VR, costume replicas and sweet, sweet swag.
Battle Test: A Nissan 360-degree Virtual Reality Experience serves as the centerpiece for the occasion. It’s a VR experience that puts viewers behind the wheel of a new Nissan Rogue (the Star Wars Limited Edition, of course) as it rips through a pitched battle between First Order troops and Resistance rebels. Underlying the scene are moments designed to showcase the safety features of the new Nissan Rogue, including a walkthrough portion that pauses the action to pop out a bit of text with relevant details.
The whole thing was put together in partnership with Lucasfilm, and has the look and feel of an authentic Star Wars product. Fans at Celebration will doubtless be a tough crowd, but having experienced Battle Test: A Nissan 360-degree Virtual Reality Experience firsthand I can say the love is there. The Lucasfilm team thinks so, too.
“This is the most complete, immersive 360 project we’ve ever done,” said Kevin Bolen, an audio designer Skywalker Sound who spoke during a press event at Lucasfilm’s Presidio campus. “The scope and scale is quite huge.”
Hayden Landis, Associate VFX Supervisor at ILM, agrees.
“Shooting live action in 360 degrees with effects is incredibly challenging,” he explained. “There’s a reason not many people do this.”
The reason for Nissan is two-fold. First, it’s a great way to show potential customers how the safety features work since you can’t create unsafe test drives, obviously. Second, and perhaps more important, it presents a chance to really connect with an energized fanbase (who also might need to buy a car at some point) and do justice to a partnership with an iconic brand. Demoing Battle Test at Celebration helps get the word out and offers fans a chance to do something that is, legitimately, pretty cool.
Well, there’s also the obvious reason that Nissan wants to sell cars. But given how intimidating and cumbersome the car shopping experience can be, I’d imagine more than a few potential customers will enjoy the familiarity that comes from Star Wars . And it’s certainly a novel way to explain safety features without showing some cliched video of a small child chasing a ball into the street, or a mom who avoids a rogue shopping cart thanks to blind spot sensors.
Nissan will sweeten the pot at Celebration by giving out a limited number of Death Trooper helmet keychains, as well as have on display one of the Death Trooper helmet replicas that are included in the purchase of a Nissan Rogue: Rogue One Star Wars Limited Edition model. It’s a 1:1 replica (not wearable) and only 2,500 were produced so replica fans should get their selfie sticks ready. In fact, Nissan is bringing an army of replica fans along. Literally. This year at Celebration Nissan is sponsoring the 501st Legion during the event. It’s the 20th anniversary for the 501st, a collective of costume enthusiasts known for their high-quality, innovative designs.
Interested fans going to Celebration can find Nissan at the Orange County Convention Center April 13 - 16. Everyone else can keep an eye out for Battle Test: A Nissan 360-degree Virtual Reality Experience at their local dealership in a galaxy not so far, far away.
