NISMO Electric Racer

Objective

Ahead of the Tokyo E-Prix Formula E race in May 2025, Nissan faced low local awareness—only 1% of Japan's population engaged with motorsport. Rather than compete for attention within the racing community, Nissan strategically shifted to gaming, the country's dominant entertainment category, aiming to introduce their Formula E program to broader audiences through a branded playable experience.

Solution

Nissan partnered with creative agency Dark Horses, Electric Studios, and illustrator Kentaro Yoshida to create an 8-bit retro arcade game launching at nismoelectricracer.com. Players pilot a stylized Nissan Formula E car through a pixelated Tokyo cityscape at the vehicle's actual 322 km/h speed, selecting between drivers Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato. The game featured a leaderboard enabling players to compete against professional drivers' scores, extended to a special 16-bit livery on the actual race car, and supported by VHS-inspired video ads. Deployed as free-to-play on desktop and mobile browsers, the campaign reached gaming and design audiences far beyond traditional motorsport fans.

Results

The campaign achieved 23 million promotional views (surpassing the 15M target) with 94,000 game plays averaging 2.54 minutes per session, and generated over $3 million in earned media value—25 times the budget and exceeding the $1.6M target. Brand perception showed significant improvement: 84% of players exposed to the game perceived Nissan as 'exciting' compared to 43% among unexposed audiences. The activation topped share-of-voice rankings during race week.