USA Today: Nissan unveils 370Z in 'Need for Speed Undercover'

USA Today writes: "Nissan is taking a novel approach to rev up brand buzz for the 2009 370Z: unveiling the new sports car in a video game before the car's public rollout.

A virtual version of the 370Z has a starring role in Electronic Arts' (ERTS) new Need for Speed Undercover racing game, which hits stores on Nov. 18. The car will make its first public appearance on Nov. 19 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It will go on sale two to three months later.

"We've had cars in video games, but never before we revealed them in real life," says Nissan spokesman Robert Brown.

The Nissan and EA partnership comes as in-game ad spending swells in double-digits. Marketers spent $181 million in 2007, according to figures compiled by Veronis Suhler Stevenson. For 2008, it'll hit $268 million. "