THE video game experience has arrived in the automobile.

It’s called the virtual cockpit and, starting with Audi, it will become a more common feature in cars in the not too distant future.

Gone are the traditional mechanical dials — the speedometer, the tachometer, the various gauges and pointers — and in their place is a 12.3-inch LCD screen that houses an animated instrument cluster.

The high-resolution screen, which lights up behind the steering wheel, directly in the driver’s line of sight, can be programmed to show several functions — for navigation, a cellphone, radio and media, Google Earth 3-D graphics, and traffic data. That is in addition to the usual functions of showing speed, engine revolutions, outside temperature and the gas level.

By any standard, it’s an abundance of information, all on one screen. But it also has some drivers and experts asking: How much is too much, and will consumers understand it?