Towns around Mount Yotei have launched a tourism campaign aimed at bringing fans of PlayStation’s Ghost of Yotei to Hokkaido. Local businesses are already preparing merchandise, municipalities are setting up partnerships, and themed tours of landscapes associated with the game are being considered. The goal is to turn a virtual adventure into a reason for players to make a real trip.

The real-world towns and villages around Japan’s Mount Yotei have launched a tourism campaign specifically designed to attract fans of PlayStation’s Ghost of Yotei. The Sucker Punch-developed action-adventure game was released last year and is set in Japan’s Hokkaido region during the 1600s, closely connecting its world to the landscape that local communities now want visitors to experience in person.

The previous entry in the series, 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, already sparked a major tourism boom on the real island of Tsushima. Locals began running tours and selling merchandise, while Sucker Punch’s creative directors were even named permanent tourism ambassadors. In 2021, the game’s popularity also helped fans raise more than $260,000 to rebuild a shrine on the island.

Now, seven towns and villages near Mount Yotei, including Niseko and Kutchan, are hoping to benefit from similar interest surrounding the PS5 sequel. Sony claims that Ghost of Yotei is currently outselling its predecessor, giving the region good reason to believe that some players will want to see the area beyond the screen as well. According to Nikkei, which is behind a paywall, Niseko Town has already signed a partnership agreement with a major firm specialising in IP collaborations, allowing it to sell Ghost of Yotei merchandise to tourists while planning joint projects with local businesses.

Kumagera Seisakusho, a craft shop that produces goods made from Hokkaido-grown timber, is already selling pin badges and magnets featuring Ghost of Yotei. The report says that more local businesses could join the collaboration later, while Niseko is also considering tours similar to those on Tsushima that would take visitors to locations featured in the game’s story.

An official from Niseko said via machine translation: “We hope that people will learn about the scenery in spring, summer, and autumn through the game, and that this will lead to them actually visiting the town.” The campaign is therefore not simply about selling merchandise carrying the game’s name, but about turning the region’s changing seasonal landscapes into a real travel destination for fans.

Speaking to VGC last year, former Sucker Punch studio head Brian Fleming described what it felt like to visit Tsushima during the press tour for Ghost of Yotei. “I was there a week ago and spent the day with a lot of the tourism folks, who were staying in a hotel named Hotel Jin, which is not an accident. You asked me at the start how I was feeling, and I said I was at peace, and I think part of that was that visit.”

“Our tour guide brought tourists from UAE and Germany up to Kaneda Castle, which is mind-blowing, right? These people came all this way to do that. It’s just so fulfilling to feel that way and say, wow, this really touched people, both the travellers and people’s lives there.” Fleming said the most rewarding part was seeing that the game had not only captured visitors’ attention, but had also affected life in the local community.

“We met a mom from the island sitting on a plane going back to Fukuoka from Tsushima, who realised who we are. It was so exciting. And you’re like, man, this is just crazy. Like, how did this happen for us? It was incredibly fulfilling. We didn’t anticipate any of that. The fans fixed the shrine, this beautiful shrine that I got to go visit. And the old one is still there. It’s completely amazing. And the Ghost of Tsushima fans raised money for that shrine. Will the same thing happen with Yotei? I’m not sure, but I’m excited for the game to launch and for those stories to be in.”

Source: VGC