Today the department of tourism, commerce, and industry of the city of Tsushima in Japan sent a press release announcing a collaboration with Sony’s Ghost of Tsushima.
The collaboration is based on an official website titled Ghost of Real Tsushima both in Japanese and in English dedicated to promoting the real island in relation to the game.
It includes plenty of imagery that will let fans feel the atmosphere of the game through real pictures of Tsushima. The press release included comparison images which you can enjoy below.
They portray Watatsumi Shrine, Momiji Kaido, Komoda Beach, and Banshoin Temple. The first image of each pair is from the game, while the second is from the real Tsushima.
We also get three videos starring the major of Tsushima Naoki Hitakatsu, Ghost of Tsushima creative director Jason Connell, and Jin Sakai Japanese voice actor Daisuke Tsuji.
More videos have been promised for the future including a trailer and more.
There is even a quiz to test your knowledge of Tsushima and of the game.
Here’s an official comment about the initiative.
“Since around January of last year, I was already talking with The City of Tsushima and SIE to see if we could do something together, but due to the new Coronavirus, everything had been put off. Sucker Punch and SIE have considered that because Tsushima is such a remote island, that there are various limitations with medical facility availability, and for those reasons, we all decided to refrain from promoting visitors to come to the island.
However, in response to the explosive hit of this work, we heard voices from users from all over the world who wanted to know more about Tsushima, so we proceeded with talks with Sucker Punch Productions and SIE, and we were thinking about what we could do during this time when travel to Japan is restricted. We decided that if we could show more informative and enjoyable content about Tsushima now, that when the time comes when travel to Tsushima becomes possible, the experience will be that much more enjoyable. Moving forward, we hope that communication between users will further enliven “Ghost of Tsushima”.”
On top of the website, creative directors Jason Connell and Nate Fox have been named the official title of “Ambssador of Tsushima” and will receive an official letter of appreciation from the city.
In the past, the title has been awarded to famous Japanese people, but this is the first time this is done with people who have contributed to popularize the name and history of Tsushima with their work.
The reason for the award is as follows:
“Firstly, they spread the name and history of “Tsushima” to the whole world in such a wonderful way. Even a lot of Japanese people do not know the history of the “Gen-ko” period (first Mongolian invasion of Japan). When it comes to the world, the name and location of Tsushima is literally unknown, so I can not thank them enough for telling our story with such phenomenal graphics and profound stories.”
Despite being developed by a western studio, Ghost of Tsushima has found a lot of supporters in Japan, with local fans praising its portrayal of Japanese history and culture. Its popularity led to renewed interest in the real island of Tsushima, even sparking a special episode of the well-known “Sekai Fushigi Hakken!” (Discover the World’s Mysteries) show.
Ghost of Tsushima is currently available exclusively for PS4 and you can read our review. We recently heard that the game sold over five million copies and is the fastest-selling first-party original PS4 game of all time.
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