Universal Studios

Games as Travel Guides: A Look at Meaningful Downloadable Content and Its Connection to Locational Context

This paper examines how video game developers and publishers increasingly ground their games in real-world locations, using location-specific downloadable content (DLC), promotional events, and partnerships with local businesses to draw players into travel and local commerce.

• The paper argues that location-based game content can simultaneously benefit the gaming industry, tourism, and local economies, and proposes two design approaches: tying the game environment to a specific real place, or tying game content to a real-world culture that local businesses elsewhere can reinterpret.
• The Monster Hunter Festival at Shibu Onsen drew more than 10,000 visitors during a low season, illustrating how game-linked events can drive tourism outside peak periods.
• Collaborations extended the Monster Hunter brand across businesses, including the "Monster Hunter the Real" attraction at Universal Studios Japan and DLC distributed through 7-Eleven stores.