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"File this one under \"only in Japan\": A beach town near Tokyo has begun catering to a specific segment of young men, ones who play the game Love Plus and have a strong desire to take their virtual \"girlfriends\" from this game on a romantic holiday in the real world.\nLove Plus is a typical dating sim game in which the protagonist, a high school boy, finds himself in a relationship with a young woman. He must work to maintain the relationship. Players can become deeply involved and engaged (no pun intended) with their virtual girlfriends, to the point that one young man even married his in a Tokyo ceremony last year.\nThe most recent version of the game, which came out June 24, also includes a \"field trip,\" created in partnership with the seaside town Atami. In 13 locations around the town, players can find 2D barcodes to scan and call up images of the young women in the game. The girls wear different clothing from their typical in-game looks. One hotel has gone as far as putting a barcode in its rooms, allowing players to see their \"girlfriends\" in a more private setting wearing summer kimonos.\nHere, you can see a map of recent Love Plus-overlaid snapshots taken along the Atami coastline:\n\n\n\n\nThis unusual ploy on the part of the town and the gaming company Konami has reportedly boosted local tourism this summer after a steady decline since the 1990s, when a Japanese economic crunch cut down on company-sponsored vacations.\nWhile it's certainly one of the more unusual digital marketing campaigns we've seen, we have to hand it to Atami and Konami for creative thinking and really giving Love Plus fans what they wanted.\nWhat's your take on the campaign?\n[via Discovery News]"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2010/08/31/virtual-girlfriend-vacation/>