Kojima Productions’ new game has been out for almost a week now, making a statement for the video game industry. Its unique concept didn’t go unnoticed in the far east. Death Stranding has been used in a commercial and posted by the public security department in China. The second comes as a surprise since we don’t see authorities use video games to prove a point.
Famous analyst at Niko Partners, Daniel Ahmad has reposted on Twitter an image from the public security department in China, showing a scene from Death Stranding.
The story behind that is simple. China’s Double 11 holiday was coming up and deliveries could be an issue that day. The post reminds people to take safety measures during this period, according to Ahmad. Double 11 is China’s version of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. During the day, consumers spend a ridiculous amount of money to get huge discounts on electronics and more.
The image posted by the security department in China is actually an unfortunate moment a player has encountered during his playthrough in Death Stranding. The player tried to stack as many items as possible on his back, resulting in him losing balance. Unluckily, he was standing on top of a road and as he started losing his grip all the items fell down below into the river. If this isn’t a perfect awareness campaign for Double 11, then what could be?
Fans have made fun of Death Stranding’s gameplay mechanics, calling it a delivery simulation. In fact, the game stands tall to its purpose saying a big NO to other triple-A games that focus more on fighting and less on creating an impact on the world around you.
It will be interesting to see in what other ways Death Stranding will be used in China. The country is known for using video games as a means to promote services or raise awareness so it wouldn’t surprise us if we see delivery men dressed as Sam Porter Bridges one day.
