Now this is a concept we like the look of, especially given the popularity of titles such as Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Touch Detective on the Nintendo DS. Zenrin Co. DS is a detective adventure for the portable that uses real life locations and tourist attractions as the basis for its gameplay.

Presumably the locations that appear in the game will be well known to those who play it, making the hot springs-filled landscape one they’ll enjoy exploring just as much in virtual reality as in real life. Familiarity or knowledge of a subject or area is something that touches a happy nerve in people, so we can see where developer (also Zenrin) is going with this.

Will it ever reach the West? Doubtful, but it demonstrates yet another clever way that the DS is being utilised, so hopefully the idea will be picked up and localised somewhat.

Zenrin Co. DS (a tentative name for the game) will be released in Japan this spring.

[Source: GameWatch]