Catalan Tourist Board launches VR game to promote destination

Legends of Catalonia allows players to visit key sites and re-live significant historical moments from the comfort of their living rooms.

Playable characters include former Barcelona FC captain Carlos Puyol, mountaineer Edurne Pasaban and renowned chefs the Roca brothers.

The game was launched initially in North America, one of the region’s fastest growing tourist markets, as part of the tourist board’s wider Legends of Catalonia campaign.

It can be downloaded for free from the Playstation Store.

Iconic sights visited in the game include Tarragona’s Roman amphitheater, Lleida’s Old Cathedral, the mountain range of Montserrat, Dali’s Cadaques, and Barcelona’s Sant Antoni market and Sagrada Familia.

The tourist board says the game is the first instance of such an organisation using gaming or VR to promote a destination.

Angels Chacon, Catalan minister of business and knowledge, said: “In an ever-changing world in which traditional formulas have to coexist with new technologies, our destination and tourist industry need to use tools like artificial intelligence, augmented reality, gamification or virtual reality to make a difference and reach world markets.”

The game lasts around 50 minutes and is available in English, Catalan and Spanish. It was developed in partnership with Sony and will be available at a later date through Steam.