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It seems that not even the skills of a samurai or the stubborn perseverance of Tsushima’s people can match the might of a cute, fluffy friend. PlayStation Japan’s Ghost of Tsushima popularity contest ended with an overwhelming victory for the mysterious fox. The results were tweeted out by the PlayStation Japan Twitter account.
㊗『Ghost of Tsushima』発売1周年記念🦊#ツシマキャラクター人気投票 結果発表！
最も多くの誉れを獲得したのはツシマのアイドル、狐さま🙏
投票数合計87,106票！たくさんのご参加誠にありがとうございました！#ゴーストオブツシマ #GhostofTsushima pic.twitter.com/nG9jveCdb4
— プレイステーション公式 (@PlayStation_jp) July 19, 2021
The Ghost of Tsushima popularity contest was originally held on July 17, 2021, to celebrate the game’s first anniversary. PlayStation Japan’s account invited the internet to vote for their favorites out of twelve major and minor characters from the game. All were powerless before the fox, though, which gathered more than 30% more votes than even the game’s protagonist, Jin Sakai. The fox also ran away with the vast majority of votes within its voting bracket (due to the limitations of Twitter-based polls the Ghost of Tsushima popularity contest was divided into three brackets of four contestants each).
In the game, the fox (or foxes, as it’s not clear if there is just the one) is a friendly, intelligent animal that serves to guide Ghost of Tsushima players to one of many fox shrines scattered throughout the game world. When honored, fox shrines can increase the number of charms Jin can equip, allowing players to customize and enhance his abilities. It can also be petted, an activity players relished in. Within the game’s first ten days since launch, players had collectively petted the fox nearly nine million times.
Ghost of Tsushima is immediately available on the PlayStation 4. A “Director’s Cut” edition of the game with the Iki Island expansion will release on August 20, 2021. The PS5 edition of the Director’s Cut will include console-specific enhancements.
