13AM Games, a Toronto-based video game company, has partnered with the popular Canadian restaurant chain, Sansotei Ramen, to offer an exclusive collaboration project to promote the company’s newly released video game, Dawn of the Monsters.
Dawn of the Monsters, which launched earlier this year, is a cooperative video game allowing users to play as giant titans to dominate and destroy evil kaiju monsters that threaten the futuristic world of the game.
CEO of 13AM Games, Alex Rushdy, says the game is heavily inspired by Japanese elements, so the choice to bring the digital Dawn of the Monsters world to life through a partnership with a ramen restaurant just made sense.
“It was really important to us to bring our characters into the physical space. A lot of people enjoy the game, so when they get to experience it in person, I think that’s really cool and exciting,” he says.
“I’m a huge fan of ramen, I’ve eaten it all across Canada and Japan and it’s one of my favourite meals of all time, so the idea to partner with a local Toronto business like Sansotei was a perfect fit,” says Rushdy.
Sansotei Ramen, founded in Toronto back in 2012 and has been a popular location for authentic Tonkotsu Ramen and has since expanded its franchise across Ontario and Quebec. Sansotei recently passed its 10-year anniversary and the company's brand strategist, Chris Dennis, says this collaboration is a perfect way to celebrate.
"We don't really release new menu items all that often, so this is exciting for our customers because they get to experience something that's different and for a very limited time," he says.
This promotion will feature a ramen bowl called Super Spicy Mega Shoyu, which is inspired by the video game's main character, Megadon. The dish is a spicy mega ramen bowl consisting of spicy shoyu, chashu spicy ground pork, egg and green onion.
"The ramen itself is like a character," says Rushdy. "It's a good-sized meal but it's a little intimidating. It's like a kaiju, it's got that mysterious attraction to it, and I think it's a really cool way to have the spirit of the game reflected in the food and it's something that people will want to share with their friends," he says.
Along with this secret menu item, guests can enter a contest for a chance to win prizes, including game codes for Dawn of the Monsters and action figures based on the game characters as well as Sansotei merchandise. In addition, they will also be releasing a limited supply of Dawn of the Monsters comic books, which will be available for free at the participating locations.
Both Rushdy and CEO of Sansotei Michael Zhang agree it is important for Canadian entrepreneurs based in the city to work together and uplift one another to find mutual success, which is what they hope to achieve with this project.
“At Sansotei we are always looking for fun initiatives and we like to draw a lot of energy and inspiration not just from our customers, but also from our fellow Canadian entrepreneurs and businesses,” says Zhang. “There are lots of ramen places in the city and we are good at what we do, but we don’t want to be boring,” he says, “this is something a little more eye-catching and interesting.”
Beginning July 27, Torontonians will be able to experience this promotion at 14 locations across the Sansotei Ramen chain including downtown and at their newest and largest location at the Scarborough Town Centre. This offer will run for about 30 days, or while supplies lasts.
