The immensely powerful magnitude 9.0 quake that struck Japan on March 11 has left a terrible trail of damage and still-unfolding tragedies. One effect the quake has had on the Japanese game industry is the temporary shutdowns of online games and delays of imminent releases.
In the interest of conserving power for rolling blackouts, Squaresoft shut down its Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI and its PlayOnline service for at least a week starting March 13. Consequently, players will not be billed through the April billing cycle. The rolling blackouts are a result of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), Japan’s largest electric utilities company, having experienced losses to its infrastructure, including the damaged Fukushima I and II nuclear power plants.
Japan gaming news-watcher Andriasang has reported other delays, most due to logistics, at least one due to sensitivities following the earthquake.
- Capcom’s Marvel vs Capcom 3 fighting game character content downloads have been delayed from their original March 15 release date, affecting at least Japan.
- Sony’s Motorstorm Apocalpypse, a racing game, was suspended indefinitely. In New Zealand, the game was delayed following the 6.3 magnitude quake Feb. 22.
- Sega’s zombie-themed fighting game, Yakuza of the End, was bumped from March 17 to TBA status.
- Microsoft is cancelling a Kinect-promoting caravan car tour through Japan that was slated to start March 19. Other Xbox 360 releases will be delayed, too, including EA’s Dragon Age expansion Awakening.
- Irem is cancelling the PlayStation 3 release of Disaster Report 4, a game that features an escape from an earthquake-damaged city.
[Source: Time]
