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source : Japan Times



Postquake, Japan's game companies put titles on hold

By BRIAN ASHCRAFT

Japan is still reeling. The devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 11 left thousands dead and many more homeless or unaccounted for. Prime Minister Naoto Kan called the quake the worst crisis Japan has faced since the end of World War II. The earthquake's very real impact has been felt everywhere in Japan — even in the virtual world of video games.

The recent rolling blackouts in Tokyo have slowed development on some titles, grinding others to a temporary halt. The days and weeks after March 11 resulted in many studios either closing temporarily or having employees work from home due to aftershock fears. There is now concern that the huge Tokyo Game Show, held in September, could be in jeopardy due to the amount of electricity required to air-condition Chiba's Makuhari Messe convention center and power the endless rows of TVs and game consoles. Word has it that TGS organizers are currently not thinking of canceling or downsizing the show, but note that this could change due to future developments.
The impact, however, has already been felt. In the days following the earthquake, game after game was delayed or canceled. The subject matter of some delayed games no longer seemed appropriate for release at that time. For example, delayed racing game "MotorStorm: Apocalypse" and zombie title "Yakuza: Of The End" are both set among crumbling urban settings, which naturally evoke the destruction in northeast Japan. Nintendo's "Steel Diver" and Namco's new "One Piece" game were also delayed, and while they don't depict apocalyptic cities, they do take place at sea. Their delay seems to be a result of the earthquake's ensuing tsunami. These games were not some concerted effort to cash in on tragedy. They have been in development for years, and their release window ultimately ended up as bad timing.

One gamemaker, Tokyo-based Irem, even went as far as outright canceling one of its titles, "Disaster Report 4." The game was going to be released on March 10, a day before the earthquake, but had been pushed back to later in the spring — just as well. The game takes place in a city that is ravaged by an earthquake, and the player aims to make it out alive. It was Irem's first game for the Sony PS3 and was supposed to have had the most detailed in-game world in the popular franchise's history.

More . . .
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nc20110406ba.html


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Seawater radiation shoots far past limit
Tepco admits that radioactive iodine-131 readings taken from seawater near the water intake of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant's No. 2 reactor reached 7.5 million times the legal limit.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110406a1.html


Tepco plans to pay partial compensation
Tepco plans to pay provisional compensation by the end of the month to residents and farmers living around its crippled nuclear plant.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110406a2.html


Nuclear crisis man-made, not 'an act of god': experts
MINORU MATSUTANI
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110406a4.html


Mayors near nuke plant torn between threat, jobs
KAZUAKI NAGATA
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110406a5.html


SDF ranks deployed for disaster vote absentee for local elections
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110406a6.html

[NATIONAL NEWS]
Use of radioactive disposal facility weighed
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110406a7.html


Pair held in radiation drug scam
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110406a8.html


Relief workers must adjust quickly
ALEX MARTIN
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110406f1.html


Locals on patrol in Tohoku
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110406f2.html


Lensman braved tsunami
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110406f3.html


Toyota U.S. plants face April halt
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nb20110406a1.html


Dealers brace for Japanese car shortage
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nb20110406a2.html


Fukushima disaster holds lessons for future
NATALIE J. GOLDRING
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/eo20110406a2.html

Wanted: clean, safe power
MICHAEL RICHARDSON
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/eo20110406mr.html

In a catastrophe, chitsujo serves Japan well
MICHAEL HOFFMAN
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ek20110406a1.html
ちつじょ【秩序】 chitsujo, orderly behaviour


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