We’ve all seen the devastation in Japan caused by the earthquake, tsunami and the ongoing nuclear worries. Many companies have felt the effects, not least Sega, who have donated a considerable amout of money to the recovery efforts. In this article I will cover all of the Sega related infomation we have linked to the earthquake.
Donations:
Sega have been extremely generous when it comes to donations from both sides of the pond.
-Sega Japan is donating 200 million yen to support recovery efforts. That is approximately £1,542,827 GBP or $2,481,722 USD.
-Sega Europe and Sports Interactive have donated all of their revenue from the Football Manager app starting from last Friday for the next 7 days to the disaster relief funds in Japan.
-Sega America will donate all proceeds from Sonic iOS titles to the Red Cross disaster relief funds in Japan.
As an added incentive Sega have even lowered the price of the Sonic iOS games for this week, there is simply no excuse not to go get them right now!
Find out more after the jump:
Business effects:
Today the Sega Sammy group issued a press release regarding the impact of the earthquake on the company’s group.
In it they cover human casualties; they say that they are
” currently collecting information and investigating the conditions of possible human casualties.”
They also say Amusement Centers operations in the East of Japan will be suspended until they can confirm the safety of the buildings.
In the area where rolling blackouts are to be conducted Sega Amusement Centers will either be closed or have shortened operating hours.
Game Cancellations:
At this point the only game we know has been affected is Yakuza: Of the End.
Yakuza: of the End was set to release this month in Japan however as the game depicts a ‘destroyed’ Tokyo Sega had chosen to postpone the release until a later date as it may appear insensitive.
This isn’t the first time a game has been effected by a disaster, Sega’s Dreamcast game Propeller Arena was cancelled because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This in my opinion is a very honorable move by Sega and I respect there decision. What a fantastic company.
Sadly:
We have unconfirmed reports that Yu Suzuki who is native to the effective area cannot get in contact with his mother. This news is a number of days old now and we haven’t heard anything since. If this is indeed true we sincerely wish him luck and hope for the best.
I finally have an air tight argument for those who refuse to buy Sonic 4 for the iOS.
Unrelated to SEGA, but of interest to video game fans, Capcom's Street Fighter IV is .99 cents (usually $10) and all proceeds go to relief efforts.