Fallout from the earthquake in Japan last week has had an affect on many industries, including the video gaming industry according to Kotaku and others. Some games have been canceled completely others have been simply the been delayed.
Reportedly heavily anticipated titles such as Motorstorm: Apocalypse and Yakusa4 have been delayed indefinitely. Others, such as the game Disaster Report 4, have been completely dropped. Some game studios such as Square–Enix have temporarily shut down their online games in order to conserve electricity. Reportedly Capcom has delayed releasing the latest downloadable content with the release of the new characters Jill Valentine and Shuma – Gorath.
When world events like this latest earthquake happen, it seems apocalyptic themes become a little bit too real. Unlike the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 or the recent flood in Queensland and earthquake in Japan, video games can only portray a portion of what the actual physical reality is like. However, it does make one wonder if the goal of making videogames more realistic is one that actually should be strived for.
