Due to the Devastating Earthquake that has dominated the news for the past few days, several big game releases from Japanese developers have been delayed or cancelled. One such example is Yakuza: Of The End – which features a post-apocalyptic, Zombie-infested Tokyo. The latest title to be pushed back is Motorstorm Apocalypse, which was due to be released this week. It appears that Sony have now delayed the title for the time being in all regions across Japan, North America and Europe.
The racing title is set in an Earthquake-ravaged San Francisco, and a Sony UK representative said that “We are very conscious of the parallels between these events and the underlying theme in MotorStorm and are doing everything we can to be as sensitive as possible to the situation.” With the stages perhaps appearing to mirror the scenes of devastation in Japan a little too closely, the company has decided that it would only be sensitive to push back the release date. The game had been shipped to all of the regions where it was due to go on sale, but is being held off the shelves for now.
In a move to help out with the rescue and rebuilding efforts, Sony will be donating 300 million Japanese yen to help the communities which have been impacted by the Earthquake. Donations will also come from a fund set up by Sony Group employees worldwide, with Sony corporate matching all contributions. This is on top of a donation of 30,000 radios which will also be used in the relief efforts. The Japanese video game industry has been badly hit by the disaster, with networks and supply chains being affected, but it is good to see the companies making huge efforts to join together and help out those in need at a time like this.
Motorstorm Apocalypse was initially due out in North America on March 16th and Europe on March 18th – exclusively on PlayStation 3. It has been delayed and there is no current release date confirmed.
