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Earthquake Cost Japanese Game Industry $88M In Sales
Obviously, it's a very insignificant part of the devastating events that happened in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsumani, but the tragedy has had negative effects on the already ailing game industry in that country as well.
Hirokazu Hamamura, CEO of Japanese publishing company Enterbrain (which owns the venerable game publication Famitsu) recently spoke at a seminar in Tokyo. During his talk, he estimated that the quake and related events cost the industry $34.6 million in lost hardware sales and $54.2 million in lost software sales.
He attributed most of the losses to quake-related delays of 31 games, including Steel Diver and Yakuza: Of the End. Irem's Disaster Report, with its earthquake storyline, was canceled outright.
He also felt that Nintendo's 3DS, which sold 746,000 units in its first month, suffered as well due to the fact that Nintendo canceled a large promotional campaign for the handheld.
Source: Andriasang via Gamasutra
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