Japan’s game publishers (and other tech companies) will donate hundreds of million of yen to support the country’s continued efforts following last Friday’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Of the bigger companies, Nintendo has said it will donate 300 million yen ($3.66 million) to relief efforts, Sega (technically Sega Sammy) will donate 200 million yen ($2.44 million), and Sony will donate 300 million yen ($3.66 million) and will give away 30,000 radios. Very nice to see.
Namco, creators of the SoulCalibur and Tekken series, have also committed to donating 100 million yen ($1.22 million) through Namco Bandi, its parent company.
Japanese citizens have been asked to try to conserve electricity, so several online games have been shut down or seen their service interrupted. Square Enix says it will suspend Final Fantasy XIV service for at least one week. The company also says that the game, as a result of this disruption, will be free to play in the month of April.
Konami, too, has moved to temporarily suspend service of Metal Gear Online.
Needless to say, Japan’s in pretty rough shape—good thing the country’s buildings are about as quake-proof as you can get—but it’s nice to see some of the companies we’re all fans of take a moment to help out.