Today’s Nintendo Direct presentation has been postponed in the wake of multiple natural disasters that have hit Japan within the last week. Nintendo made the announcement this morning in a short note to press, and on its official social media accounts:
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Due to the powerful earthquake in Hokkaido, Japan, we have decided to delay this week’s planned Nintendo Direct. We will provide a new time and date in the near future. Thank you for your understanding. pic.twitter.com/IITgJFtzub
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 6, 2018
The new date and time for Nintendo’s presentation will be revealed at a later time, though we’re not even sure if we can say it will be revealed sooner or later. Nintendo is based in Japan, and this is a company who has always put culture and people ahead of business.
For those of you who don’t know, Japan has suffered a bit of a one-two punch at the hands of nature this past week. The earthquake mentioned above was a magnitude 6.7 quake that hit Japan’s norther island of Hokkaido. The quake triggered massive landslides that buried buildings and homes, and damage to a thermal power plant caused significant power outages. At least eight people have died, and dozens more are reported missing in the wake of the earthquake, with warnings of potentially-powerful aftershocks still looming over the island.
The earthquake came only days after a powerful typhoon, “Jebi,” swept over western Japan. The typhoon caused significant damage to many buildings (including Nintendo headquarters), and left at least ten people dead. They say that it’s the worst typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years.
You can understand, then, that while we may be far away from the storms, the quakes, and the destruction, Nintendo is in the heart of it all. It would be disrespectful to launch a global broadcast celebrating new games and their business while people around them are dying, missing, and suffering. Most everyone seems to understand this, but since this is the internet, you’re going to have a few people who just want to complain about the delay and post memes. The majority of Nintendo fans have proven to be decent human beings, though.
We cant have these awesome games if the people who make them are in trouble. That’s the last thing people should be doing. And it’s not even about the games at this point. Lives are at stake. It’s not Nintendo’s fault for this.
— TES (@EccentricSandal) September 6, 2018
Just so you know, this is the second major natural disaster Japan has been hit by in the last 7 days, the last one being the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in the last 25 years. It’s the least Nintendo could do especially if any employees have family in Hokkaido
— FrostyP@Love Makorin (@Frosty_Kyle) September 6, 2018
Sending prayers for those over there in Japan.
— Joshua(Busterman64) (@Busterman64) September 6, 2018
But this is the Nintendo fan-base, so of course we still have moments like this one:
It’s good to laugh, but it’s also good to help. You can check out the donation page for the Japanese Red Cross Society here, and if you guys see any other practical ways to help, or organizations that could use donations, let us know in the comments.
