Today, the Japanese government issued a state of emergency across its Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures, urging people to practice social distancing to fight the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Junichi Masuda, director of Pokémon developer Game Freak, has now commented on the situation on social media.
In a tweet shared to his 395,000+ followers today, Masuda urges fans to stay safe and well at home while reassuring them that Pokémon staff will 'stay connected'. Game Freak's headquarters is located in Tokyo, one of the areas affected by the government's declaration.
Masuda's full message can be seen below, with translation provided by Nintendo Life contributor, Robert Sephazon:
"A state of emergency was declared in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka. If left unchecked, 80,000 people will be infected within a month. Pokémon staff across the world have made staying connected a reality. Work and enjoy your time at home."
Earlier today, it was announced that Japanese video game rating organisation CERO has been forced to temporarily close as a result of the declaration. The closure is expected to impact the release schedule of games from this summer and beyond.
[source twitter.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 2
Say what you will about Game Freak, but I'm happy their doing this. No hypothetical Diamond or Pearl remakes are worth people getting sick. They just need to focus on working on that DLC and patches from home and just take it easy. We'll wait and be okay with it if Isle of Armour or Crown Tundra needs to be delayed!
I only hope Japan didn't wait too long. But looking at some of the data, I think it's very likely they did. They had had schools closed and cancelled a lot of big events - like annual cherry blossom festivals - but most of the daily stuff was still on-going.
I expect these emergency declarations to spread to other prefectures in the coming weeks... In my area in Shiga, the cities to the north and west of where I live have both started reporting cases. And Osaka and Kyoto, two major cities with lots of cases, are just a straight shot train ride from here. Less than an hour travel. By regular train even, not even bullet train.
@Wexter I actually doubt the DLC will be delayed, at least not the first one. They don't need to worry about ratings and likely had most of it done. And as a DLC there's no physical release to be worried about. The second one might be delayed as it likely needed a lot more work still.
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