Namco Bandai is but one of many Japanese publishers delaying games due to the recent earthquake disaster in Japan. However, the SoulCalibur chaps are going a little bit further — destroying DVDs containing a trailer for a One Piece 3DS game due to earthquake references.
The cause of the trouble is a character called Shirohige, who has the power to summon a tsunami to attack enemies. The move is featured in the promo and out of either sensitivity or fear of a PR nightmare, Namco has having all physical copies of the trailer annihilated. Most of them are in the hands of retailers, who have been asked to carry out the cull.
The game is still scheduled for release, and Namco is still promoting it. It’s just not using tsunamis to do the advertising.
It seems a little over the top, but I get it. Nobody wants to dare do anything that may even vaguely look like a reference to a national tragedy so soon after it occurred. Probably wise Namco do this before whatever passes for tabloids in Japan get ahold of it.
Retailers Told to Destroy One Piece 3DS DVDs [andriasang]
