March 11, 2011 was truly a tragic day in Japan. Lives were changed and lives were ended. Yet, three years later, two parents who lost a daughter have just received a letter she mailed a decade ago.
On March 11, 2011, everything changed. Japan was hit hard with a massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami. Lives were destroyed. Lives were lost. The country is still rebuilding, and the aftershocks are still being felt by those impacted most.
This afternoon, just as the Tokyo Game Show was grinding to a halt for the day, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan. There were no immediate injuries according to early reports.
Earthquakes are great and terrible forces, destroying homes, claiming lives, and reminding humanity as a whole that this planet we crawl across isn't as solid as it seems. The east coast of the U.S. found that out today. For the rest of us, there are video games.
An Earthquake hit Virginia today, and we felt tremors all up and down the east coast. Instead of seeking shelter or whatever you do when an earthquake hits, the games industry took to twitter to make jokes. Seems reasonable to us.
Following March 11's earthquake and tsunami
March 11's earthquake
In the years that Kotaku's been on the internet, the site's done a wide array of things. One thing it's never done is save an entire Japanese fishing village.
Could a video game mean the difference between life and death the next time the planet decides to violently erupt near a heavily populated area? That's the question Geeks Without Bounds plans to answer with GameSave, a five week long hack-a-thon event aimed at creating the ultimate disaster relief video game.
When March 11's earthquake
When the Great East Japan Earthquake rocked
Backed by a Department of Homeland Security grant, The Day The Earth Shook is meant to be a video game that teaches children about surviving an earthquake, but it's more likely to educate them about the dangers of bad game design.
Zombie parody game Yakuza: of the End was slated for release on March 17. Then, the unthinkable happened; on March 11, an earthquake and an ensuing tsunami laid waste to Japan's northeast. The game, which depicted a city in ruins (pictured), was one of many delayed out of respect to the victims.
It's been over a month since a 9.0 magnitude earthquake rocked northeastern Japan. Within minutes, a massive tsunami pounded the coast. Tens of thousands were either dead or missing, with many more homeless. Popstar Gackt felt compelled to do something, but turned to what many Japanese would view as an unlikely ally…
Decked out in black stretch pants, sneakers and not much else, Egashira 2:50 is one of Japan's most loathed comedians. "Creepy" and "annoying" are the words that usually describe him, but last month, the word that summed up Egashira the best is "heroic".
A second earthquake—magnitude 7.4—has hit northeastern Japan, prompting a tsunami warning. The quake, strong enough to move buildings in Tokyo, hit 78 miles north of the devastated Fukushima plant at 11:32 pm, local time.
The Tohoku earthquake and ensuing tsunami ravaged northeastern Japan, leaving many dead or homeless. Those who survived are taking shelter in refuges set up in school gyms and community centers.
