Game projects abandoned as Japan trade falls

Japan’s business sectors struggled to find its feet on Monday – the first full working day since the nation was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The Nikkei 225 plummeted by nearly 7 per cent after its first full day of trading.

Electronics giant Sony is suspending production at six of its domestic plants, while Square Enix has temporarily closed down servers to some of its online games.

Publisher Irem has cancelled the release of Disaster Report 4, reports suggest.

Konami has shut down servers for Metal Gear Online, while Sony has delayed the Japanese launch of MotorStorm: Apocalypse, and warned of disruptions to the PlayStation Network.

On Friday an 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck just north east of the Japanese coast. It was the biggest ever on record to hit the island. The resulting tsunami has swept devastation across the country, with areas in the north east – closest to the earthquake’s epicentre – worst affected.

Over 1,000 people are reported to have died, while at one stage as many as 88,000 people were said to be unaccounted for.

Japanese games firms Nintendo, Capcom, Konami and Sony have each issued statements to assure of employee safety.