Sega donation to Japan earthquake fund

Sega and its UK studio Sports Interactive have pledged to donate a portion of revenues to a Japan earthquake relief fund.

All money generated from the iPhone app Football Manger Handheld 2011, over a seven day period, will be channelled to a charity aiming to help and restore the disaster-struck nation.

Sega and Sports Interactive will measure the app’s revenues from March 11th to 18th in order to calculate the size of the donation. The charity receiving the fund has yet to be decided.

Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson announced the initiative on his personal Twitter account. Due to the sensitivity of the matter, there will be no promotion or press releases, he said.

A vast search and rescue operation is now underway in Japan, following a massive earthquake and tsunami which rocked the country yesterday.

Hundreds have died, though that number is expected to rise sharply as a full picture of the disaster emerges.

As many as 88,000 people are missing, according to Japanese news agency Kyodo.

In the north-eastern town of Minamisanriku alone, 9500 people are said to be unaccounted for.

Numerous charity organisations, such as the Red Cross, have opened appeals for donations.