Konami Corp will remove depictions of the World Trade Center from an action-adventure game it plans to begin selling in the US in November because of last week's terrorist attacks.
The maker of video-game software for Sony Corp and Microsoft Corp will delete the images from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the follow up to a game that's sold more than 6 million copies. In the game, players pose as members of an anti-terrorist team trying to free a hijacked oil tanker.
Microsoft, Electronic Arts Inc and Ubi Soft Entertainment SA have deleted images of the World Trade Center buildings or delayed game releases after terrorists hijacked and crashed planes into the twin towers and the Pentagon last Tuesday. Konami's Metal Gear Solid 2 is designed for Sony's PlayStation 2 console.
Konami's shares have fallen by a quarter following the attacks on concern declining consumer demand in the US may hurt earnings of game software makers, and also due to worries that Konami may delay the November release of the game. The shares were almost unchanged at ?2,830, up 0.35 percent.
Although the game will be released on schedule, "it is still unclear whether sales will be as expected," said Hirotoshi Murakami, an analyst with Kokusai Securities Co. Murakami does not plan to raise his "underperform" rating on the company.
Konami plans to sell as many as 3.2 million copies of the game worldwide.
"Originally, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty had pictures of the World Trade Center in New York, but those scenes were deleted due to the horrendous terrorist incidents in the US,'' a release posted on Konami's Web site said.
The shares of video-game makers have slumped since last Tuesday's attacks in New York and Washington on concern that consumers will turn away from violence-laden entertainment.
Nintendo Co's shares lost about a quarter of their value in the five days since the attacks. Interplay Entertainment Corp shares fell 6.3 percent yesterday in US trading.
Nintendo, maker of the GameCube video-game console, rebounded today, surging as much as 15.8 percent to ?15,520. North and South America account for more than half the Kyoto-based company's sales and a third of its operating profit.
Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox game console to be released in the US in November, said last week that it will remove images of the World Trade Center from future versions of its Flight Simulator computer game.
Electronic Arts suspended its Majestic online conspiracy game. The company is also redesigning the package of its Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 computer game to remove a depiction of an explosion in one of the World Trade Center towers.
Japanese game software developers are no exception. Namco Ltd, the maker of Pac Man, last week suspended TV advertising for its Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies for three days. The game was released on Thursday in Japan for the PlayStation 2. The company said it is now reviewing the planned Oct. 23 release of the game in the US.
"Under circumstances like these, we have to think about how those involved in the incident felt," said Kenichi Fukunaga, a spokesman for Sony's game unit, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez on Sunday won Costa Rica’s presidential election by a landslide, after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Fernandez’s nearest rival, economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. With 94 percent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves had captured 48.3 percent of the vote compared with Ramos’ 33.4 percent, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said. As soon as the first results were announced, members of Fernandez’s Sovereign People’s Party
MORE RESPONSIBILITY: Draftees would be expected to fight alongside professional soldiers, likely requiring the transformation of some training brigades into combat units The armed forces are to start incorporating new conscripts into combined arms brigades this year to enhance combat readiness, the Executive Yuan’s latest policy report said. The new policy would affect Taiwanese men entering the military for their compulsory service, which was extended to one year under reforms by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2022. The conscripts would be trained to operate machine guns, uncrewed aerial vehicles, anti-tank guided missile launchers and Stinger air defense systems, the report said, adding that the basic training would be lengthened to eight weeks. After basic training, conscripts would be sorted into infantry battalions that would take
GROWING AMBITIONS: The scale and tempo of the operations show that the Strait has become the core theater for China to expand its security interests, the report said Chinese military aircraft incursions around Taiwan have surged nearly 15-fold over the past five years, according to a report released yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of China Affairs. Sorties in the Taiwan Strait were previously irregular, totaling 380 in 2020, but have since evolved into routine operations, the report showed. “This demonstrates that the Taiwan Strait has become both the starting point and testing ground for Beijing’s expansionist ambitions,” it said. Driven by military expansionism, China is systematically pursuing actions aimed at altering the regional “status quo,” the department said, adding that Taiwan represents the most critical link in China’s
‘REALLY PROUD’: Nvidia would not be possible without Taiwan, Huang said, adding that TSMC would be increasing its capacity by 100 percent Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday praised and lightly cajoled his major Taiwanese suppliers to produce more to help power strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI), capping a visit to the country of his birth, where he has been mobbed by adoring fans at every step. Speaking at an impromptu press conference in the rain outside a Taipei restaurant, where he had hosted suppliers for a “trillion-dollar dinner,” named after the market capitalization of those firms attending, Huang said this would be another good year for business. “TSMC needs to work very hard this year because I need a lot
RSS