Nintendo cancels Direct livestream after Japanese earthquake

The company can't escape nature.

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Sean Keane

Sept. 6, 2018 9:08 a.m. PT

2 min read

h2x1-nswitch-nintendoswitchonline-a-image1280w — Nintendo will reschedule its livestream.
Nintendo

Nintendo canceled its Thursday livestream announcement about Switch and 3DS games following a powerful earthquake in Japan.

The company, which is headquartered in Kyoto, planned to show 35 minutes of details on forthcoming games until a magnitude 6.7 earthquake jolted Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido overnight. At least seven are dead, dozens are missing and 3 million homes are without power.

Due to the powerful earthquake in Hokkaido, Japan, we have decided to delay this week’s planned Nintendo Direct. We will provide a new time and date in the near future. Thank you for your understanding. pic.twitter.com/IITgJFtzub
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 6, 2018

"Due to the powerful earthquake in Hokkaido, Japan, we have decided to delay this week's planned Nintendo Direct," the company tweeted. "We will provide a new time and date in the near future. Thank you for your understanding."

It's the second instance of the company being impacted by nature this week. Japan was hit by the strongest typhoon in 25 years on Tuesday, and the "N" from the "Nintendo" sign at its headquarters blew away, Kotaku reported.

Le N du logo de Nintendo est tombé du siège social à Kyoto à cause du typhon d'hier. The N of the logo at Nintendo's Kyoto HQ fell off the wall because of the typhoon. pic.twitter.com/khailyNgv9
— Florent Gorges (@FlorentGorgesFR) September 5, 2018

"The N of the logo at Kyoto Nintendo's HQ fell off the wall because of the typhoon," Florent Gorges tweeted with a photo of the incomplete sign.

Nintendo previously teased details about its forthcoming Switch Online service, including the ability to play the original Mario Bros. game in co-op mode.

The company plans to release 20 free NES games for subscribers of the service, which costs $3.99 a month or $20 a year. The service is expected to go live in the second half of September.

First published Sept. 5 at 3:35 p.m. PT.
Updated, Sept. 6 at 5:15 a.m. PT: Notes that the livestream has been canceled following the quake.
Latest update, at 9:08 a.m. PT: Adds typhoon impact on headquarters logo.