Square Enix cancelled this weekend’s Final Fantasy VII Remake Another Story Battle Train event in Japan due to concerns surrounding Coronavirus.
According to Siliconera, the free promotional event was set to be held yesterday, February 22nd, on Tokyo’s Yamanote Line. Although Square Enix made an effort to ensure health and safety, it eventually decided not to take a risk. Up to 280 people could sign up to partake in the event.
The publisher also recently announced that its Japanese staff would not be traveling to Boston for PAX East 2020, resulting in its program having to be readjusted.
Although the Chinese city of Wuhan is the epicenter of Coronavirus, Japan has 135 registered cases, according to the latest figures. Passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at the Yokohama port are currently quarantined with 542 infected among them.
Fears surrounding the spread of Coronavirus have led to a number of companies pulling out of events like PAX East and GDC 2020 in the United States. Over the weekend, Boston mayor Marty Walsh penned a letter to Sony, requesting the company to reconsider its decision to pull out of PAX East. Walsh is of the view that the risk of Coronavirus in Boston remains extremely low and such fears “reinforce harmful stereotypes that generations of Asians have worked hard to dismantle.”
In a separate post on Medium, Walsh expressed his concerns over fear mongering as businesses in Boston’s Chinatown have taken a hit due to it. “These fears are often fueled by misunderstanding, confusion, and lack of information,” he concluded.
[Source: Siliconera]