A new date and time will be released soon.
At 3 AM local time, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck 70 miles south of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. This comes just hours after large parts of the south of the country were battered by the biggest typhoon to hit in 25 years. As result, the Nintendo Direct that was scheduled for 6 PM EST today has been postponed. The official Nintendo twitter this morning released the statement, promising for a new date and time to be released soon. We will be sure to announce it when a new date is released.
Currently there have only been four confirmed deaths. In addition, it is reported at least thirty-three people are missing with numbers and over 150 people injured. However, as with most of these situations, these numbers are expected to rise.
Hokkaido is a region in southern Japan and considered the inspiration for the Sinnoh region. The earthquake itself struck what would have been the southeast part of the Sinnoh region, hitting some of the first cities players encounter when they play Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. Some of the areas that were struck include Sapporo city and Tomakomai City, the inspirations for Jubilife City and Sandgem Town respectively. In addition, the epicenter of the earthquake is likely close to the location of the in-game Pal Park on Sinnoh Routes 220 and 221.
