Metroid Database.com

One week ago, Japan's east coast was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami that completely flattened thousands of homes, killing over a thousand people and displacing hundreds of thousands more. To top it off, four nuclear power plants are in danger and releasing radiation into the atmosphere. If you have friends in northern Japan, I hope they are safe! And, of course, if any of our visitors are from Japan...ki o tsukete kudasai!

While news here is usually reserved for specific Metroid news, I want to begin opening this site up to a wider range of news, beginning with some ways that you can help with the earthquake relief effort, to which Sony and Nintendo have both already donated 300 million yen (over $3 million US).

First, Robert Lindert is hosting a charity event online for a live broadcast of a poorly translated Pokemon Green game to raise money for Save the Children. 90% of Save the Children proceeds go straight to relief funds with 4% going to administrative costs and 6% to fundraising. The event will be broadcast this Saturday (March 19) at 4:00 PM Central Time. The run-through is estimated to last approximately 6-8 hours. Lindert's team has previously ran through a poorly translated version of Pokemon Crystal to great comedic success.

Second, Jimmy Wong has published a Capella remix of the Super Mario Bros.theme song. He has a public service announcement at the end regarding his charity donations. His music will also be available on iTunes with donations going to charities.

Third, Play-Asia is running a sale where a percentage of the proceeds go towards the Hong Kong Red Cross. The Zero Suit Samus model by First 4 Figures is on sale for $30 along with the Metroid Prime 2 Gunship for $140. $5 from each of these purchases goes towards the Hong Kong Red Cross. Bear in mind, however, that these prices can be a little misleading - that $30 Zero Suit figure ships to the US for about $45 (making it about $75 total), but it's still cheaper than the $109.99 it sells for on F4F. Check out silvernite's review of the Zero Suit figure.

Finally, if you're in Denver on Thursday, March 24, Kotaku's Brian Crecente is hosting a charity event. Tickets are minimum $10 with 100% of proceeds going to the Japanese Red Cross for earthquake relief funds. Crecente has previously run charity events for Child's Play in the past, and this is his final event in Denver. I'll be checking it out!

If you would prefer to send money to a charity directly, I recommend either the Japanese Red Cross or the American Red Cross relief funds for the earthquake and tsunami.

I'll keep with updates if I hear of any other related charity events.

Until next time...
Captain Commando