Developers Offer Up iOS App Revenues To Help The Relief Efforts For The Tohoku Earthquake
March 15, 2011
Following the immense earthquake that struck the Tohoku region of Japan just a few days ago, many companies have already and continue to pitch in and help the communities involved. We know of Apple doing their own offerings to help local residents, plus a couple of iOS developers who are diverting all revenue streams of certain titles for the next week or so.
Capcom announced today their condolences and plans to help those affected by the quake. The company is not only providing donations totaling 100 million yen and conserving their own business power consumption, but they are dropping the price of the acclaimed Street Fighter IV to a mere $.99 / 115 yen from March 15 through March 22. All revenue from the game during this time will be given to the relief efforts. Couldn't be a better time to buy if you've been considering.
Sega is also contributing to the cause. As noted in the app descriptions, all Sonic the Hedgehog titles' revenue streams will be redirected to the American Red Cross efforts in Japan.
FROM NOW THROUGH 3/20, 100% OF SEGA'S PROCEEDS FROM SONIC THE HEDGEHOG iOS TITLES WILL BE DONATED TO THE RED CROSS DISASTER RELIEF EFFORTS IN JAPANThe company has slashed prices as well to encourage purchases. • Sonic the Hedgehog: $4.99 -> $1.99 • Sonic the Hedgehog 2: $4.99 -> $2.99 • Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I: $6.99 -> $3.99. Midnight Martian donated some of their sales income last Saturday, and will be contributing all of their revenue from iOS sales, including through ads, made tomorrow (March 16) to the American Red Cross. Midnight Martian's titles include Moonlight Mahjong Lite, Moonlight Mahjong, Moon Globe, Moon Globe HD, Mars Globe, and Mars Globe HD. The Pick-Up Manual Team has informed us that they are donating all profits from sales of The Pick-Up Manual from March 14 through March 20 to the victims of the Tohoku disaster. The team over at uudaddy are handing over all of the income from March 13 through March 27 created by their myNestEgg and collegeFund apps to Save the Children and their efforts to help those affected by the disaster in Japan. Apple, as usual, has posted an American Red Cross donation page. Access the page via iTunes to donate $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, or $200 without the need for any kind of purchase. You can also donate by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The latest post on Kevin Rose's blog contains a letter from an Apple employee in Japan who outlines the amazing actions taken by the tech company's staff to assist residents during their time of need. During and immediately following the disaster, Apple Stores remained open, allowing residents access to the many resources contained inside. Not only could people use the Wi-Fi network to contact family and friends, but those without iPhones, iPod touchs, or iPads could gather around Macs to tweet, Facebook, and FaceTime messages to others that they were okay. The generosity didn't stop there, however. Apple Stores opened up access to the theater and break rooms to provide a comfortable place to rest, including snacks and beverages. If that weren't kind enough, Apple offered to pay for hotel stays, food, drinks, and transportation for those who wanted to get back home. Again, read the full details on Kevin's blog. We at AppAdvice hope for the best for everyone involved. If you're an app developer that will be offering your own pledge, we'd like to hear about it. We'll continue to provide information on new contributors through updates to this post. If you'd like to send specific information regarding active or upcoming pledges through app sales, you can email casey@appadvice.com.