Video game delays are nothing new. Although they are widely disliked among the gaming community, they are a necessary evil that prevent games from launching half-baked. However, some video game delays aren't caused by technical problems or lack of polish. Sometimes more serious issues can cause delays, like natural disasters.
Such is the case for the appropriately named Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories. Its developer delayed the game for nearly a decade after a series of catastrophic events devastated Japan in 2011.
The Disaster Report franchise is a long-running survival series that puts players in the middle of cataclysmic natural disasters. Players must journey through dilapidated cities while seeking out supplies and rescuing civilians. As Disaster Report 4's original developer, Irem, geared up for the game's March 2011 release date, the Tohoku Earthquake hit Japan, resulting in a massive tsunami that killed over 15 thousand Japanese residence and displaced 470 thousand more. The tsunami struck just days before Disaster Report 4's launch, causing Irem to delay the game.
The Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami rocked Japan to its core. It was the strongest earthquake in Japanese history and the fourth strongest ever recorded. The disaster caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damages and lead to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear incident, driving even more people out of their homes. Since Disaster Report 4's premise is nearly identical to the Tohoku Earthquake catastrophe, Irem canceled the game just a few days after the deadly event.
Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories was mostly forgotten about until Granzella obtained the rights to the series in 2014. The novice company built the entire game from the ground up, putting its own spin on the series while maintaining its classic charm. After seven years of turbulent development cycles, cancellations and delays, Disaster Report 4 finally received a Japanese release in 2018. The game remained a Japanese exclusive until making its way to North America in January 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the country into lockdown.
Disaster Report 4 couldn't seem to catch a break. The game was canceled for nearly a decade due to its resemblance to the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami disasters, only to be resurrected and fall victim to COVID-19. The constant delays and poor timing ended up costing Disaster Report 4 in the long run. Many gamers found its gameplay a bit dated, stating that it would have been much more impressive during previous console generations.
Nevertheless, Disaster Report 4's bizarre and untimely legacy will live on as one of the strangest in modern video game history.