No, we can't believe we just wrote that headline either. And according to scattered reports (and a variety of phone calls we made this afternoon), it's the unfortunate truth: Some Japanese developers and producers are canceling their trips to E3 2009 due to Swine Flu worries. Capcom's Keiji Inafune and his game, Dead Rising 2, will both be missing. (This isn't the first time Inafune is canceling a trip.) Develop is also reporting that Square Enix and Koei will be canceling some employees' flights, with the Kingdom Hearts team and "an unspecified number of [Koei's] Japanese employees" taking the hit.We asked Tecmo if there would be a change in its lineup at E3, to which a company rep assured, "No. Our content is still scheduled to be there and everything on the show floor, if not by the staff that's scheduled to fly in from Japan, it'll be demonstrated by our own staff from the US office." Tecmo also said producers for its upcoming lineup are still scheduled to appear alongside their titles. "As of today, we've been told our producers will still be in attendance." Konami declined comment as of press time and the ESA (E3's governing body and financial supporter) has yet to respond to our inquiries. As it stands, it looks like we'll be waiting 'til PAX 2009 or even the Tokyo Game Show to get our hands on Dead Rising 2.
