The reccent and tragic events of the 8.9 Japanese Earthquake hit very close to home for revered gaming giant Capcom. Though they have offices in bth Tokyo and Osaka, Capcom reported today that their employees are "safe and well", and that they very much appreciated all of the kind wishes and support in the aftermath of Japan's largest earthquake on record:

Thank you to everyone who has sent inquiries and wished us well during this crisis. We want to reiterate that all of our employees in the Osaka and Toyko regions are safe and well, and we thank everyone for their support.In response to recent events, Capcom will immediately donate 100 million yen to help victims of the earthquake and communities recover from this tragedy. For one week from today, March 15, Street Fighter IV on iPhone will be available for 99cents/115yen, and all sales of the title during this period will be donated to support earthquake relief activities. Capcom will also suspend operations or shorten operating hours as necessary at amusement arcades and other business sites that are located in areas served by Tohoku Electric Power and Tokyo Electric Power. In addition, Capcom will refrain from holding special events. Again, thanks to everyone who has supported Japan during this difficult time, and please help to spread the news about relief efforts.

You hear that people? Download Street Fighter IV RIGHT NOW, not only do you get a great-priced fighting game on your iPhone, you're doing a good thing. Tell your friends, tell your family. You can always delete the app later. Every bit counts though.

On a personal note, I was in a bar in San Francisco, having a lovely evening with some friends, playing pool and drinking large pints of Kronenburg when the entire bar fell silent. With only the muffled audio of the television and the involuntary gasps of the horrified patrons, we watched in horror and solemnity as the tsunami washed relentlessly over Sendai.

I cannot even begin to imagine the pain and suffering of those people- of their families. If a whopping $10 and a text message is too much of an effort for you to get involved, then go to your app store and download this game for the price of not even a dollar.

You can download the game for your iPhone here.