Video game geeks unite for ailing Japan

Most American video game fans never make it to Japan. 

But many are instilled with an affinity for the country that started with Pac-Man (real name: Pakkuman), carried through the Nintendo era and persists today through Sony's Playstation consoles. 

Japan's recent woes have inspired this hour-long video love letter "Gamers Heart Japan."

It features Western developers, designers and tech bloggers gushing over the majesty of Japanese games.

Interwoven into the geekery is an appeal to send Japan's quake victims aid through Red Cross. 

For kids born in the late 1970s-early 1980s, Nintendo was an amazing Japanese cultural ambassador.

It gave my generation this sense that Japan is futuristic, whimsical and extremely cool.

We're in our 30s now. That's a win for Japan — and not just because a good number of gamers will shell out some cash for tsunami victims.

P.S. For the record, my favorite Japanese video game of all time is the 1987 Nintendo Entertainment System classic "Rygar."