For its 30th birthday, the Tokyo Game Show saw a record number of 1138 exhibitors and, as usual, very large crowds. Even on business days, the line to enter the Makuhari Messe was very long, and it took over an hour to get in. Even getting out of the train station was tough! On public days, huge lines were running around the buildings as early as 5 am! In addition to local game enthusiasts, many foreign indie developers made the trip too!
Major players
Many of Japan’s biggest game publishers had incredibly entertaining booths. Square Enix had playable demos of Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Final Fantasy Resonance, and Dragon Quest VII Reimagined. The videos of Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold looked amazing on big screen. You could pose in front of a giant meteor, ride Cloud’s motorcycle, or stand near a life-sized Sephiroth.
Konami celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Konami Code, proudly displayed on the top of its booth. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse and Silent Hill: Townfall were showcased among others.
Capcom was showing Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance. The beasts looked glorious on the giant screens.
Sega had its largest-ever booth presence at any Tokyo Game Show, featuring major playable demos, special developer stages, and even a dedicated history museum!
We spotted some really cool booth designs; here are some examples.
On the game audio side, we didn’t forget to visit the booths of our friends at CRI Middleware, AZSTOKE, and Noisycroak.
No rice, no game!
Our city of Niigata was well represented too! Every year, Niigata Computer College (NCC) comes to the Tokyo Game Show to showcase games developed by its students. They also hand out small bags of Niigata’s famous, delicious rice to visitors!
Like last year, Niigata City itself had a booth at the Tokyo Game Show. We immediately spotted the orange jerseys of the local Albirex team! At the booth, you could play a Fortnite map of Niigata City.
Niigata has recently launched a special program to attract game and IT companies. If you are interested in starting a company or relocating your existing business to Niigata, an introductory event will be held on November 5th, right during Niigata Innovation Week. Transportation and accommodation costs will be subsidized.
No 5th day
To celebrate its 30th birthday, the organizers of the Tokyo Game Show had planned to extend the event to five days for the first time ever. However, the weather had other plans, as Typhoon Dujuan rattled Tokyo (and Chiba) and forced them to cancel the final day.
But even without that fifth day, this edition of the Tokyo Game Show was a resounding success, and we are already looking forward to meeting you there again next year!
