Post-event report on the Tokyo Game Show 2008
Under the concept of “Ready for GAME Time!”, 194,288 people visited the Show and enjoyed the latest games!!
October 17, 2008
Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association
Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.
Hosted by the Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA) in cooperation with Nikkei Business Publications, Inc., and with the support of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and NTT DOCOMO, Inc. as a special sponsor, the Tokyo Game Show 2008 welcomed 194,288 visitors at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City and ended in a great success.
| Tokyo Game Show 2008 | Tokyo Game Show 2007 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, October 9 Business Day |
27,305 visitors | Thursday, September 20 Business Day |
29,783 visitors |
| Friday, October 10 Business Day |
24,178 visitors | Friday, September 21 Business Day |
32,390 visitors |
| Saturday, October 11 Open to the public |
71,639 visitors (including 9,207 children) |
Saturday, September 22 Open to the public |
64,795 visitors (including 11,829 children) |
| Sunday, October 12 Open to the public |
71,166 visitors (including 13,963 children) |
Sunday, September 23 Open to the public |
66,072 visitors (including 15,347 children) |
| Total | 194,288 visitors | Total | 193,040 visitors |
This was the 18th holding since the Show was first held in 1996, and 209 corporations, organizations and schools from 14 countries and regions participated. Over 900 game titles were exhibited at the show, including 879 titles submitted prior to the Show, a number greatly exceeding the last year’s total, and those unveiled on the day of the Show. Now that more than one year has passed since the latest home game consoles such as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii made their appearance in the market, the Show was filled with game software designed for these consoles enhanced in both quality and quantity. The sequels to hot popular series and casual games utilizing practical software and designed for portable consoles stood out in particular, indicating the active initiatives of the game software industry toward further market expansion.
In concert with these initiatives, the organizers held a concert with several game-loving musicians for music fans, and also solicited novel game ideas and provided them an opportunity for presentation to the game industry-related people. Other organizer projects, such as the newly-established PC on-line game section, the Game Science Museum spread over four zones, and the TGS Movie Square HD 5.1-channel Theater that let visitors experience the latest games and videos in a dynamic 5.1-channel surround-sound environment, were also very popular.
CESA, the sponsor of the Japan Game Awards 2008, also held a “Creators’ Talk Show” as one of the official events of the Japan International Contents Festival 2008 (popularly referred to as “CoFesta”). In addition, CESA set up two CoFesta booths: the CoFesta Main Booth to introduce little-known game technology, and the CoFesta Parent & Child Game Booth to introduce the attraction of games as entertainment that can be enjoyed by parents and children together. These events also attracted a lot of attention.
The Tokyo Game Show 2009 will be held from either September 24 (Thu) or September 25 (Fri) to September 27 (Sun), 2009, at Makuhari Messe.
