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Tokyo Game Show 2011 Report: Big Booths, Small Impact
I’m sitting at the airport in Japan right now with Tim Turi, waiting for our flight back to Minnesota. With the Tokyo Game Show behind us, we’re left with little in the way of blockbuster announcements or new hands-on experiences with upcoming titles. Even with this being my first time at the show, I could sense an air of disappointment amongst fellow gaming journalists that had been attending for years.
The first indicator that something was amiss was when I went to the Microsoft booth on day one to see what they had available. I saw displays for huge titles like Skyrim and Rage, so I asked the PR rep if they were new builds specifically for the Tokyo Game Show. She informed me that all of the demos were identical to the ones from GamesCom and PAX that have already been shown to the media. She let me know that there was a new demo of Kinect Star Wars, a new song in Dance Central 2, and a new Firefight map in Halo Anniversary. That last mention turned out to be incorrect, in fact, as it was the same map Bryan got a chance to play at Halo Fest. Old demos were a running theme throughout the show, being the case for other blockbusters like Battlefield 3 and Uncharted 3. It’s saying something that we had a chance to see more new content at off-site events held by third-parties, such as the several titles Namco showed me at a pre-TGS event and Tim’s extensive hands-on time with Final Fantasy XIII-2 at a SquareEnix [Note: you’ll be able to read about the latter in Tim’s upcoming preview].
Tokyo Game Show 2011 wasn’t filled with E3-like announcements, reveals, or new content, but it did seem to do a good job serving one particular purpose. As a big video game showcase open to the public, it’s a rare chance for gaming fans outside of the media to play huge games before their release, dress up as their favorite gaming and anime characters, and experience the convention atmosphere. Lines may have been long, but eager gamers didn’t seem to mind if it meant they got to take an early look at their most anticipated titles. The growth and decline of industry shows isn’t a straight line, however, as evidenced by E3’s jarring downscaling in 2007 and 2008. This year may have been less than spectacular for the Tokyo Game Show, but it’s probably too early to start hypothesizing its demise. Here’s hoping for a more impressive showing in 2012.
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