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Tokyo Game Show
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» moondancer replied on Mon Sep 19, 2005 @ 6:20am |
 Coolness: 92370 | Next Gen Takes Back Seat in Tokyo:
Translated from Japanese, the theme of this year's Tokyo Game Show is "Your Front Row Ticket to the Next Generation of Gaming." And with massive booths dedicated to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 -- and even a bit of the Revolution -- the Makuhari Messe convention center in Tokyo is just that, at least for this weekend. But the buzz for next-gen hardware is mostly chatter. The bulk of TGS' games are still on the current-generation systems. As the Electronic Entertainment Expo, held each May in Los Angeles, takes on a more worldwide focus, the Tokyo Game Show's impact both at home and abroad has declined. It is no longer the world's biggest gaming showcase. But big news still happens here, and the show still serves as the debut for many major new video games. In all, over 600 new products are on display. Microsoft Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach delivered the conference's first keynote address on Friday morning, outlining the company's plans for the Xbox 360 in Japan. Bach noted that the original Xbox console did poorly in Japan -- only selling around 500,000 units over four years -- but that Microsoft was working to give the new console a more Japan-friendly image. But even with a sleeker form factor and a wider game lineup, the company's success in one of the world's most finicky consumer markets is far from assured. Bach's decision to showcase the Epic Megagames title Gears of War was seen by many attendees as ill-fitting -- although the hyper-realistic first-person shooter has garnered praise from American critics, FPS games are by far one of the least popular game genres in Japan. Of course, if Microsoft's message left showgoers a bit confused, the Nintendo keynote that immediately followed threw them for a loop. President Satoru Iwata unveiled the shockingly unique Revolution controller, but only after a lengthy explanation of how Nintendo wants to attract a wide variety of new gamers with simpler control devices. Whether this will actually happen is anyone's guess. But Iwata's presentation included graphs that charted the broad demographics and strong sales for games like Nintendogs, which do suggest that Nintendo's strategy is far from all bark and no bite (ahem). But Nintendo is not offering a hands-on demonstration of the Revolution controller to TGS attendees -- the software and hardware aren't even close to ready for a public debut. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 is quite playable -- Microsoft's booth is filled with kiosks where the press (and, starting Saturday, the general public) will be able to play the games for its next-generation hardware. And although rumor had suggested that games for Sony's PlayStation 3 would be playable on the show floor, the console's only presence was in the form of a giant theater where video trailers for upcoming games were shown in a constant loop. Of the trailers, easily the most impressive was a nine-minute affair that introduced the latest version of Konami's popular stealth action series, Metal Gear Solid 4. The epic trailer, which featured stunning graphics being rendered in real time on the PS3, showed an aging Solid Snake, with gray mullet and wiry moustache, as he snuck through buildings in the midst of a raging military battle. Quite simply, the graphics looked orders of magnitude better than the Xbox 360 games that were being shown across the hall. It's yet to be seen whether the machine can replicate them in real gameplay situations, but Metal Gear Solid 4 is stealing the show as far as next-gen content goes. But for all the hype, next-gen content takes up only a tiny fraction of TGS' floor space. For the foreseeable future, Japan's video-game industry will chug along on the strength of the current generation of consoles. It's "harvesting time" for PlayStation 2 -- the installed base has reached critical mass, and publishers can reap maximum sales. Just like in America, they are largely doing this with new entries in proven-selling series. The difference is that instead of sports, first-person shooters and racers, it's all about role-playing games and action adventure. Recently merged game conglomerate Bandai Namco showed off a host of sequels to popular RPGs like Tales, Baten Kaitos, Xenosaga and .hack. At Square Enix, it's sequels to monster hits like Final Fantasy VII and Disney crossover Kingdom Hearts. New GameCube and Xbox games have slowed to a trickle. But that doesn't mean PS2 is the only game in town, as vast lineups of new software are on display for the new portables. On the Sony PSP, an all-new version of Katamari Damacy is set to release this year. For the Nintendo DS, Sega hopes to answer some age-old questions with Where Do Babies Come From?, the sequel to wacky hit Feel the Magic. Even better, the wireless game-sharing functionality of both portable consoles is coming into play at TGS. At certain "download points" spread throughout the show floor, attendees can pull out their PSP or DS and wirelessly download the demonstration versions of many of the same games that line the show floor. Given the popularity of the download kiosks, it's safe to say that at least part of the future of gaming will be decidedly old school. |
Tokyo Game Show
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