Tokyo Game Show 2018

My first game console was a Chinese imitation of Nintendo's famikon, called Nipondo. My second one (actually my sister's) was a Nintendo 64. I loved Super Mario 64, Diddy kong racing, Wave race 64 and many others. My third console was a PSP. I enjoyed playing Ridge racer and Daxter on it. And that was it. After that, for a period of more than 10 years I haven't played any game.

I thought I wanted to catch up with that, so I visited the Tokyo Game Show 2018. The exhibition was held in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba (not Tokyo!), and concentrated a number of big game makers and indie studios as well. According to this report, there were around 107,310 attendants the day I went, on Saturday September 22nd, which was open to the general public.

The exhibition was divided into several halls, and there was a very useful map at the entrance that indicated the location of each exhibitor. The largest game makers had amazing booths with quality lightning, multiple events, and even television coverage. There were also many cute models promoting the games and getting the attraction of all cameras.

However, I preferred the booths of smaller game studios because it was easier to see their games without all the bells and whistles. In particular, I loved the indie games section in the international hall.

One of the most popular platforms was the computer (e.g.: Steam, browser and Windows games). I had never used Steam before, but right after the event I opened an account. The other main popular platforms were mobile (206 titles for Android were exhibited); Nintendo switch, which has the most interesting games for my taste; and the PS4.

Conclusions: participating in this event was a good experience. There was a total of 668 exhibitors and 298,690 visitors. There was so much to see that I probably missed many interesting spots. Here is a complete list of exhibitors, the games they released, their genre, and the platforms they support. Next, I am planning to explore Steam and I would love to try some games on the Nintendo Switch.