First playable next-gen games confirmed for Tokyo Game Show

With the Tokyo Game Show only one week away, game publishers are beginning to announce their lineups for this year's event, which is expected to be as big (or bigger) than the TGS that took place right before the PlayStation 2's debut. The focus of TGS2005 is the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, and it's been anticipated that some of their games will actually be playable at the show. The latest issue of Famitsu has unveiled a preliminary lineup of next-generation games for the show, and it confirms that a number of them will be playable.

The biggest surprise by Famitsu is that Namco's Ridge Racer 6 for the Xbox 360 will be playable at the show, even though no screenshots or trailers for the game have been released yet. The magazine also reports that the general public will get its first chance to try out Kameo: Elements of Power, created by Microsoft-owned, UK-based development studio Rare. Another Xbox 360 game to be playable at the show is Taito's jet combat simulator World Air Force, which fully takes advantage of the console's calculation capacity for real-time physics. A number of other Xbox 360 games will also be on display at the show, although they've only been confirmed in trailer form for now.

On the other hand, the lineup of PlayStation 3 games for Tokyo Game Show 2005 is still looking small. Only two games have been announced so far--Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4 and Koei's Ni-Oh--and both will only appear in trailer form. However, it's expected that more PS3 games will be at the show, as Sony Computer Entertainment hasn't announced any of the games that will be at its booth yet.

The Tokyo Game Show will take place at the Makuhari Convention Center in Chiba prefecture from September 16-18. The first day is open to industry affiliates only, but day two and three will be open to the public. Tickets are available for advance sale at 1,000 yen ($9) and can also be purchased at the show for 1,200 yen ($11). The current list of next-generation console games at TGS 2005 is below.

Xbox 360
(Title / Publisher, exhibit format)
Dynasty Warriors 5 Special /Koei, TBA
Dead or Alive 4 /Tecmo, Trailer
Frame City Killer /Namco, Trailer
Kameo: Elements of Power /Microsoft, Playable
Pro Yakyuu Spirits /Konami, Trailer
Ridge Racer 6 /Namco, Playable
Rumble Roses XX /Konami, Trailer
Shutokou Battle /Genki, Trailer
Tengei Makyo Ziraia: Haruka Naru Jipang /Hudson, Trailer
World Air Force /Taito, Playable

PlayStation 3 (Title / Publisher, exhibit format)
Metal Gear Solid 4 /Konami, Trailer
Ni-Oh / Koei, Trailer