First Tokyo Game Show 2005 details emerge

TOKYO--The Computer Entertainment Suppliers' Association (CESA) confirmed today that the next Tokyo Game Show will be held from September 16 to 18. Day one of the show will be open to press and invited guests only, while day two and three will be opened to the general public. Advance tickets will be available for 1,000 yen ($9), and also can be purchased at the door for 1,200 yen ($11). Admission is free for kids in grade school or below.

Besides the usual smorgasbord of upcoming games, this year's TGS will also have next-generation consoles on the menu. Yoshihiro Maruyama, general manager of Microsoft Japan's Xbox Division, stated in recent press conferences that Xbox 360 titles will be in playable format at the event. Given Microsoft's focus on the Japanese gaming market, it's likely that Xbox 360 games from Japanese publishers will be on display. More details should be revealed at the Xbox Summit 2005, which takes place in Tokyo on July 25.

At last year's PlayStation meeting, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi also stated that games for the PlayStation 3 should be playable at this year's TGS. But considering that there weren't playable PS3 titles at E3, it remains to be seen whether Sony will be able to stick to its original schedule. It should also be noted that there weren't really any playable PSP titles back at E3 2004 (just some hands-on tech demos), but Sony had a huge booth with playable games four months later at TGS 2004.

Nintendo traditionally does not participate in the Tokyo Game Show, and it seems that this year will be no exception. Last year, Nintendo held a nationwide tour to promote the DS in Japan, rather than a single Space World event in Tokyo. It has made no announcements about a Space World 2005 event.

In addition to confirming the final Tokyo Game Show dates, CESA also released the preliminary list of companies that will be at the event. Most of the major Japanese publishers are already signed up for TGS 2005, including Atlus, Bandai, Capcom, Genki, Koei, Konami, Namco, Sega, SNK, Square Enix, Taito, and Tecmo. Like last year, there will also be a number of Asian publishers, such as Gravity, Game Infinity, Softstar, and the Taiwan Game Pavilion. The full list of currently scheduled publishers is as follows:

Acquire Corporation
Akella
Ask Corporation
Atari Japan
ATI Technologies(Japan) Inc.
Atlus
Bandai
Broccoli
Capcom
Climax Inc.
Core Colors
Creek & River
Crest
D3 Publisher Inc.
Disc Go Technologies
Electric Spin Corporation
Enterbrain
Esel International Company Limited
Excite Japan
Fujiwork
Game Infinity
Gameland
Genki
Gravity
Gungho Online Entertainment
Hamster Corporation
Imahima
Internet Radio Onsen
Kddi Corporation
Koei
Konami Corporation
Media Works Inc.
Microsoft
Mori Toys
Namco Limited
NTT Docomo
Nudytech
Razer Group
Rhoceo
Sanwa Supply Inc.
Sega Corporation
Sega Logistics Service
Seoul City Pavilion
SNK Playmore Corporation
Solid Networks Inc. / Bigworld / Trymedia Systems Inc.
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Square Enix
Taito Corporation
Taiwan Game Pavilion
Easyfun Entertainment
Softstar Entertainment Inc.
Taiwan Trade Center
Zeroplus
Tecmo
Tomy Company
Topplayer Inc.
Ubisoft
Ukr Game Export
Winble Japan
Xtreme