Gearing Up for TGS

It's the Japanese version of E3 - Tokyo Game Show. Held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, TGS attracts video game players from all across Japan, and a few intrepid journalists from the US. The whole thing is put on by CESA, the Computer Entertainment Software Association, which recently released a listing of items that can be seen at this spring's show (March 19-21, 1999).

Once again, PlayStation games will dominate the show - with an estimated 160 titles on display. Among Sony's lineup will be Gran Turismo 2, the most anticipated of Sony's first-party lineup in 1999 (or at least the most anticipated of what's been announced). Also on display will be UmJammer Lammy, scheduled for Japanese release the week before TGS, and the Japanese version of Spyro the Dragon.

Game Boy is the second most popular system in terms of number of games on display. This year, 36 Game Boy games will be on display - all of them from third-party companies, since Nintendo is not exhibiting at the show. One of the biggest surprises is the number of Wonder Swan games scheduled for display at TGS - a whopping 35 titles.

Dreamcast weighs in at 28 titles, the main attraction of which will be Yu Suzuki's Shen Mue, now scheduled for an April release in Japan (but this date may slip). Among the Dreamcast games confirmed to be on show are Capcom's Marvel vs. Capcom, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Powerstone.

Following those are eleven Nintendo 64 games, eight Saturn titles, one Neo Geo Pocket game (although surely others will be on show), and 19 "others." Windows and Mac titles make up 35 products, for a grand total of 333 total titles on show.

We'll have complete coverage of the Tokyo Game Show from pre-show coverage to post-show wrap-ups.