So. What does the final TGS attendance tally read? Why... it's over nine thousaaaand!!! Oh, hell yeah, it's way over nine thousand indeed. CESA, the guys who organized the event, released the final number of attendees for this year's Tokyo Game Show. Compared to last year, TGS 2008 has gotten about a thousand more attendees, thus setting a new record for highest turnout in TGS history.

The Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) awarded Nintendo's Wii Fit and Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G top accolades in this year's Japan Game Awards held during the ongoing Tokyo Game Show. More awardees after the jump.

Nintendo and Capcom's big bosses are headlining this year's CEDEC over in Japan. At the developer conference, Shigeru Miyamoto will talk about how to start game development while Inafune will be lecturing people on an area yet to be revealed. More in the full article.

For those eagerly awaiting this year's CEDEC event from Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association, be informed that the organization has just announced the venue and the schedule for the gathering. The full details can be found at the full article.

The Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association (CESA) just released a partial list of exhibitors that will be attending this year's Tokyo Game Show or TGS. Since this is just an initial announcement, most titles are made for the Japanese audience and we have no idea whether these will be localized for English-speaking markets.

We brought up the topic just the same because there are some entries in the list that we know you are quite familiar with. More importantly, it looks like development studio Level 5 has plans to shake the game genre to its very core as it included an untitled entry that is "set to create a new genre". Here's the list:

• Imabikisou, Sega, PlayStation 3, Adventure
• Senjou no Valkyria, Sega, PlayStation 3, RPG
• Sakura Taisen DS, Sega, DS, RPG
• Galaxy Angel II Mugen Kairou no Kagi, Broccoli, PlayStation 2, adventure/simulation
• Rune Factory 2, Marvelous Interactive, DS, RPG
• Dungeon Explorer, Hudson, PSP, action RPG
• Layton Kyouju to Akuma no Hako, Level 5, tba, adventure
• Untitled game set to create a new genre, Level 5, tba, tba

Take note that this short list was compiled first by online site RPG Fan. Given the nature of the said site, we can expect the secret title to be an RPG as well. It could be a hybrid of some sort, but we're not really certain what it is. What do you think guys?

 

We've previously reported that contrary to rumor, this year's TGS is not canceled, and in fact, will receive an extra day. Well folks, here is an update regarding that issue.

The Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association of Japan has recently given the details regarding the expansion to their Tokyo Game Show in a press event held in Central Tokyo. Japanese videogame news site Game Watch informs that, Square Enix president and acting CESA chairman, Yoichi Wada, was there to announce that in addition to the extra day, up to 160 companies will be in attendance, up from the recorded 143 last year. Other expectations about the even include a total attendance of 180,000 people and 1,550 booth units.

With the recent "changes" to E3, Wada emphasized that it is very important for this years TGS to cater to foreign press, whose numbers reached 1,380 in 2006, up from 1,050 the previous year. There will be an effort to translate press materials available found on CESA's Japanese website, and more importantly directional signs in the convention center will now be multi-lingual.

There will be a Kid's Corner and a Retro Corner set up to cater to their respective audiences. There will also be a Video Game Museum that will give older attendees a chance to appreciate video game history.

This year's TGS is scheduled for September 20th through the 23rd. The 20th and the 21st will be dedicated to press, while the 22nd and the 23rd will be general admission days. As always, the event will be held at the now legendary Chiba Makuhari Messe at the convention center in Chiba.

That's right, folks! It's that time of the year again when gaming is in the air, and in a place that is no less than the heart of the Land of the Rising Sun: it's the month of the Tokyo Game Show!

Just recently, the organizers of this massive game expo have released the list of games and companies that will be gracing the much-awaited event. As of press time, the list of titles tallies up to 127 PC Games, 125 mobile phone games, 100 PS2 titles, 52 for the NDS, 33 for the PSP, 20 for the Xbox 360, 18 for the PS3, 5 for the Wii, 2 for the GBA, 1 for the Xbox, 1 for the GameCube, and 88 more titles for various platforms.

Games that fall under the action genre are also running high this year with 129 titles, while RPGs come second with 76. All in all, up to 573 games or more will be featured in the event, so to those who will be lucky enough to make it to Tokyo, let us know how many of these you managed to try!

In any case, for those who want a more detailed list (and for those who can read Japanese), we've included the .pdf files containing the exhibition schedule and booth contents.

The Tokyo Game Show is a yearly major gaming event that is attended by thousands of gamers and news reporters, and is organized by Japan's Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA). It is renowned for showcasing the latest in game technology and the latest game titles, as well as for its cosplaying booth babes. There is much excitement for this year's TGS as Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation 3 are expected to come out in full force prior to their release later this year. The show is expected to gather around 160,000 guests and the event will be held at Makuhari Messe (Mihama-ku and Chiba City).

Download: [TGS 2006 list]

How expensive is it to develop a game for a game platform?

• Last year in Japan, the average cost to develop a game for the Sony PS2 is $1.2 million.
• For the Sony PSP, it's only $541,000.
• But for the Nintendo DS, the average cost is a measly $342,000.

Now compare these numbers with some familiar facts.

• The PSP came out and sold for about $250 ($249 or so), while the DS came out at $149 or so.
• New games for the PSP cost around $50. New games cost about $35 for the Nintendo DS.
• Nowadays, you can find bargain bundles. A PSP bundled with a game (usually a "not-so-popular" game) can go for around $199. But a DS bargain bundle goes for about $149.

In terms of price, it seems like Nintendo is the way to go.

But the PSP is a powerful multimedia device. It's a technological heavyweight. Those strengths will help explain these facts:

• Last year, Nintendo exported only 7.34 million DS units while Sony exported more: 11.36 million PSP units.
• Within Japan, Nintendo did amazingly well: Nintendo sold 4.25 million DS and DS Lite units. Sony sold 2.61 million PSP units in Japan last year.
  

Does this mean the Japanese go for price? While the rest of the world (especially the USA and Europe) are more likely to go for expensive technology? Maybe.

Is this important? Well actually. I don't care about it one bit. Why? Because all this talk of "PSP pwns Nintendo DS sucks" and "PSP suxxorz LOL bye" doesn't change the important things. Gaming is on the rise. This is according to a report released by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association or CESA (it makes a report every year about the state of the Japanese console game industry; the sales figures in this article came from their report).

Total worldwide gaming sales (both hardware and software) have grown since 2004 because of the DS and PSP. They resurrected the dying handheld market, and in the process, they rekindled interest in gaming (for example, people who would never have bought a console found it easier to buy the affordable handheld units, and now that they realize how much fun they're having, they're waiting for the next-gen consoles).

So, after all the spamwars and flamewars and all the forum hating, both the DS and the PSP are to be thanked for this healthy upsurge in gaming sales. This is a sign that we should all hold hands. Can't we all just get along?

In the second half of his two-part interview with Nikkei Business Online, Yoichi Wada, the president of Square Enix and chairman of the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA), hinted that Square Enix might be gearing up for an entry into the hardware biz.

In the interview, Wada said that in talks between Square Enix and Taito, the possibility of releasing actual physical hardware has come up. Taito, a company that produces physical hardware (along with arcade hits like Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble), was acquired by Square Enix in August 2005.

While Wada refrained from disclosing more information about the company's plans, his reference to the Nintendo DS and the iPod during the interview leads us to believe that if Square Enix were to make a move into the hardware market, the company would be aiming for a new handheld gaming device. Releasing a new console is far too risky and would lead to friction between Square Enix and established console manufacturers that hold exclusive rights to their big-name franchises.

This is an interesting development, though. If it pushes through, the ripples that will spread throughout the videogames industry will no doubt be pretty darn big.

Opinions? Thoughts? Leave a comment.