The Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) unveiled its latest initiative for the gaming industry's future. Read on to find out more information about their project and more!

CESA Presentation Stage (TGS2024) | Everything Announced

CESA Market Trends and Industry Performance Overview

CESA took to the stage on Day 2 of TGS2024, offering an insightful presentation on the current state of affairs of the gaming industry in Japan, as well as their plans for the future to further foster its growth.

They start off by showing that market trend has doubled over the past four years, where East Asia (Japan, China, and South Korea) is leading the market, followed by China, NA, and Europe (not in any particular order).

They state that the game industry makes up 60% of Japan’s content industry and has created over 200,000 jobs, thus making it crucial from a job market/creation perspective. Their research shows that game development creation remains the #1 job that male elementary school students and junior high school students want, as well as for liberal arts and science students.

The entirety of the CESA Video Game Industry Report 2024, full of extensive statistics and infographics, will be available starting December 20, 2024, costing 55,000 yen (around $370).

Top Game Creators Academy Presentation and Discussion

The core discussion was commenced by the first guests, Agency for Cultural Affairs Goda and KADOKAWA Game Linkage Hayashi. Together, they present the Top Game Creators Academy (TGCA) intro trailer and program description. They deem that industry performance, good international product reception, and proactive support from aspiring Japanese developers have created strong foundations for the continued support of creators within the industry.

As such, for the future of the ever-growing gaming industry, talented people were picked up to train for 3-5 years to grow and will continue to do so in the coming years. TCGA is supporting this program, and down the line, hopefully all agencies will be seeing the new generation.

CEO LEVEL 5 Akihiro Hino (Yokai Watch, Inuzama Eleven) has been selected as the Principal of this organization, where specialized advisors and areas are offered, including Game Design, Sound, and Global Marketing, employing industry professionals from giants across the video game industry.

Through this program, they will try to find the "pure creators" for the future of this industry." The creators (developers) will be teaching and supporting the young generations in this program.

Hino enumerates the traits required for the program and the games industry:
　⚫︎　 Creativity; to have the vision to create what you want
　⚫︎　 Mentality; to challenge themselves and the norm
　⚫︎　 Skills; to have a good foundation of coding skills
　⚫︎　 Hardworking; to provide continuous effort

They reveal that the program will also be welcome to foreigners.

How to Apply for TGCA and What Someone Needs to Succeed in the Gaming Industry

The following are the specific criteria for application:
　⚫︎　 30 years old or younger as of March 2025
　⚫︎　 Professional and mature personality
　⚫︎　 Experience in creating at least 1 gaming title
　⚫︎　 Does not make a living through game publishing

The application schedule will be as follows:
　⚫︎　 Website establishment: End of October 2024
　⚫︎　 Application Period: Now - January 2025
　⚫︎　 Selection Process: Feb 2025 - March 2025

CESA Presentation Stage (TGS2024) Streams on September 26, 2024, 7 PM PT/10 PM ET

The CESA Presentation Stage at Tokyo Game Show 2024 went live on September 26, at 7:00 p.m. PDT/10:00 p.m. EDT, streaming on YouTube and Twitch.

Please refer to the table below for the streaming schedule using your local timezone:

Clark Jason Kong

Growing up playing all sorts of games, they love playing a little bit of everything, all of the time. Favorites include Counter-Strike, Life is Strange, Final Fantasy, Spiritfarer, and Devil May Cry.