Tokyo Game Show 2024 has officially begun, and they’re starting it out with a keynote and a showcase immediately! Read on to learn more about the keynote speakers as well as the important venue details and other program information.
Tokyo Game Show 2024 Opening Show
Tokyo Game Show 2024 will have a slew of events, programs, games, and booths in the venue. As usual, there will be numerous event stages, cosplay areas, and other interesting attractions on display for everyone!
Tokyo Game Show 2024 Venue
Similar to last year, the event will be held at the Makahuri Meese Convention Center in the Chiba Prefecture. The entire venue will be used for the event, where it will be separated into four sections consisting of Halls 1-3, 4-6, 7-8, and 9-11, which will be dedicated to the International Exhibitions.
On the other hand, the venue will also have separate areas for the International Conference Hall for business meetings and the Family Game Park at the Makuhari Event Hall for family-oriented activities and programs.
TGS 2024 is the Biggest Scale Ever
This event tallies the highest amount of exhibitors, booths, and titles that will be showcased this year. There will be a total of 985 exhibitors, with more than half of them (535) being from international companies. In addition to this, the event also boasts a total of 3252 exhibitor booths, which actually took the staff a total of three days to set up the entire venue. Lastly, there are a total of 2850 titles that will be showcased this year, in comparison to 1762 titles from last year’s event. The event will also have an even bigger cosplay area for both cosplayers and the public so that attendees can have an easier and better experience moving around these areas as opposed to last year’s event.
Trailblaze the World with Gaming
Keynote by the Creator of PlayStation
The History of the Console and Real-Time Computing
Ken Kutaragi, also known as the Creator of PlayStation,
opens the event by holding a keynote with the theme of Trailblaze the World with Gaming
and the future prospects of the game market. He starts by talking about the history of PlayStation, where he talks about the launch of PlayStation on December 3, 1994. A year before the launch of the console, Kutaragi, alongside the fellow founding members of PlayStation, actually traveled around the world to visit several game makers and companies to share their passion and their upcoming project as well.
When asked about the feedback they received about their visits, Kutaragi revealed that most of the companies and even Sony themselves thought that it was a bad idea. With the launch of the FAMICOM back in 1993, he also described that there were a lot of great games in that system, but what they were thinking was a totally different platform.
We wanted to lead the evolution, not follow the evolution,
says Kutaragi when he describes the team’s vision for the gaming industry. He describes the PlayStation as something that will be something that will evolve within the next 5 to 15 years, yet no one believed him at the time.
Using the different available components from arcades, computers, and other systems, Kutaragi came up with a resulting platform, which eventually became what’s called computer entertainment,
or consoles as we know them commonly. Namco was actually one of the first few gaming companies that showed interest in their plan, as they believed that this could completely change the arcade industry with less costs while creating a more efficient product.
At around October 1993, Kutaragi and his team presented four prototypes of the first-ever PlayStation console. While at the time it seemed like the attendees of the showcase were uninterested, Sony was actually flooded with phone calls the next day. Kutaragi described it as a surreal experience, and now it really felt like they pushed the 3D era of gaming. Afterwards, Sony and Namco worked closely to improve on the prototype by openly collaborating and sharing their resources, which Kutaragi describes as an unrealistic partnership
in hindsight when thinking about it in today's context since sharing the source code among companies was a very bold move.
Over time, the naysayers that gave them negative feedback about transitioning from 2D to 3D visuals for games changed their minds. Games like Battle Arena Toshinden and Parappa the Rapper were the start of the grassroots movement, where developers shifted to making 3D games.
The Future of the Game Market
Seeing that Kutaragi is not as involved in the gaming industry now, he was asked about his thoughts regarding computer entertainment nowadays, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Kutaragi used the old demo videos of the first PlayStation as examples of how it seemed like real-time computing was an impossible feat back in 1993. The way that the first console utilized memory by using the memory card was an innovation that was never before seen back then. He then talked about the development of how the graphics continued evolving from then on from the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and the like.
When asked about the future of the gaming industry, one thing that excites Kutaragi is that more and more people are creating great games. He showed the graphic that Game Science's Black Myth Wukong sold 10 million units across all platforms and 20 million units sold in the first month. He gives praise to Game Science's debut, as it proves that there are other developers and companies that could potentially lead the market.
Kutaragi is optimistic that the industry can be grown even further by integrating it more into the real world. With the popularity of AI, he states that it's only a matter of time before we can achieve actual real-time computing, especially if we can combine the strength of supercomputers and the limitless potential of computer entertainment. In addition, he also speaks about how technology is ever-changing. It was shown in the past that it seemed like a far-fetched dream to have human-AI integration; he points out that this is the reality that we have today.
Lastly, Kutaragi offered advice to aspiring game developers and game makers to continue doing what they’re doing, as they can surely achieve their dreams if they continue working at it. He described curiosity as the motivation, as it’s curiosity that continues to drive people to achieve great things.
Source(s):
Tokyo Game Show 2024 - Official Website
Tokyo Game Show 2024 - Floor Map
Tokyo Game Show 2024 - Opening Show
Tokyo Game Show 2024 - Official Program Keynote English Translation
