Daniel prepares for action at TGS 2024. (©Daniel Robson)
One of the questions dozens of people asked me most during this year's Tokyo Game Show, which took place 26-29 September at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba, was: "Aren't you tired?"
As usual, IGN Japan was broadcasting live from our own private studio inside the venue. We had 20 hours of fully live video coverage that included guests from around 40 game companies, and live gameplay and interviews covering the latest games. Add to this publishing written articles on our site, looking after guests, opening our first-ever retail booth, attending various related networking parties, and a severe lack of sleep. So, yes, I can see why someone might think I'd be tired.
But the truth is, nothing charges my batteries like a good game expo. And this year's TGS was very, very good.
Over four days, TGS was attended by 274,739 visitors — not beating 2018's record of 298,690, but pretty close. The show also welcomed its largest-ever number of exhibitors, with 985 companies joining the fray.
Monster Hunter Wilds: First Playable Demo
The show's biggest game was probably Monster Hunter Wilds. Slated for release in February 2025, this is the latest entry in one of Japan's most popular game franchises.
TGS was the first time players in Japan could try a demo to see for themselves how Capcom has harnessed the power of the latest generation of game consoles and PCs to deliver the richest Monster Hunter experience yet. So in demand was the epic demo that it had its own spacious area in PlayStation's booth in addition to its own dedicated space at Capcom.
Spotlight on Astro and Death Stranding 2
This was PlayStation's first TGS since 2019. I was surprised that Sony chose not to showcase its upcoming first-party game Lego Horizon Adventures.
Instead, Sony took the opportunity to shine the spotlight on the recently released Astro Bot. It offered a set of demo kiosks, adorable animated booth dressing, and a giant capsule-toy machine where some lucky attendees could win an Astro plush. Astro has become a much-needed new mascot for PlayStation, and his excellent new game definitely deserved this victory lap.
Besides, PlayStation had a secret weapon to drum up attention for its future lineup: Hideo Kojima. One of the world's most revered game developers, Kojima was on hand to promote Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, his upcoming sequel that will debut on PS5, with a 90-minute stage show on Sunday.
The event was unabashedly aimed at TGS' Japanese audience. The stage show was presented only in Japanese and focused primarily on the Japanese voice cast, who will be matching their talents to original performances in the game by Norman Reedus, Leah Seydoux, Elle Fanning, and even Mad Max director George Miller.
But perhaps most impressive was the reveal of a new photo mode in which players can pose the Hollywood actors any way they like, in startlingly realistic detail, to take a digital Polaroid photo.
Kojima's Star Power
Oh, and if we needed any confirmation that the cult of Kojima is alive and well, the massive audience turnout was one. The reveal of a new series of Kojima Productions jackets designed by Errolson Hugh and Yoji Shinkawa and priced ¥248,600 JPY (about $1,750 USD) was another.
Kojima's name was also present at Konami's booth. There, the publisher gave the first public hands-on demo of Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater, a full remake of one of Kojima's most beloved games. Originally released in 2004, Snake Eater's mix of stealth gameplay and political storytelling is a fan favorite.
While Kojima is not directly involved with this remake, his name has been preserved throughout the opening credits. At a booth that brought to life the game's serpent-infested swampy forest, I finally got my hands on the game for 15 minutes after sitting through a 20-minute opening cut scene. It was just enough time to check out the modernized controls if not much else.
Like a Dragon Spin-off
Another huge game at TGS was the newly announced Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth published in 2024 saw the series' Japanese protagonists embark on an adventure in Hawaii.
This spinoff game makes good use of the same location, but stars fan-fave antihero Majima Goro. The "Mad Dog" of the Like a Dragon series has somehow washed up on the shore of Hawaii sans his memory, and ... decides he must be a pirate. He's always had an eyepatch, so I guess that makes sense!
Sega's hit series comes with the heaviness of a yakuza crime drama, but it has always embraced its silly side. Goro, suddenly dressed as a pirate, flings his cutlass like a deadly boomerang at groups of thugs on a golden beach, before donning his civvies to sing overly earnest love songs in a karaoke bar minigame. Seeing this is worth a million doubloons.
Infinity Nikki's New Areas
I also got to play an hour or so of Infinity Nikki, being developed by Shanghai-based Infold Games under the guidance of sub-director Kentaro Tominaga, who previously worked on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (BOTW). The latter is ranked by IGN and many others as the best game of all time.
Infinity Nikki's stunning open world blends the sense of scale and discovery of BOTW with the dress-up system of the previous Nikki mobile games. It results in a world that feels magical, beautiful, and fun.
I've played several hours of Infinity Nikki before. But behind closed doors at TGS, we were thrown into a whole new area of the map with two new dungeons.
It included one set on a spooky ghost train and another that put you on a rollercoaster through gorgeous caves. A new boss battle also provided just enough challenge without being so difficult as to scare off younger players. It's shaping up to be one of my most anticipated upcoming games.
IGN Livestream and Exclusive Showcases
On our livestream, we welcomed developers of games including Monster Hunter Wilds, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (another of the biggest games at TGS), Street Fighter 6, Marvel Rivals, and Dynasty Warriors: Origins. We played through their new games together or interviewed them about what's coming next.
We were also able to feature a handful of games that had only just been announced in time for TGS. They included Aniplex's Hyke: Northern Light(s), a game about an adventuring group of young witches that blends gorgeous character illustrations by orie with pixel art by Setamo and Shiros.
Others were Fate Trigger: The Novita, an anime-styled tactical hero shooter out of China, and Hirogami, a new origami-focused platform-action game developed by Bandai Namco's Singapore studio.
Proud Dad Moment
A personal highlight was when my daughter and her friend arrived on Saturday to visit our studio and look around the show floor. Walking through the venue with a pair of 12-year-olds and seeing which games drew their attention was fascinating.
The two posed for photos at Infinity Nikki's booth that recreated a European-style town square before trying the demo. They then collected postcards depicting cute anime girls and stopped to watch a group playing the fun new party game All You Need is Help from Kyoto studio Q-Games, before scampering off to visit the Family Game Park area to check out a selection of kid-friendly games.
Introducing my daughter to various friends and colleagues we met around the venue and seeing her excitement for the games on display was a proud dad moment. No amount of overtime or lack of sleep could diminish that.
IGN Merch
TGS 2024 was also our first time to have a retail booth. The IGN Japan Store booth stood tall in the merchandise hall, a rich red design that hosted a carefully curated lineup of products. They included rare Zelda statues, exclusive Fallout and Cyberpunk 2077 T-shirts, and even an IGN logo tee.
We also had items from our sister game publishing label Hyper Real, based on games like Saeko: Giantess Dating Sim. Additionally, there was a selection of products created by the Parco department store based on indie hits such as Coffee Talk and The Exit 8.
Following this successful first foray, we are planning to launch an online store selling cool gamer goods in the near future, so keep an eye out for more.
Energy Over Exhaustion
Planning all of this and more in the runup to TGS, our various teams worked overtime to make sure we could offer the best event coverage, the best guests, the best merchandise lineup, and so on. I personally worked through both of the three-day weekends that preceded TGS.
If you'd asked me then whether I was tired, I would have surely said yes. But seeing everything come together on the day, in a venue surrounded by hundreds of amazing games and the brilliant people who make them — how could that ever get tiring?
In fact, as I write this column, the day after TGS, I am already on a flight to Malaysia to attend one of three game expos I'll visit in October. I have no doubt I'll come back fully charged. I'll be sure to tell you all about it next month!
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Author: Daniel Robson
Daniel Robson is the chief editor of videogame news site IGN Japan. Read his series Gamer's World on JAPAN Forward, and find him on X (formerly Twitter).
