The Tokyo Game Show, one of the world’s largest gaming industry conferences, opened on Wednesday entirely online for the first time since its inception in 1996.
The annual event usually attracts hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts, including many cosplayers dressed as game characters, but this year, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, they will have to control the internet.
The picture shows the official website of the Tokyo Games 2020. (Kyodo)
The virtual event is limited to companies participating in the gaming industry on the first day but is open to the public from Thursday evening through Sunday.
The set of events includes free streaming programming from game producers, keynote speeches as well as esports competitions, including “Street Fighter V.” Of Capcom.
About 400 exhibitors from home and abroad will participate in this year’s event, including Sony Corp.’s gaming console. And the Japanese unit of Microsoft Corp. Sony and Microsoft will release new game consoles in November.
Exhibitors will be able to sell official merchandise through a special site run by the Amazon Japan GK, with organizers hoping to lure online shopping site visitors to the official website of the gaming event.
The game show is usually held at the Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, and last year attracted around 262,000 visitors and 655 exhibitors. It is one of the three biggest gaming events in the world, along with E3 in the US and Gamescom in Germany.
