Tokyo Game Show 2011

Hello. Chad, the guest blogger, here to talk about my trip to the Tokyo Game Show last weekend. For those of you who have never heard of TGS, it's an annual convention where video game developers show off their latest games and technology. However, TGS is also known for attendees dressing up in weird, geeky costumes (also known as cosplay). As an avid gamer, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to experience this unique event. So while Amanda was out spending my hard earned money in the shopping malls...enjoying the Odaiba district, I spent my Saturday at the convention center, Makuhari Messe, in Chiba.

The convention opened at 10am, but I arrived at 8am in an effort to beat the crowds. Yet, even two hours before opening, the line was about a half mile long. So it was just me and 80,000 of my Japanese friends hanging out in the late summer heat and humidity for a couple hours. It did cool off just before the doors opened, but that was only because it started pouring rain. At one point, a Japanese guy nearby struck up a conversation with me. He knew about as much English as I know Japanese, so it was not an easy conversation. However, he finally understood that I wanted to see a new racing game called Forza 4 and I understood that he liked the game series, Final Fantasy, and that he thought TGS was "Paradise!".

The line went to the end of the building far in the distance and then around the corner to the right for another 200 yards or so.

Did I mention it was hot?

Umbrellas went up just before the skies opened up. I didn't have one, so I got soaked

While waiting in line, I snapped some photos of the cosplayers headed to the end of the line.

Once inside the convention, I immediately headed for the Xbox display which was just inside the entrance. I waited in line about 45 minutes and got to play 10 minutes of the new Halo game. After that, I planned on walking around to the other game displays, but at TGS, one doesn't really walk from point A to point B. Instead, there's a compressed mass of people that you have to squeeze yourself into and flow into the next area. There's no room to move and you'd better not think about stopping. There's also a torrent of people coming in the opposite direction which complicates matters. Then there's the body odor. I had always heard that the B.O. at gaming conventions was bad, but this was brutal. To be clear, Japanese are typically very cleanly people. This wasn't Japanese B.O., it was Otaku(nerd) B.O.

The crowds at TGS are insane. Almost everyone is very polite, but there is no space to move (or breath!)

A horde of people watching a presentation from Konami

In between the three massive convention halls, there is an open area where the cosplayers line up for Japanese men to take photographs. I snapped a few pics myself. There's lots of cosplayers wandering around the show floor as well. Many of them are attractive females paid by the game developers to hand out swag. Strangely, one dude (in the blue dragon skin type armor in the pic below) didn't seem to want his picture to be taken so I only could take one of his back. What's up with that?

By the afternoon, I was exhausted and ready to head back to our hotel in Odaiba. I was glad that I experienced the show, but I doubt I'll be headed back next year. Too many people and too much B.O.!