Tokyo Game Show

The first Tokyo Game Show was held in 1996. From 1996 to 2001, the show was held twice a year: once in the Spring and once in Autumn (in the Tokyo Big Sight). Since 2002, the show has been held once a year. 2011’s show hosted over 200,000 attendees and the 2012 show bringing in 223,753. The busiest TGS was in 2016 with 271,224 people in attendance and 614 companies had exhibits. The event has been held annually since 1996 and was never canceled, however the 2020 and 2021 editions were online only as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 edition returned to in-person exhibits. The 20th anniversary of TGS was celebrated in 2016. The 2016 attendance record was topped by 2018's attendance of 298,690 people. == Layout ==

The TGS layout varies per year. Such as in 2015, Tokyo Game Show showcased eleven exhibition areas consisting of business, general public, education and other areas to buy merchandise. General Exhibition The General Exhibition Area is the heart of the show, taking up the largest amount of space, and is held where digital gaming entertainment or any related products or services are showcased. Many well-known companies such as Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Square Enix have demo areas here, in addition to emerging companies. Game Device This area covers gaming devices such as headphones, controllers, furniture and other devices associated with home-use gaming consoles and portable gaming devices. Asia New Stars An exhibition introduced at the 2012 Tokyo Game Show is geared towards introducing emerging game developers from Asia. Merchandise Sales This area is designated for merchandising of game-related goods. Vendors include Konami and Square-Enix. Smartphone and social games This area focuses on games for smart devices (smartphones and tablets) and social games. Despite record numbers during TGS 2012, many large companies had a smaller presence. For example, Microsoft, which previously had one of the largest booths, was absent in 2012. Social and mobile gaming surged, filling the gap. Microsoft returned to the show in 2013 with the release of the Xbox One. Personal computing The PC area houses major Japanese computing companies, showcasing products such as Japanese desktop and notebook computers. Children This area showcases new games that are aimed at a younger audience. Companies such as Taito and Sega are housed there. Game school The Game School area showcases information on Japanese universities and colleges offering information about digital art, animation, computer programming, and other programs of study related to the video game industry. These booths also display student work. It houses colleges such as Numazu Professional College of Information Technology and Tokyo Designer Gakuin College. == Sense of Wonder Night ==

Sense of Wonder Night (SOWN) is a presentation session held yearly at the TGS for showcasing innovative and experimental computer games mainly made by small game studios and independent game developers from all over the world, similar to and inspired by the GDC Experimental Gameplay Workshop. The first edition was held in 2008. Among former and current judges are Keita Takahashi and Simon Carless. == See also ==