On September 17th, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Tokyo Game Show! It is the largest gaming convention in Japan and was held for the first time in 2 years. I normally do not go to conventions as they tend to be expensive and in locations that are impossible to get to, however, the convention hall was actually right near the school I am attending. I decided that it would be an interesting event to attend considering how many games originated in Japan and have incredibly strong fanbases. I am proud to say I did not regret attending.
Upon arrival, I was completely baffled by the amount of people in line as I had originally assumed the event was on a smaller scale. It took quite some time to get into the venue, almost an hour long. It was packed, however, once my friend and I finally made it in. Honestly, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people squished into the 3 different venues as I worried about getting covid. Staying home for 10 days on a 12-week program would be heartbreaking.
As my friend and I walked around, we made it our goal to get to the merchandise shops first for fear of being unable to get the items we may have wanted. Things sold out pretty fast depending on which store you went to, but luckily for me, the Capcom shop had the Monster Hunter figures I was looking for. The store next to the Capcom shop was the Square Enix pop-up, which had multiple music sets already sold out. The lines for the stores were also fairly long and took quite some time, with some staff members holding up signs stating a 30–50-minute wait.
Most of the game venues had free items that were being given out to people who either played the game they were presenting or gave the group a follow on twitter. I ended up with a great amount of freebies, such as pins and folders. However, the best items I got for free were from Tassei, which was a teddy bear for playing their game and free t-shirt. I’ll be honest here, I barely knew the games I was playing or the groups I was following, but I kept my eye out for free items I could get. Part of the reason was that much of the merchandise was expensive and I did not want to buy so much.
Aside from that, there were 2 things that surprised me throughout my time at the event. The first was that there was no Nintendo booth anywhere. Considering the event was the biggest gaming convention in the country, I somewhat expected a company as large as Nintendo to attend and when they didn’t, I was a bit disappointed. The second was the rise in crypto-currency mobile games, which I found strange. I understand the growing popularity in crypto-currency, but I guess my brain couldn’t imagine combining that with cute anime girls in a mobile game.
Overall, I had an amazing time and wish I went for both days instead of just the one. There was so much to see and do, to the point where I did not get to see everything in one day. My favorite part was getting to be part of an experience that I never thought I would get to do, yet the timing worked out perfectly. With tourism opening up, I highly recommend you go next year if you’re able to because it isn’t an experience you will want to miss.
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Ana Schepps
My name is Ana and I am enamored by different cultures. Growing up with a mother whose family lived in Paraguay meant constant exposure to something that was so different and yet, so intriguing. I knew from a young age that I wanted to explore all that the world had to offer. My dream is to work in international marketing and be able to travel the world while learning new languages, traditions, and making lifelong friends.
