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TGS: Gears of War, WRU?!
Killzone 2 isn't the only highly anticipated shooter not rocking the TGS show floor this year. Epic Games' upcoming 360 would-be killer-app Gears of War isn't playable on the show floor, though it is represented in video and pamphlet form at Microsoft's booth.So why is it that a surefire hit, just a couple months from shipping, isn't playable? Microsoft is doing everything they can to woo the heretofore elusive Japanese gamer, so why not trot out their prize-winning pony? Sure, they want to focus all eyes on Hironobu Sakaguchi's 360-exclusive JRPGs Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, but there's plenty of room for all three at TGS. And we know Japanese gamers tend to shy away from the hardcore shooters, but every little bit helps, right?In reality, the real reason Gears of War isn't at TGS isn't as shady as the complete disappearance of Killzone 2 from all Sony communications, it's a problem with Japan's censors. You see, the extremely graphic nature of the game is currently giving Microsoft a little bit of trouble getting it approved. During a press screening of Gears, a Microsoft rep did note that while a TGS showing just wasn't to be, the game will be playable at next week's X06 event in Barcelona. Unfortunately, the European Xbox 360 market doesn't need all the help it can get. Japan does.[Grotesque headshot image, courtesy carbonscoring.]
TGS: Killzone 2, WRU?!
When Sony showed the now-infamous Killzone 2 trailer at E3 2005 I got goosebumps all over. Though we're all aware now that the trailer was merely CGI flimflammery, the memory still haunts those of us lucky enough to experience it in that darkened theater with sound so rich and deep it gave us a heart massage. Therefore, it's with no small disappointment that we report that Killzone 2 remains AWOL. After mysteriously disappearing from the E3 2006 lineup, Killzone 2 failed to show up at TGS. Some would suggest that this isn't a big deal as the Japanese gamer doesn't dig FPS games all that much. That excuse doesn't explain the huge presence of Resistance: Fall of Man in Sony's TGS booth. What gives?
TGS: Sony's snoozer, judge for yourself
Apparently our transcription, with requisite PictoChat commentary, didn't convince everyone that Ken Kutaragi's keynote, titled "PS3 Creating Next Generation of Computer Entertainment," was a total snoozefest. So we followed up with an editorial explaining why, yet some remained unconvinced. So, in an attempt to remove ourselves from this equation, we present the translated audio from the event (.mp3) for your listening pleasure.* If you manage to make it through the whole thing, what do you think? What else, besides Killzone 2, was missing? Where was the PSP?*We'd love to upload a cleaner sound file if any audio-inclined reader wants to clean it up.See also:Sony's trainwreck of a keynoteBlogging Ken Kutaragi's PS3 keynote
The booth babe lineup, a TGS tradition
It's a TGS ritual: when the clock strikes five, booth managers round up all of the lovely female 20-somethings that they paid to prettify their booths and line them up for a five-minute photo opportunity. Show attendees oblige, whipping out their massive camera rigs, kneeling, zooming and snapping thousands of photographs in the fleeting moments before the booth managers lead the women away again. Though we don't typically engage in such flights of fappery, we think it important to document this spectacle. (It makes us feel dirty to take these photos, but for you, readers, we subject ourselves to all manner of difficult game blog assignment.) Click "continue" for more photos.
Game weapon lets us into our hotel room
Pictured above: a life-size statue of Sora, the protagonist from hit action-RPG franchise Kingdom Hearts (PS2). We have it on good authority that he held that rictus grin all day, despite the sweaty photogs who shoved lenses in his face. Pictured below: the key to our hotel rooms at the Century Hyatt in Tokyo. Coincidence? Yeah. That's just how some keys are made 'round here. But I'm obsessed with games, so whatever it is I think I see, becomes a tootsie roll to me.
TGS: Daito's dance marathon
On the way back to the press lounge from Sony's mammoth booth, we happened to catch the last 15 minutes of Daito's mind-bending dance show. Performers pulled quick costume changes and gave live interpretations of the games shown on the projector screen behind them, stepping to the rhythm of a pulsating playlist of J-pop songs. A plethora of pictures await you after the break.
TGS for men, women and children [update 1]
On our way to the Makuhari convention center this morning we decided to take a quick census to better describe the difference between TGS and E3 (and between gaming in America and gaming in Japan). To gather this data, we stood at a chokepoint on the way to the convention center and counted the number of men, women and small children to walk by. As the table below shows, women comprise approximately 25% of the attendees at TGS. The actual number of women here is somewhat higher because we conducted our census at 10 AM, after most of the booth ladies were required to be in costume and posted at their show-floor stations. We lack similar data for E3, but our gut feeling is that there are at least triple or quadruple the number of women at this show, many of them arriving with significant others and children in tow.
