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The fun and weird moments of Tokyo Game Show 2014
The annual Tokyo Game Show has just wrapped up, and while there weren't any major console announcements, we still had our fair share of memorable moments on the show floor. On top of trying several different virtual reality demos, we also watched Japanese girls giggle away at a romance simulation booth, and we even bumped into Japanese porn stars without realizing who they were at the time. Check out our list of TGS highlights in the gallery below.
With Cyberith's Virtualizer, you can run around wearing an Oculus Rift
There was no shortage of VR headsets at the Tokyo Game Show this year -- but that didn't stop the lines forming endlessly over the weekend. Hidden, at least slightly, in Hall 8 was Cyberith, demonstrating their now successfully crowdfunded VR gaming mat, the Virtualizer. It pairs a second-generation Oculus Rift headset with three different sensor arrays, which, with the assistance of a low-friction mat and some "rental socks" from the Cyberith team, we got to test it out. How does it work and (most importantly) when can the rest of you play it? Well, for the latter, a commercial product is planned for launch in 2015 and for the former, we'll let the founders do some of the explaining in a quick video after the break. We'll fill you in on the rest.
The portable pop-up gaming room is here
Privacy. Sometimes we all crave a little. "Bocchi tent" is a 1.3 x 1.3-meter, soft-cornered cube that maker Bibi Lab reckons offers the "ultimate gaming space." With a slender gossamer wall between you and the rest of humanity, there's a degree of sensorial blockage, but we could, obviously, still hear the din of the Tokyo Game Show floors -- headphones will be necessary if you're looking to block out Other People. (The computer inside didn't even have any games! What a waste.) With all the space-age science of a pop-up tent, open up the storage pouch and the temporary gaming den makes itself -- you'll just have to add the furniture (and well, gaming hardware), yourself. The tent is set to retail for 5,000 yen in Japan -- and if you're particularly taken with the idea of your own flatpack Internet Cafe, at least it should fit in your suitcase.
Love is in the air at the Tokyo Game Show
Dating simulation games are nothing new in Japan; and in fact, there's something for both boys and girls. This particular booth at the Tokyo Game Show was chiefly promoting Voltage Inc.'s romance mobile apps to the ladies, but with a twist: The company brought in some "attractive models" to let attendees "experience the world of romance apps in real life." Japanese girls (and some guys) were actually lining up to try a scene from one of the three games, and needless to say, it's rather entertaining to watch their reactions -- which were unsurprisingly consistent in general -- as the male characters wooed them with a "kabe don." And if you don't know what that is, educate yourselves with our video after the break.
We just played with Nintendo's New 3DS: Finally, an extra analog stick
You might have heard: Nintendo's refreshing its 3DS family with two new models. Both the New 3DS as well as the larger New 3DS XL will arrive with a diddly analog stick just above the action buttons. (Throw away your Circle Pad Pros!) Plus, there's built-in NFC for those incoming Nintendo figurines and a new microSD card reader. Unfortunately, in my fly-by Monster Hunter 4G gaming test, I didn't have the chance to try either of those features -- readers love SD slot close-ups -- but it does offer an estimation of what Japanese gamers will get in less than a month when both handhelds launch. There's still no word on an overseas release for either model, but for now, watch me prove how poor I am at Monster Hunter in our video after the break. No, far worse than that.
You'll be able to drive a car in 'Final Fantasy XV'
Timed perfectly for this year's Tokyo Game Show, Square-Enix's unveiled a new teaser for its next (long in development) Final Fantasy. There's boyband hairstyles, broody protagonists, big-ass swords... and a fancy car you drive around in. Watch, and wait -- FFXV's still coming.
'Summer Lesson' is the questionable Project Morpheus VR title from the 'Tekken' team
Teasing its forthcoming appearance at the Tokyo Game Show later this month, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan revealed a new demo for its prototype VR hardware -- with assistance from the creative forces behind the Tekken fighter series. You should probably put all ideas of a first-person punch-em-up aside though, this is very different. Summer Lesson puts the user inside a typical Japanese schoolgirl's room, where it looks like you just seem to.. chill, interact and hang around, which sounds innocent enough, although there's certainly a creepy element there just by the premise. The teaser didn't explain much else, although the Tekken team's Harada-san was happy to praise the interactivity element of the demo, and the preview video also added some comments about how it felt like someone was really there. We're expecting to feel suitably embarrassed and awkward when we get to test it out at TGS 2014 in a few weeks -- but we're also hoping to get a better grasp of why the team decided to go with something that could easily be so misconstrued for a very conspicuous, very early Project Morpheus showcase. Take a look for yourself: we've posted the entire SCEJ PlayStation press event after the break, and even thoughtfully skipped to the Summer Lesson part, because we're nice like that.
Watch Sony PS4 streams on your Vita with upcoming app
If you're a fan of PlayStation 4 game livestreaming, Sony's about to have a PS Vita app for that. At a prelude to the Tokyo Game Show (TGS), it announced updates that will let you view live PS4 game action directly from a PS Vita. There are also themes coming to the PS4 and PS Vita around the same time -- Sony showed off one for Vita that centered around the popular (and insane) Dangan Ronpa shooter. PS4 users will also be able to customize the console dashboard with animated themes, as revealed in a demo that featured PlayStation Japan characters Toro and Kuro (see the image after the break). It also revealed a pink-backed PS Vita with a white front arriving in Japan on November 13th for 18,980 yen (around $182). There's no specific dates for the new themes and the PS4 game streaming app, but Joystiq pointed out a translated tweet saying it'll arrive sometime in October.
