This year's Tokyo Game Show is set to be the biggest ever. For the first time in its history, the convention will use the whole of its usual venue, Makuhari Messe. (Usually, a couple of areas are unused or dedicated food courts or merch displays.) It will also feature the biggest list of presenters and titles in over a decade. This could be good or bad.
Because fuck waiting in line, man.
The bigger area might seemingly be balanced out by the bigger list of exhibitors, especially since the last three years of TGS also happen to be its three highest-attended ever. Console gaming might be having problems, but damn if gaming in general isn't doing well. The Tokyo Game Show is alive and kicking.
I may not play mobile games myself, but we'd be kidding ourselves if we said that the mobile scene was not huge. It is huge, and in Japan, it's the new king. That said, I don't think the attendance is due for as big of an increase in the physical space. So, hopefully, all these new faces and mobile things I don't care about can shorten my wait times at booths I feel might be more worth my time.
Because fuck waiting in line, man.
I wanted to dance like Michael Jackson during the TGS when the Vita was brand new — get on Michael Jackson: The Experience HD demo and start doing the Thriller while playing. The problem was that the Vitas were very securely locked into place and couldn't be moved around much. And also the timing wasn't right. And I can't dance, even when it's just funny. It would have just made people cry.
That would be worse than waiting in line: waiting in line and then you're crying because some asshole depressed you so hard. Now you've gotta brush yourself off and go to work as if nothing happened. But something did happen, and you'll never forget it, ever. Heath danced. He danced right in front of you. How can you play a game and evaluate it now.
Life's worst moments happen when you have to wait in line. The longer you're in there, the worse your chances are of escaping undamaged. Fuck waiting in line, man.
Also, fun fact, in Japan, "Japan Airlines" or "JAL," isn't called "J-A-L" by the locals. Instead, you say the letter names faster, like a word, which means it sounds exactly like "Jail."
Everyone look forward to Tokyo Game Show coverage, from Sept. 17 until whenever I get out of jail!
