Tokyo Game Show (東京ゲームショウ, Tōkyō Gēmu Shō), commonly known as TGS, is a video game convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The main focus of the show is on Japanese games, but some international video game developers use it to showcase upcoming releases/related hardware. The duration of the event is four days. The first two days of Tokyo Game Show are open only to industry attendees (business) and the general public can attend during the final two days.
History[]
The first Tokyo Game Show was held in 1996. From 1996 to 2002, the show was held twice a year: once in Spring and once in Autumn (in the Tokyo Big Sight). Since 2002, the show has been held once a year and regularly attracts over 200,000 visitors. The 20th anniversary TGS was celebrated in 2016 with 271,224 people in attendance and 614 companies having exhibits. The 2018 attendance achieved a record of 298,690 people.
Relation to the Dead or Alive series[]
Owing to the video games' Japanese origin, Dead or Alive has made numerous appearances at the Tokyo Game Show. It acted as the place where Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate and Dead or Alive 5 Last Round were both announced. The latter briefly teased a new female fighter (later revealed to be Honoka). DLC releases for both games were also announced during the event, including the release of Mai Shiranui. In addition, Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation had various livestream events occurring during Tokyo Game Show, either in person, or via digital livestream (the latter largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic at the time). The character Kanna had her Special Day announced during the 2019 Tokyo Game Show.