There were many cosplayers dressed in elaborate costumes Saturday at the Tokyo Game Show 2011 held at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
There were many cosplayers dressed in elaborate costumes Saturday at the Tokyo Game Show 2011 held at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Many waited in long lines to try out Sony's new PlayStation Vita Saturday at the Tokyo Game Show 2011. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Gamers flocked to Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center Saturday for the annual Tokyo Game Show 2011. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Although the games were the top draw, there were plenty of side attractions, including the scantly clad ?booth babes? who promoted games Saturday for the annual Tokyo Game Show 2011 at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Although the games were the top draw, there were plenty of side attractions, including the scantly clad "cosplayers" who provided a side attraction at Saturday's Tokyo Game Show 2011 at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
A truly hardcore Star Wars fan dressed in Jedi attire tests his force push on Microsoft's "Kinect: Star Wars" Saturday at the Tokyo Game Show 2011 held at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
A gamer tries out his moves on the Microsoft Kinect version of "Michael Jackson: The Experience HD," Saturday at the Tokyo Game Show 2011 held at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Gamers flocked to Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center Saturday for the annual Tokyo Game Show 2011. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
A cosplayer dressed as the popular video game vixen Bayonetta was one of the many elaborately dressed, Saturday at this year's Tokyo Game Show. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Videogames weren't the only thing on display as huge crowds came to see the many scantly clad "cosplayers"? who provided a side attraction at Saturday's Tokyo Game Show at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Huge crowds crammed between the convention halls of Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center to get a glimpse of cosplayers and get a chance to try out brand new games and game hardware Saturday at the annual Tokyo Game Show. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
A young gamer tries out one of the many new titles on display for the Apple iPad, some of the many new titles on display" Saturday at this year's Tokyo Game Show held at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Social networking service Gree, Inc. showed up in a big way with a rather large booth at this year's Tokyo Game Show held at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
The PlayStation Vita was one of the big attractions at this year's Tokyo Game Show at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Gamers try out some of the new upcoming games at the Microsoft booth Saturday at the Tokyo Game Show at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
A gaming enthusiast tries out the new PlayStation Vita after waiting in long lines Saturday at this year's Tokyo Game Show held at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
(Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Elaborately dressed cosplayers attracted attention at the Tokyo Game Show. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
A gamer tries out his moves on the PlayStation Move version of "Michael Jackson: The Experience HD," Saturday at the Tokyo Game Show 2011 held at Chiba Prefecture's Makuhari Messe convention center. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
Big-name companies scaled back on their presentations and booths, but the Tokyo Game Show still drew a record crowd of more than 222,000 recently.
Companies showcased their games for cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices Sept. 15-18 at Chiba prefecture’s Makuhari Messe convention center. And in typical Tokyo Game Show fashion, massive crowds gathered between the two main halls at the convention center to see the cosplayers all dolled up in their outlandish, elaborate and sometimes scantily clad costumes.
Staff Sgt. Zaidar Messely, from Yokota Air Base, was excited to see all the new games and technology.
“It’s a really cool experience,” said Messely as he scanned some of the 715 games on display by the 193 companies on hand. “This is the source and pretty much the mecca of technology and gaming.”
One of the most significant new pieces of hardware gaming enthusiasts got to try out was the yet-to-be-released PlayStation Vita, Sony’s successor to the PlayStation Portable.
Sony announced during the first day of the Tokyo Game Show that its latest portable device will launch first in Japan in December followed by releases in the U.S. and Europe during the first quarter of 2012.
The Vita got a warm reception with its many groundbreaking features, including front and back multi-touch screens, motion sensors, a 5-inch OLED screen, dual analog sticks and WiFi/3G capabilities.
The Vita will also feature compatible titles that will be able to integrate game play between the Vita and the PlayStation 3.
“It’s amazing how portable all the games are becoming,” Japanese gamer Torri Ota, 22, said as he checked out the PS Vita.
Also on the mobile gaming front at this year’s show was Gree Inc., Japan’s leading social networking service.
Interest in mobile gaming has been growing steadily, said Gree spokesman Shinichi Iriyama. With Gree’s recent acquisition of OpenFeint, which develops games and application for Apple and Android devices, the company will be connected to an additional 115 million members from the U.S. and China, Iriyama said.
“The most attractive point in social gaming networks is the connection between the people,” Iriyama said.
Josh Pearson, a machinist mate fireman aboard the USS George Washington at Yokosuka Naval Base, said he understands the growing appeal of mobile gaming. “They really make the train rides less boring,” Pearson said. “It gives you something to do.”
Juadon Tabor, also a machinist mate fireman aboard the George Washington, said console games may have difficulty competing with mobile games because of the pricing.
“It’s going to make it hard for the consoles.” Tabor said. “Mobile games go for about $2. The consoles will probably lower their prices and the mobile games will raise theirs until it all balances out.”
Stars and Stripes reporters Trevor Andersen and Elana Sugiyama contributed to this story.
