Tokyo Game Show Announces October Return

Representatives from Tokyo Game Show organizers CESA have announced the dates for the 2008 expo, with the event being pushed back from mid September in 2007 to early October this year. A short press release on the official website indicates that Tokyo Game Show 2008 will take place from October 9th to 12th. In 2007 the show was extended from three to four days for the first time, with the first two designated as trade only and the second two open to the public, and this same format will be retained in 2008. As usual the expo will take place at the Makuhari Messe, just outside central Tokyo. The 2007 event saw over 193,000 attendees, with 217 exhibitors from 19 different countries. According to CESA the extra business day saw an extra 27,000 visitors in attendance. The extra business day was introduced in the wake of the downsizing of the traditional E3 event, which has left the industry without a definitive international expo. Although the Tokyo Game Show has increasingly attempted to fulfill this role, its support from Western companies remains patchy. The show is also limited by the traditional non-attendance of Nintendo, despite the company often sponsoring the event and even using it to make major announcements – such as the unveiling of the Wii remote in 2005.