Tokyo Game Show 2023: Day Two Round-up

I attended Tokyo Game Show on September 21st and 22nd, covering it here and on Twitter

My Tokyo Game Show 2023 is over, probably, and I had a great time. I wasn't there today (Saturday) and most likely won't pop back tomorrow. There's plenty going on during the public days, but the crowds will be immense, so I'll settle for a couple days rest, a chance to write, and an opportunity to look through the pile of freebies I amassed over the last 48 hours. Separate the recyclables and the non-recyclables.

You know what, maybe I could go back tomorrow?

1. Games

I didn't play a great deal on Friday, mostly because I spent the entire morning in a single queue (see below) and was pretty content just wandering around in the afternoon, enjoying being surrounded by games and taking the opportunity to meet a few people. What I did play was the Metal Gear Solid  Master Collection Vol. 1 again, Endless Dungeon at the Sega booth, and then back to Konami for a shmup called Cygni: All Guns Blazing. I was going to get to Tekken 8 and Sand Land at Bandai Namco, but I messed up the timing.

2. A Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater T-Shirt

I'd decided that I was going to head straight for the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection booth as soon as the show opened on Day Two. Although I had played MGS1 at the very end of Day One, I hadn't been able to enjoy the full experience. More specifically, I hadn't got one of the t-shirts randomly gifted to punters who tried the demo. When I'd rolled up to the booth at 16:30 on that first day, there was only a ten minute wait, because they'd long since run out of shirts. People like MGS games, sure, but what they really like is MGS t-shirts. Especially when they're free.

Having seen wait times of up to three hundred minutes earlier on Thursday, which had led to the temporary closure of the queue and a bevvy of "wtf" tweets from bemused onlookers, I knew I had to be there early if I were to have any joy. So, when the doors opened on Friday, I headed straight to Konami. I was there in under a minute, and had I been delayed by even ten seconds, I would've been too late. Almost immediately after I'd joined the line, the white chain came out, the red sign went up, and the queue was temporarily closed. I was in, and it was then that I started to appreciate what I'd gotten myself into.

There were only six demo stations in total, split between Steam and PS5, and around the same number for handheld Switch, which was a different line entirely. A pitiful number. Six people playing a fifteen minute demo; I started to do the math in my head. It looked like there were around fifty people in front of me, and allowing for the odd VIP who'd be ushered to the front of the line, I figured I'd be waiting a little over two hours (that estimate turned out to be very accurate). I shared my calculations with the group in front. Part of me wanted to be sociable, to strike up a temporary friendship that might help to pass the time. Subconsciously, however, I was probably attempting to put them off, in the hope they'd walk away and I'd be a few spots closer to my t-shirt.  

I probably should have left, but by this point I was already committed, physically and mentally. Like Solid Snake in Guns of the Patriots, I was going to be in this battle until the bitter end.

All things considered, it wasn't the worst place in the world to spend a couple of hours. Konami had pulled out all the stops for their MGS-branded booth. Everywhere you looked, there was familiar iconography and paraphernalia. Boxes to hide in, plastic guns to pose with, motion sensor lasers that cut through the smoke that hung heavy towards the back of the booth. Actors dressed as genome soldiers patrolled a second-floor walkway, frantically searching for enemies each time the warning alarm went off and the booth went into lockdown, which happened every fifteen minutes or so. Somehow they never spotted us, gawking at them and snapping pictures for our Socials. A shame really, as a few violent deaths in the line could have drastically reduced my wait time.

The closer I got to the demo stations, the more attention I paid to the on-screen action. I even started to take note of which game people chose first. MGS3 was the most popular, no great surprise there, with MGS1 in second place. MGS2 still has its fans, and I was surprised by how many people played Metal Gear and Snake's Revenge. Though, to be fair, they all looked pretty miserable once they were reminded how unforgiving action games of that era were. I also started to track how the choice of demo affected which t-shirt was offered at the end. Unfortunately, you couldn't pick - you got what you were given from the six available designs. If you played MGS1 or 2, you got the matching shirt. There was no discernible pattern for those who opted for the Metal Gear games. Most Snake Eater players got the MGS3 shirt. Most but not all, and you could see the disappointment on the faces of the few players who didn't get what they were expecting. It was heartbreaking. And what if I got the wrong shirt, I started to wonder? Was I doing all this standing around just to end up having Raiden on my chest, when all I wanted was Big Boss?

I was tiring, mentally and physically, so I searched for distractions. I soon found one in Yu Suzuki, who was talking about something on the stage next door. I couldn't hear anything he said, as he was drowned out by the MGS din, so I just imagined that he was announcing a new Outrun or something. The fantasy didn't hold up, as he looked far too dour to be discussing anything that joyful. I looked elsewhere and found some cosplaying ladies on the Tecmo Koei stage. They maintained their smiles and poses for what felt like an eternity, as the audience snapped away. It looked exhausting. I wondered which t-shirt they'd choose, if given the chance.

And then onto the final stretch. A conversation with someone a few spots behind - a friend of a friend - helped to pass some more time, and I was soon in a position to calculate whether I'd be playing on PS5 or Steam.

I ended up on Steam, where I picked Snake Eater. I messed about a bit in the Russian jungle, and died once before the controls came back to me. I savoured being able to play my all-time favourite game at TGS, surrounded by so much love and attention for a series that I feared was dead. As for the game itself, it's hard to get too excited about a re-release that, at least at first blush, seems to be near-identical to the ten-year-old HD collection. But more about that another time.

My fifteen minutes came to an end at almost the exact same time as the two people sat next to me. The booth attendant asked us to put down our controllers and wait a moment, as he went to the back to collect our prizes. He returned with two Metal Gear Solid 3 t-shirts and one for Metal Gear Solid 2. He paused for a moment; my heart was in my mouth.

In the end, I got what I deserved.

Be sure to check back over the coming days, as I'll be posting my hands-on impressions of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Like a Dragon Gaiden and Infinite Wealth, Sonic Superstars, Dragon's Dogma 2 and more. Because TGS isn't just about lining up for t-shirts, or so I'm told.