Tokyo Game Show 2024: Preview

Tokyo Game Show 2024 has crept up on me. I mostly blame the weather.

It has been unrelentingly hot and unpleasant for much of September. Almost every day pushing the mid-30s, with high humidity to boot. Summer was refusing to make way for autumn and all the good stuff that comes with it.

Fortunately, that all changed over the weekend, and we're finally getting sensible temperatures. Autumn seems plausible. A cooler breeze, different colours, different smells - all of a sudden my subconscious was screaming at me to print business cards, prepare comfortable shoes and formulate opinions on Sonic the Hedgehog. At last, it feels like September, and that means it's time for TGS!

Tokyo Game Show starts this Thursday (26th-29th) and I, and the weather, are finally ready for it.

I've been attending TGS on and off since the mid-2000s, and on the business days since 2009, and I still get as excited about it now as I did back then. Yes, trade shows aren't as crucial as they used to be, earth-shattering announcements are far less likely than they once were, and publisher interest and attendance wanes from year to year, but it's still fucking brilliant. Despite recent difficulties, TGS remains one of the few major shows to have survived the shift to the Direct-State of Play-Showcase model, and that's something to celebrate.

But what about the games?

I already know where I'll be headed first: Konami for a hands-on with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Given how popular the Master Collection Vol. 1 proved to be last year, I suspect I'll be jostling with several hundred other people to get a decent spot in the queue. Interest will likely be bolstered by the short-supply t-shirts being given away with each demo, much like last year, when the promise of a free t-shirt led to demo wait-times of up to three hours! Poor quality clothing aside, I can't wait to see what Konami has done with my all-time favourite game, and I reckon we may also have a release date by the end of the week.

While I'm at Konami, I'll be sure to check out the Silent Hill 2 exhibit. There isn't a demo, at least not on the show floor, but I expect we'll be treated to plenty of new details and footage. The Suikoden I & II HD Remaster is playable, so there's at least one more reason to hang around the Konami booth for a little while longer.

Capcom always has a significant presence, and this year will be no different. I suspect Monster Hunter Wilds will be the star of the show, and I'm definitely keen to get some hands-on time with it. Terry will be playable in Street Fighter 6, though I believe he'll already be available to everyone by Thursday, and I personally want to try the recent Marvel vs. Capcom Arcade Classics collection, as I've yet to give it a go, despite being rather fond of many of the games featured.

Sega Atlus pretty much owned TGS 2023 and we may have a repeat performance this year. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was revealed last Friday and it looks delightful. As of writing, its presence at TGS in any form has yet to be confirmed, but I'd be very surprised if it's not playable and taking centre stage. Sonic X Shadow Generations will be on the show floor and I might be tempted to play Metaphor ReFantazio. To be honest, it's not really my type of thing, but I expect that'll put me in the distinct minority at TGS. Dragon Age: The Veilguard will also be playable, with Sega acting as a regional partner for EA, and I'm very much up for that.

If you visit Sega's TGS site , you'll see a breakdown of the titles that will be showcased. As of Tuesday afternoon, there are two unannounced slots. I think it's safe to assume that one of them will be Like a Dragon, but the other is more of a mystery. The internet is willing it to be Persona 6; I'm one of four people alive hoping for a Segagaga remaster. Chances are we'll all be disappointed.

Sony is back after a year or two away. While it's great that PlayStation will be present, I'm not entirely sure what's behind the change of heart. Pretty much everything that will be playable at Sony is accessible elsewhere at the booths of the primary publishers (Monster Hunter Wilds, MGS Delta, Dragon Quest III etc.) but it might be a good alternative when the lines get out of hand at Capcom, Konami etc. All that aside, there will be two (!) PS5 Pro demo stations, running FF7 Rebirth and Gran Turismo, if you're into that kinda thing. Maybe tomorrow's just-announced State of Play will tell us something we didn't already know and have an effect on the PlayStation line-up? 

Microsoft won't be on-site, and haven't been for several years. However, they will have an Xbox TGS stream on Thursday evening, which is likely to have some Japan-focused announcements and Game Pass news. There's a lot of noise about various Final Fantasies coming to Xbox, and this would be the perfect opportunity for MS to confirm those rumours, as well as reveal some of the Japanese-developed games they have in the pipeline.

Not much of interest for me personally at Square Enix, which is unusual. Plenty for the RPG-fan, though: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, Romancing Saga 2 and Fantasian Neo Dimension. SQEX always puts a lot of effort into their booth and merchandise displays, so I'm guaranteed to be loitering there at some point. Elsewhere, I'll have a look at Double Dragon Revive, and I fancy checking out Professor Layton and the New World of Steam, as I'm predictably starting to develop nostalgic feelings for the DS games. And I'll be sure to spend a few hours in the indie area, seeking out new experiences and following up on some of the standouts I sampled at BitSummit in July.

Games aside, I'll try not to spend too much money in the merchandise area, though I'll likely fail. I'm a sucker for anything with Street Fighter, Metal Gear Solid or Moogles on it, so I'm essentially fucked. And, as always, TGS is a great opportunity to catch up with friends and make new ones, so I expect I'll be out-and-about socialising throughout the week, looking exhausted but otherwise very happy.

I'll be posting hands-on impressions here over the coming days, so I encourage you to check back often. I'll also be active over on Blue Sky, and I may even resurrect the Eventually Games Podcast. Stranger things have happened, probably.

Speak soon!