Tokyo Game Show to welcome crowds after two years

Tokyo, Feb 28 (EFE).- The Tokyo Game Show video game fair, one of the most important in the sector, will once again have an audience after two years in which it opted for the online format and blended learning only for professionals due to the pandemic.

The event will be held from Sep. 15 to Sep. 18 at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba, east of Tokyo, marking the first time since 2019 that the fair will take place “in a physical space with open admission for business and visitors,” organizers said Monday.

In the last edition, they opted for a semi-face-to-face format in which only journalists and “influencers” were allowed access to a small venue, with a program of entirely “online” conferences and a virtual reality platform for fans that will remain in this time. Earlier editions had taken place online.

In 2022, the show will combine physical attendance with “online” broadcasting of official shows that were well-watched in past editions, and “most of the official Japanese shows will be broadcast with simultaneous translations in English for fans of the Tokyo Game Show” abroad.

The fair is predominantly oriented to the national market, which is why some fans have criticized the limited availability of multilingual programming, especially after the adoption of the online format, which allows the audience to expand.

As was the case in previous editions of the pandemic, the first two days of the event are held behind closed doors for professionals, while the last two will be open to the public.

As preventive measures due to the volatility of Covid-19, the entrance of the public will begin at two in the afternoon and tickets will be limited based on the maximum capacity recommended by local authorities according to the epidemic situation.

Organizers also said the entry of children under primary school will be prohibited due to “the uncertainty about the vaccination situation among young people.” EFE

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