History of the Tokyo Game Show

The history of Tokyo Game Show (東京ゲームショウ, Tōkyō Gēmu Shō) began with its creation in 1996 and has continued through the current expo in 2009. It has been held in Chiba, Japan, annually since 1996 by Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and the Nikkei Business Publications.

History

Pre-2004

The first Tokyo Game Show was held in 1996. Originally, the show was held twice a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn (in the Tokyo Big Sight), but this format was discontinued in 2002 when the show was held only in the autumn. The show is still held once a year.

2004

Tokyo Game Show 2004 was held on 24 September, 25 September and 26 September 2004. It featured 117 exhibitors showing off more than 500 computer and video game-related products to the 160,000 visitors.

2005

Tokyo Game Show 2005 was held from 16 September till 18 September 2005. Microsoft held its own press event on 15 September 2005, one day before the opening of Tokyo Game Show. The show was opened with two keynote speeches on September 16. The first was given by Robert J. Bach, senior Vice President for the Home and Entertainment Division and chief Xbox officer at Microsoft. While traditionally Nintendo does not participate in Tokyo Game Show, its president, Satoru Iwata held a keynote speech there in 2005, where he revealed the controller for Nintendo's next generation video game console Wii, then known as the Revolution. There were hints by Ken Kutaragi that the PlayStation 3 would be playable at Tokyo Game Show, but this was not the case. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was shown publicly for the first time in trailer form. The MGS4 demo was also demonstrated by Hideo Kojima on the Konami stage, running in real time on a PS3 devkit.