"Let's Play Together"

Computer Entertainment bringing about Dream, Hope,
and Excitement To be Sent Out from Tokyo Game Show to the World

Computer Entertainment Software Association (CESA) will hold "Tokyo Game Show 2001 Autumn" for 3 days from October 12 (Fri.) through October 14 (Sun.) at Makuhari Messe (Nippon Convention Center, Chiba City, Chiba Pref.) with support of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and special sponsorship of NTT DoCoMo, Inc.

The show will be held at Hall No.1 through No.8 in Makuhari Messe covering a total area of approximate 54,000‡u, with welcoming 53 exhibitors in 1,373 booth units.(as of 2 October) We are having nearly 400 exhibited game software titles including pre-registered 339 titles and others to be released at the venue.

The theme of "Tokyo Game Show 2001 Autumn" is "Let's Play Together," which means that playing video games with others is a way of communication. The recent advancement of broadband communication accelerates the spread of entertainment through PCs or mobile phones. New high-performance hardware installed communication function increasingly diversifies video game players' environment. The video games that were sold for solo play until a few years ago, now, are developing into communication tools, by which people can play games anytime and anywhere with many others. We hope that all the visitors to "Tokyo Game Show 2001 Autumn" can receive the message "Let's play together" at the venue.

"Tokyo Game Show," which is the 11th Show this time, will prove the attractiveness of computer entertainment bringing about dream, hope, and excitement to the world, while taking its role of the latest information transmission base in the video game industry that is a pride of Japan.

* Feature of "Tokyo Game Show 2001 Autumn"

Total 53 exhibitors will join the show with 1,373 booth units. Compared with 931 booths of 53 exhibitors of last show in 2001 Spring, in terms of booth units, it is a gain of almost 50%. Compared with 2000 Autumn, the number of exhibitors are decreased by 10. In terms of booth units, however, it is a gain of about 30%.

We assume that this trend indicates exhibitors' strong intension of increasing video game users and its demand, properly corresponding to diversifying pleasure of video games. The diversification have been brought about by the appearance of the new hardware, the expanding needs of network games by the rapid spread of broadband communication, appearance of 3G mobile phones, and users' regressive demands for intrinsic fun of video games.

* Trends of Exhibited Titles in "Tokyo Game Show 2001 Autumn"

The upgraded hardware performance have enhanced quality of game software and largely contributed to expanding user age brackets that were limited by each model. As well as the spring show a large number of software for the new hardware are exhibited with its fine images and attractive unique characters to fully introduce new fascinations of video games at the venue.

As the performance of major hardware is having almost same quality while being upgraded, new trends are being obvious among game software companies. The new trends are having the software sold for specific hardware correspond to other hardware to build up new customers, meeting users' demands for intrinsic fun of video games not depending on high-performance hardware, and satisfying the needs for low-priced software, in the days called deflation era, to recover the number of shipments that tends to decrease in recent year.

These trends result in redeveloping game software to be corresponded to the new high-performance hardware to create new attractiveness of video games. Furthermore, putting importance on intrinsic fun of videogames, the software companies are developing new game software for conventional platforms, and redeveloping popular software for hand-held machines to create new needs. Thus, video game software increasingly tends to be created targeting multi platforms, and we also have to pay attention on increasing low priced software with simple and fun story.

>>Please refer the following analysis of exhibited titles by platform and genre.