Game shows are not just about exciting new titles, but also are home to news about games we already know about and have been looking forward to. This year more than ever, Sony has both of these things slanted in its favor heading into the Tokyo Game Show.
PSP:
The PSP might not be generating any revenue beyond pocket change for Western publishers, but in Asia, it’s a force to be reckoned with. PlayStation Portable will be the home of the next Yakuza game, a direct sequel to Black Panther (a fun game which I gave positive review here). Square Enix will have a playable version of Final Fantasy Type-0 as well, which is bound for success upon its October release. Lots of gamers will also be looking at Digimon something or other. I call it Digimon something or other because I do not give a flip about Digimon. But you know who does? Like a million Japanese people ready to empty walletloads of yen. As proven by 2011 titles such as Black Rock Shooter, Grand Knights History, Gundam Memories, Persona 2, Final Fantasy IV Complete, Akiba’s Trip, and Tiny Battlers, PSP games are money waiting to happen for Sony, as well as the publishers that put out the games. Don’t count the PSP out of TGS hype.
Vita:
Sony will be the one and only console maker that will be showing hardware and software for a platform yet to hit the market, and there’s power in that. That doesn’t happen very often. While true that there will be thirdparties showing off some of their 3DS software at the show, Nintendo’s absence leaves Sony with some considerable leg room.
The Vita is set to receive nearly 20 new game announcements at the show, and several freakout titles have already been revealed. The new Little King Story, like PSP’s Black Panther above, is another example of a title that’s a bit on the niche side in the West, but will be getting all kinds of attention over here in Japan. One of the biggest of all, however, will be Persona 4 Portable, announced by Atlus just recently. Persona fans all over the globe have wanted a portable version of P4 ever since Persona 3 Portable burst onto the scene. The announcement alone was enough to throw sales of the two-year-old P3P back into the top 20 for a brief shot -; the anticipation level on this one is huge.
PS3:
(Note: Several of these will also be on Xbox 360, but neither of the Xbox 360 owners in Japan can make it to TGS so their hype is guaranteed to be stomped out by the PS3 versions. I’m not even trying to be a jerk, it’s just true.)
From its announcement in December 2010 to its release last week, Tales of Xillia was Famitsu’s most wanted game, excluding a two-week interruption in April. Only freshly on shelves and a special edition being sold in a new system bundle, this game has created some brand new PS3 owners. Know what other PS3-exclusive these people will be dying to see and play? Ni no Kuni. A separate game from the DS title that came out in 2010, Level-5 and Studio Ghibli are really making some magic with this title. The Ni no Kuni demos from last year’s show were incredible, and the game was hands down the best of the show.
The West might groan about Final Fantasy XIII-2, and heck, I kinda do too, but the game is highly anticipated in Japan. Even in North America where FFXIII was supposedly reviled, you know full well that XIII-2 is going to sell seven digits.
PS3 will also be the home of Winning Eleven, Dynasty Warriors 7 Xtreme Legends, and Sengoku Musou 3 Empires, plus Metal Gear and Silent Hill HD collections.
The Competition:
There will be plenty of non-Sony love to be found at TGS, the first big name coming to my RPG-crowded mind being Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance and Dragon Quest X, but I’m sorry to say it but this show seems like it’s practically owned by Sony
How exactly will it all go? Will find out when the show starts tomorrow.
