Tokyo Game Show, the Japanese expo equivalent of Los Angeles' Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), was held over the past weekend in the midst of the Japanese scorching summer heat. Along with new information regarding Sony's PlayStation Vita, new game and hardware announcements along with hands-on impressions of Japan's newest games were available to all those willing to wait hours upon hours in line.
Luckily for you, however, every major announcement regarding Tokyo Game Show 2011 can me summarized right here, without the need to drudge through the heat, long lines, and con funk that accompanied the event.
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Two New PlayStation 3 Colors Will Be Heading to Japan
Japan gets so many options regarding video game console colors! Two PlayStation 3 system colors will be making their way to Japan on November 7th: “Scarlet Red” and “Splash Blue”. Housing 320GB HDDs, these colorful new systems will have an asking price of ¥29980 ($389.85).
PlayStation Vita Announcements Galore
The hot ticket this year was definitely Sony's successor to the PSP, the PlayStation Vita. With lines that took hours to get through, fans and press in the thousands were eagerly waiting to get their sweaty hands on what can soon be the hottest new handheld on the video gaming market. Some major announcements were made regarding the upcoming portable.
Sony finally announced a launch date for the system. Although Americans and the rest of the world will not be able to get the system until 2012, Japanese gamers do not have to wait much longer. The system will launch on December 17th, and pre-orders will begin on October 15th. Japanese gamers will have a couple of options when choosing a system. For the 3G-equipped model, MSRP is ¥29,980 (roughly $389.80 USD). For the Wi-Fi only model, it'll be ¥24,980 (roughly $324.80 USD).
Physical Copies of PS Vita Games Finally Shown
Up until now, Sony hasn't said much regarding NGV, their new proprietary media format for the PS Vita. Seen throughout the show floor, however, are the cute little game cards along with what the packaging of future Vita games will look like. Aren't they just adorable?
PlayStation Vita Augmented Reality Demonstrated
Sony Computer Entertainment head of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida demonstrated what is known as “markerless AR” during the TGS 2011 keynote. Here, he made a virtual monkey appear using the PS Vita without the need for any card or marker that the Nintendo 3DS would typically use.
He also demonstrated “wide AR,” in which a table filled with AR cards and markers were used. The demonstration suggests that the PS Vita will come packaged with a handful of AR-ready applications, possibly more than that of what was included with the Nintendo 3DS system.
A Handful of PS Vita Games Announced…On Accident!
Whoops! Looks like someone over at Sony unintentionally left a slide on long enough for those in attendance of the TGS Press Conference to see. The image quickly made its way to the internet, and fans (especially those at NeoGAF) dissected the hell out of the slide and were able to pick out a handful of titles. Spotted were the following titles:
Ys: Celceta, Sea of Trees
Lord of Apocalypse, a sequel to Lord of Arcana
Ninja Gaiden: Sigma
Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
Hell's Army
DJ Max Technika
Katamari
Browser 3 Kingdom
Bass Fishing
F1 2011
Dragon's Crown
God Eater 2
Escape Plan
Sound Shapes
Sawari Makuru (translates to “Touching Lots.” Don't get any weird ideas!)
Super Stardust Delta
Reality Fighter 0
WipeOut
Ridge Racer
Zone of the Enders HD Edition
Metal Gear Solid HD Edition
Super Robot Taisen Series
Shin Megami Tensei Series
Gundam Series
Tales of Innocence R
Also announced was a remake of Square-Enix's PlayStation 2 RPG, Final Fantasy X. A similar remake will also be released for the PlayStation 3.
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The New DmC Game With The New Dante Gets a New Trailer
Remember Ninja Theory's new take on the Devil May Cry series? Now known simply as DmC (no, not that DMC), the game has a newly unveiled trailer that was shown at Tokyo Game Show.
Mario Tennis 3DS Announced
Nintendo doesn't make appearances at Tokyo Game Show. Instead, they made a pre-TGS press conference, which included an announcement for a new Mario Tennis game, coming out for the 3DS. Also confirmed that it will be compatible with that hideous-looking slider pad attachment.
Project Draco Coming to XBLA in 2012
Announced previously as a 2011 game, Project Draco now gets an updated release date to be released in 2012. Team Andromeda's on-rails shooter is a Kinect game that is inspired by the Sega Saturn cult classic Panzer Dragoon.
Sony' Torne Service is Headed to PS Vita
Sony's hardware-based Torne service is announced to be headed to the PlayStation Vita as an application. Sony Head of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida demonstrated the service during the TGS Keynote, browsing television listings, remotely setting up recordings, and streaming television straight through the PS Vita handheld. Only announced so far for the Japanese market, the application has no firm release date or price, but it may possibly be available during the system's launch on December 17.
