Shrygue
September 25th, 2007, 03:10
via IGN (http://uk.games.ign.com/articles/822/822645p1.html)
Japan's Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association (CESA) has announced final attendance totals for this year's Tokyo Game Show. The four day show, held from Thursday to Sunday, saw record attendance overall, but suffered drops from last year in general attendance.
Over the four day period, the show saw a total of 193,040 attendees. In comparison, last year's three day show saw attendance of 192,411.
This year, the first two days were business only, for press and members of the industry. 29,783 people made the trip out on the first day, followed by 32,390 on the second day. In comparison, last year's single business day saw a total of 39,645 attendees.
General attendance was way down on the first public day of the show. Compared to last year's 84,823 (12,246 with child tickets), the first day of this year's show saw just 64,795 attendees (11,829 child tickets). The second public day saw a slight drop, with 66,072 attendees (15,347 child tickets), down from 67,943 (10,637 child tickets).
The CESA was apparently expecting numbers similar to this. Despite the extra day, the firm had projected a total of 180,000 attendees.
As reason for the drop in interest, many point to the debut of the PS3 last year as having driven curious consumers to make the trip out to the show. In addition the Wii was shown for the first time at the show (although it wasn't playable) and big games like Blue Dragon also made their debut.
Next year's show is scheduled for early October 2008. Will a PS3 and Wii stuck in a heated battle for next generation supremacy get Japanese audiences to come out for a day of gaming?
Japan's Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association (CESA) has announced final attendance totals for this year's Tokyo Game Show. The four day show, held from Thursday to Sunday, saw record attendance overall, but suffered drops from last year in general attendance.
Over the four day period, the show saw a total of 193,040 attendees. In comparison, last year's three day show saw attendance of 192,411.
This year, the first two days were business only, for press and members of the industry. 29,783 people made the trip out on the first day, followed by 32,390 on the second day. In comparison, last year's single business day saw a total of 39,645 attendees.
General attendance was way down on the first public day of the show. Compared to last year's 84,823 (12,246 with child tickets), the first day of this year's show saw just 64,795 attendees (11,829 child tickets). The second public day saw a slight drop, with 66,072 attendees (15,347 child tickets), down from 67,943 (10,637 child tickets).
The CESA was apparently expecting numbers similar to this. Despite the extra day, the firm had projected a total of 180,000 attendees.
As reason for the drop in interest, many point to the debut of the PS3 last year as having driven curious consumers to make the trip out to the show. In addition the Wii was shown for the first time at the show (although it wasn't playable) and big games like Blue Dragon also made their debut.
Next year's show is scheduled for early October 2008. Will a PS3 and Wii stuck in a heated battle for next generation supremacy get Japanese audiences to come out for a day of gaming?