Being on Japanese soil, much of the wares on display were aimed at the local market. Microsoft, who haven't enjoyed the same success in Japan as they have in other territories, showcased many games that were designed to appeal to the Japanese gamer. They devoted a large section of their floorspace to a very Japanese-style theatre for the extremely graphic Ninja Gaiden II - and it proved a big hit with the locals, with queues to watch the trailer in such settings stretching to over an hour.
Their Xbox Live Arcade platform received a shot in the arm with announcement that shoot-em-ups Rez and Ikaruga were bound for the online-gaming service. Virtua Fighter 5, Devil May Cry 4 and the latest installment in the Winning Eleven series also proved popular on the event floor. Halo 3 didn't command the attention of gamers as it does outside Japan, however.
Going into the conference, Sony had much to prove with regards to their under-performing Playstation platforms. With games like Talkman Travel and MyStylist and the Japanese-only TV tuner, Sony seem keen to widen the audience of the beleaguered handheld - though there was also an abundance of established franchises on display, including Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Star Ocean and Silent Hill.
Playstation 3 owners received welcome news that a new Dualshock - the Dualshock 3 - will be coming to gamers' hands within the year in Japan, and early next year for those in other territories. The joypad will also boast motion-sensing controls like the current SIXAXIS, but it is unknown if it will replace it entirely.
On the software front, Metal Gear Solid 4 was undoubtedly the game of the show. With queues to play the game stretching for over 4 hours at peak times, the demand was clearly high. A new trailer was unveiled, and Metal Gear Online was also showcased.
At Sony's booth, The Eye of Judgement and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue garnered much attention - but there was quite an array of software on display. Games from established series like Time Crisis 4 (complete with a new, complicated Guncon controller), Devil May Cry 4, Yakuza 3 sat beside some innovative-looking titles like the afformentioned Eye of Judgement, LittleBigPlanet and Echochrome. Judging by such titles, Sony should be in better shape going into next year's show than they are now.
With Nintendo absent from proceedings, third parties were left to pick up the baton. For the Wii, Capcom dedicated much space to platform-exclusive Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, but outside that there were very little of note for owners of the innovative console. Nintendo DS owners were also left largely disappointed, with a large proportion of the games on show likely to never see light of day outside of Japan.
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