We had several options:
- Tokyo International Anime Fair in March
- Tokyo International Bookfair in July
- Tokyo Game Show in September
- Akihabara Entamatsuri in October
We ended up getting tickets for September -- in time for the Tokyo Game Show.
My brother got us tickets in advance so that we could save Y200 and avoid being delayed by lining up. Way in advance, he'd warned us to wear comfortable shoes and to expect waiting in line for a long while.
We told him that we knew what to expect because we'd been to the Hong Kong Comics and Gamers Fair -- he told us that this was different. This was Tokyo Game Show.
Most of the people on the train we were on were all headed to TGS -- when we got off the train, we were all hurrying to the same location. When I first saw this poster, I thought we had arrived at the start of line and was thinking to myself that my brother was wrong.
Turns out I was wrong -- we had to walk about 20 more minutes and then had to line up. Similar to the HK Fair, each batch had a wait time of about 10-15 minutes before they were allowed to proceed.
Again, at this point, I was thinking that it wasn't so bad. I could see the entrance from where we were lined up and we were only 2 batches away.
Turns out I was wrong -- we had to go around the entire complex -- the lines were that long!
<-- this is half of one (of 4 sides) of the complex we had to walk around. Thank God the weather was good.
When we finally got in, it was madness! There were so many people!
It was exciting to see the new games being previewed and all the nifty merchandise related to those games.
People were lining up, waiting to get a turn at trying them out.
When you finish testing the game, the booth ladies give you some nice freebies. ^_^
Perhaps the biggest game to be previewed during the Tokyo Game Show is Final Fantasy XIII, which will be released this coming December. It was amazing to watch the trailer on the big screen.
Another Final Fantasy title that was being featured was Final Fantasy: Crystal Bearers. The lines were insane!
<-- wait time was 120 minutes!
We didn't really line up for any of the major games because the wait time was too long. (And we wanted to be back in the city early in the afternoon to avoid the rush) --
The complex had eight massive halls and each one hosted a section of the TGS -- the first seven halls had all the big (and small) companies featuring their games. The last hall was my favorite -- it was where companies were selling their goods.
We lined up for the Square Enix booth because I wanted to get a t-shirt and a keychain souvenir.
We also lined up for Cospa, a company that specializes in Cosplay merchandise but also sells goods from some TV series. Johann scored a really nice Macross T-shirt (old Macross series).
We wanted to line up for the Capcom booth but we were told that the wait time was 60 minutes.
Here are more pics from TGS 2009:
<-- they had a section only for kids. You were only allowed to enter if you had a child with you -- they had fun old-school games like Super Mario Bros, etc. It was a nice quiet place for parents who brought their children to relax and have fun with their kids. ^_^
<-- cute, no? It's really an edible sponge cake! (Expiry is December.) We bought one for my sister and Seth to eat!
... more things happened on Day 2. To be continued!
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